Visit to the Fairbanks Museum: Long-term phenology records

 By Richard B. Primack and Amanda Gallinat

 

“What is it to be admitted to a museum, to see a myriad of particular things, compared with being shown some star's surface, some hard matter in its home!” -Henry David Thoreau in The Maine Woods.

 

Together, we recently visited the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont to begin a collaboration with its museum staff. Our goal is to analyze how flowering times are responding to the warming climate.

 

The museum has many excellent natural history displays, exhibited in a large barrel-vaulted hall. 

Photo 1: Bears are a highlight of the museum.

 

For over 120 years, volunteers have been collecting the first plants to flower in the local area and displaying them on a table in the museum, called the flower table. 

 

When flowering plants are brought into the museum, they are identified, labeled, placed into vases of water, and then displayed. 

Photo 2: The flower table in late spring being tended by Joanne.

 

As part of the process, museum staff and volunteers have recorded plant species and their first flowering dates in ledger books. This project combines the excitement of fieldwork in the wild, with the discipline and long-term perspective of a museum. 

Photo 3: Staff members Allison Gulka-Millard and Beau Harris examine a ledger book in the museum archives.

Flowering dates were first recorded in 1903, and have continued to the present. We were excited to learn that volunteers have also recorded bird arrival dates in the past. 

Photo 4: A close-up of a flowering ledger.

 

The museum has also been recording daily weather records continuously for over 125 years, making it the second oldest weather station in the U.S. This is a great resource for phenological research. 

Photo 5: The weather station with the museum in the background. 

 

We will be working with museum staff members to analyze the phenology data and contribute to a museum exhibit highlighting how flowering times in St. Johnsbury have been impacted by climate change.

Photo 6: Some of the team -- Adam Kane, Richard, Amanda, Allison Gulka-Millard, Anna Rubin, and Mark Breen.

 

 

 

Plant Poster Day 2024: Batch 3

 By Richard B. Primack

“I should keep some book of natural history always by me as a sort of elixir – the reading of which would restore the tone of my system and secure me true and cheerful views of life.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

In the closing days of my BI 305 Plant Biology course in December 2024, we had a poster session during which each student presented some aspect of botany that they wanted to learn more about and share with the class. 

 

Here is the third batch of posters: 

Poster 16: Paige and Beach grass

 

Poster 17: Rachel and Long Island vegetation

Poster 18: Simone and Water lilies

Poster 19: Stephano and plant behavior

Poster 20: Sybil and wheat biology

Poster 21: Veronica and Amazon aquatic plants

Poster 22: Victor and Fraser fir

Plant Poster Day 2024: Batch 2

  By Richard B. Primack

 

“I should keep some book of natural history always by me as a sort of elixir – the reading of which would restore the tone of my system and secure me true and cheerful views of life.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

In the closing days of my BI 305 Plant Biology course in December 2024, we had a poster session during which each student presented some aspect of botany that they wanted to learn more about and share with the class. 

 

Here is the second group of seven posters: 

Poster 9: Kasy (with TF Matt) and Aloe vera

 

Poster 10: Kenny and plant communication

Poster 11: Krsna and Hydrangea

Poster 12: Matteo and Florida mangroves

Poster 13: Max and Lichens and climate change

Poster 14: Meghan and oriental bittersweet

Poster 15: Mia and Tabernanthe hallucinogen

 

Plant Poster Day 2024: Batch 1

 By Richard B. Primack

“I should keep some book of natural history always by me as a sort of elixir – the reading of which would restore the tone of my system and secure me true and cheerful views of life.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

In the closing days of my BI 305 Plant Biology course, we had a poster session during which each student presented some aspect of botany that they wanted to learn more about and share with the class. 

 

Here are the first 8 posters:

Poster 1: Ada and autumn leaf coloring

Poster 2: Chris and native fruit trees

Poster 3: Cyara and the palm family

Poster 4: Dawn and trees interacting with fences

Poster 5: Gianni and Cannabis

Poster 6: Ian and succulents

Poster 7: Jeremy and Shanghai trees

Poster 8: Jiselle and Salvinia water plants

Walden Pond

 By Richard B. Primack

Recent fluctuations in the water level of Walden Pond have renewed discussions of what causes these 6-10 year cycles of filling and draining of the pond.

“Whether regularly or not, and within what period, nobody knows, though, as usual, many pretend to know,” Thoreau wrote of the phenomenon in Walden.

 

Photo 1: A few years ago, the water level was extremely low. Last spring, it was very high. Photo by RBP.

 

Walden Pond State Park officials, and many other people with interests in the pond, are also struggling with how to balance protecting the health of the pond and its surrounding park, and providing a quality experience for park visitors. This is becoming increasingly challenging due to increasing numbers of visitors, lower water quality, and more frequent bacterial outbreaks leading to beach closures. 

 

Photo 2: High densities of swimmers at Walden Pond. From Yankee Magazine.

 

In response, the state is planning to add a new bathhouse next to the beach, which will hopefully reduce the level of pollution in the water. In addition, thousands of new trees and shrubs will be planted to reduce erosion and runoff.  

 

Photo 3: The new bathhouse being planned. From the Concord Bridge.

 

If this effort is not sufficiently effective, restrictions on the number of park visitors and swimmers will have to be considered. 

 

These topics are discussed in two recent articles in the Concord Bridge:

 

https://concordbridge.org/index.php/2024/12/10/new-bathhouse-seen-as-key-step-in-curbing-damage-to-walden-pond/

 

https://concordbridge.org/index.php/2024/12/10/on-walden-pond-exhilaration-solitude-and-communing-with-nature/

Visit to Wroclaw, Poland

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.” Henry David Thoreau

 

 

During the last week of November, I visit Wroclaw, Poland for a conference titled “Building Bridges.” During the conference, I was inducted into the Academia Europaea, the European academic society that put on the conference.

 

Figure 1: “Building Bridges.”

 

 My fellow ecology colleagues and I went to the meeting together.

 

Figure 2: My colleagues Alessandro Chiarucci, Andras Baldi, and Carlo Rondinini.

 

I presented a talk on publishing in international journals to grad students at the University of Wroclaw.

Figure 3: Sylwia Wierzcholska and students at the University of Wroclaw.

 

Wroclaw is famous for having hundreds of statues of dwarves around the city, demonstrating the independent spirit of the people and their willingness to stand up to the government. 

Figure 4: This dwarf is on the edge of the Love Bridge, telling couples not to put locks on the bridge.

 

Mistletoes are surprisingly abundant on trees around the city.

Figure 5: A tree we saw with lots of mistletoes.

 

 

The Dial: A New Transcendental Magazine

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already.” Henry David Thoreau in Civil Disobedience.

 

 

From 1840 to 1844, the early Transcendentalists of Massachusetts published their new ideas in a magazine called The Dial. The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society has launched a new version of the magazine focused on connecting Transcendentalism to history and modern topics, including articles focused on interdisciplinary themes.

 

Image 1: Cover of the first issue.

 

The first issue of this magazine contains five articles focusing on Transcendentalism and climate change, followed by three essays on social justice, particularly as it relates to social memory.

 

Here is a link to the first issue: LINK