How many kinds of bees can you name: honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees perhaps? Most people are familiar with our non-native honey bees and their role in pollinating commercial crops, but few are aware of the great diversity of native bees that we have in our region and the roles that they play in […]

Native bees and predatory wasps share the same lineage and also share many behaviors and habitat requirements. Predatory wasps feed their offspring invertebrates (insects and spiders) and bees diverged from this carnivorous diet to feed their offspring plant-based food (pollen and nectar). Flower-rich landscapes provide critical habitat for both adult bees and wasps because they […]

Once only thought of as annoyances, moths are now being appreciated for their beauty, diversity, ecological role, pollination duties, and economic value.  With more than 10x the number of species as their butterfly cousins, these nocturnal fliers show at least as much variation in color, life history strategies, and importance.  This talk will explore myths, […]

The Monarch Butterfly has been a common site during late summer in New Hampshire. But some years you see them, and some years you don’t.  We’ll discuss what’s behind their fluctuating population and how we can help improve their numbers. Donna has been assisting Monarch Watch, tagging and releasing monarchs each fall. She’ll share slides […]

Dr. Gegear will update participants on the decline of wild pollinators and the importance of collecting critical ecological information that is needed to develop effective conservation and restoration strategies for threatened pollinator species. The Beecology project was developed to recruit citizen scientists from across the region to digitally collect and submit ecological data on native […]

**This program has been cancelled.** Join us during Pollinator Week to learn more about the mysterious and diverse world of moths! They’re our (mostly) nocturnal neighbors that remain largely unseen but play a very important role in our gardens, while supporting populations of native bird and bat species across the Northeast. Moth diversity has long […]

Poetry offers a medium for expressing mindful connections with nature, while experiencing the mental health benefits nature provides. Dr. Maria Sanders, a philosopher, poet, and researcher of eudaimonia, the Greek concept for living full and flourishing lives; will facilitate a discussion on the effect nature has on emotions, mood, and sense of well-being. Utilizing poetry […]

September 7, 7pm - this program is being postponed until a later date, tbd Jamie Hannon Professor of Adventure Education, Plymouth State University Children aged 6-17 spend most of their weekday waking hours in school. For most students in NH this time is spent primarily indoors or in constructed outdoor environments. As children everywhere experience […]

Like many of us who experience biophilia, when it comes to our most existential lifeline—the natural world—I exist in a personal and anthropogenic dissonance of celebration and mourning, vision and blindness. I want to explore these tensions, and the questions they raise about reciprocity, through the topic of beauty. Why do we find other life […]