trees

Treecology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Trees and Forests is an excellent new nature activity book for kids of a fairly wide range of ages. Like a tree, the pattern of the book is pretty straightforward but fractal like; you start off simple but end up pretty much anywhere in the world of ecology. The book begins with the basic definition of a tree, simple tree anatomy, some phylogeny, some tree physiology and biology, but then branches off (pun intended) into things that are related to trees, like things that live on them, eat parts of them, etc. Seeds and…
Forget pink or blue. It turns out that the best color for baby may be green. In a study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers found that mothers living in neighborhoods with plenty of greenness — grass, trees and other types of lush vegetation — were more likely to carry their pregnancies to full term and deliver babies at healthier weights. Specifically, the study found that very pre-term births were 20 percent lower and moderate pre-term births were 13 percent lower among mothers living in greener neighborhoods. Also, babies from greener neighborhoods were…
Next time you pass a tree, you might want to give it a second thought. Maybe even a hug. One day, that tree might just help save your life. Let me explain. In a new study published in the Environmental Pollution journal, researchers found that the positive impact that trees have on air quality translates to the prevention of more than 850 deaths each year as well as 670,000 incidences of acute respiratory symptoms. In 2010 alone, the study found that trees and forests in the contiguous United States removed 17.4 million metric tons of air pollution, which had an effect on human health valued…
"But I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything." -Alan Watts As we move farther away from the equinox and towards the solstice, my part of the world is seeing not only more daylight, but also more sunshine, warmer temperatures, and -- at least today -- some glorious days to be out in nature. This weekend, have a listen to Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ronu Majumdar, Sabir Khan & Tarun Bhattacharya's interpretive nature song, Flame of the Forest, while I share with you my list of the…
Counting Out Rhyme Silver bark of beech, and sallow Bark of yellow birch and yellow Twig of willow. Stripe of green in moosewood maple, Colour seen in leaf of apple, Bark of popple. Wood of popple pale as moonbeam, Wood of oak for yoke and barn-beam, Wood of hornbeam. Silver bark of beech, and hollow Stem of elder, tall and yellow Twig of willow. - Edna St. Vincent Millay I should be in the woods at this time of year. Instead, because of the unusually warm winter and heavy rains that have left the ground saturated and soggy, rather than frozen and covered with snow, and because I managed to…
Thought you might want to see what the storm looked like from here. Let me note that this is a pretty minor situation - the farms in the valley that we rely most heavily on lost *all* of their crops - the whole thing was swept away by the storm. Still, I admit, I broke into the chocolate the first time I saw my garden under the water. You can see my poor flattened corn up there and a few cheerful echinacea flowers that at least for now have survived the flood. The back beds are wetland native herbs and plants - they at least will probably make it. You can see the raging torrent that…
I don't plug a lot of movies, mostly because I don't see a lot of movies - I spend so much more time staring a computer screen than I want to, I don't go to the movies often. But I thought I'd have a little blog film festival over the summer, showing bits or trailers of some of the best movies that both show our problems and offer solutions This one, "Taking Root" from 2008, however, is very much worth seeing: What Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement have accomplished is important the rest of us in a whole host of ways. One of the likely consequences of increasing economic stress…
An assortment of tree-living mammals In The Descent of Man, Darwin talked about the benefits of life among the treetops, citing the "power of quickly climbing trees, so as to escape from enemies". Around 140 years later, these benefits have been confirmed by Milena Shattuck and Scott Williams from the University of Illinois. By looking at 776 species of mammals, they have found that on average, tree-dwellers live longer than their similarly sized land-lubbing counterparts. Animals that spend only part of their time in trees have lifespans that either lie somewhere between the two extremes or…
I love the show Psych. For those who don't know the show, it's about a guy named Shawn Spencer (actor James Roday) whose uncanny powers of observation allow him to convince the Santa Barbara Police Department that he's a psychic. He's adorable, eccentric, and totally awesome in mostly every way. But I found myself yelling at my television (ok, my computer - I watch it on Hulu every week) while watching the most recent episode. I was really, truly pissed. Let me explain. In the show, Shawn and company were tracking down evidence for a murder that was committed five years earlier to prove that…
tags: environment, forest ecology, trees, forestry, carbon sequestration, global warming, climate change, Nature Conservancy, streaming video You know that trees store carbon, but what does that really mean? How much carbon does the tree outside your window store, and how does that compare to the carbon we emit when we travel or power our homes? How many trees are in your yard? I don;t have a yard (I have a fire escape), but my neighborhood is being revitalized by BYC's "Million Trees" project, so roughly by the time that I leave for Germany, the city will be planting trees on the street in…
tags: road, woodland, nature, Helsinki, image of the day Trees. Photographed as I walked to Tarvaspää Café at the Gallen-Kallela Museum near Tarvon Salmi in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 2 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image) Can you name any other large city in the world where you can walk in nature within 20 minutes or so after arriving on a plane?
tags: Trees at sunset, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Puu auringonlaskun aikaan (Trees at sunset). Sunset in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Came down from Vermont (home) to Boston yesterday for a 3-day vaca with the 4 and 7 year-old. Much-anticipated trip, everyone eager to escape the snow and same four walls and indulge some big-city excitement (like science museums). The 7-year-old started a travel diary in a little 1.5x3-inch notebook. His first entry, written in the backseat about a half-hour after departure from our home in northern Vermont: Many trees beside highway. Still not out of Vermont. and later, when there were actually a few breaks in the forest cover: Many wide, grassy plains. Dense forest on right side. and…
tags: festival of the trees, blog carnivals Hey treehuggers, the 19th edition of the Festival of the Trees is now available for you to read. They also included a contribution from me!