While working in your yard this summer, you might want to identify the plants and determine if they are native or non-native species. Many non-native invasive plants are outcompeting our native plants with disastrous consequences for our native birds. Non-native honeysuckles are particularly problematic. National Wildlife Federation encourages us to remove them. Fruit eating birds…
If you are trying to tread lightly on the earth, and reduce your carbon footprint, one of the most effective steps you can take is to eliminate palm oil from your life. Palm oil is cheap to produce and is shelf-stable, so is the oil of choice for many companies. But, palm oil production has…
To eat a healthy diet, you need to eat organic. That is the message from the Cornucopia Institute (www://cornucopia.org). But the consumer needs to be careful, because not everything labeled “organic” is truly healthy or humane. The Cornucopia Institute is a non-profit, based in Wisconsin, which does research and investigation into agricultural and food issues….
Farmland is disappearing in Massachusetts. We are losing agricultural lands and farming opportunities at an alarming rate. To try to stem the tide of farmland loss, the Mass Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) established the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program in 1979. It was a first-in-the-nation model for many other states. The MDAR website states,…
WORCESTER, Mass., Jan. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — The Westford Conservation Trust has been selected as the first beneficiary of the new Coghlin Companies Caring Corporate Citizen (“5C”) program. The program was formally launched in 2016 to further demonstrate Coghlin Companies’ commitment toward encouraging volunteerism and providing financial support to community service and philanthropic organizations that are important to its loyal team…
Happy New Year! At this time of year I like to review the reports to Westford Wildlife Watch from the past year. In 2016, fifty-three residents and one elementary school from all over town sent in flora and fauna reports, some monthly, and others only once or twice. Altogether, there were 2123 different reports. That’s…
At this season, our native trees are on full display. We notice some are still lovely in their fall foliage, especially the oaks which tend to hold on to their leaves long into winter. Other deciduous trees are now bare and displaying beautiful branching patterns we may not notice when they are covered in leaves….
As fall and winter approach, birders are thinking about keeping our birds fed in the cold weather. Many bird lovers in Westford note down the different species and numbers we see, and many of you report your findings to Westford Wildlife Watch, so that we can all read and enjoy them. An additional way to…
Westford flora & flauna images from 2016.
Marian’s Wildlife Watch Blog Farmland is disappearing in Massachusetts. In response to open space loss, about ten years ago, the Mass Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, developed a continually updated document titled the Smart Growth Tool Kit. The Tool Kit website states, “We are losing agricultural lands and farming opportunities at an alarming…
Farmland is disappearing in Massachusetts. In response to open space loss, about ten years ago, the Mass Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, developed a continually updated document titled the Smart Growth Tool Kit. The Tool Kit website states, “We are losing agricultural lands and farming opportunities at an alarming rate….over 16,000 acres of…
Marian’s Wildlife Watch Blog Probably you are discouraged by the severe drought we are having in the northeast. It’s hard on our yards and gardens, and especia lly hard on wildlife, which need extra water put out at our bird feeders to survive. But there is one very big upside of the drought from my…
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