VT Intro to Physical Geography

08/30/2024

Crowd control and protective fencing is being installed around the Old Growth Forest. There are plans for reforestation around the edges of the woods. Stay tuned for progress photos.

08/30/2024

A new analysis has revealed the most effective climate policies out of 1500 implemented worldwide over the last two decades.

Learn more in Science: https://scim.ag/8ar

06/18/2024

Indeed!

Take a picture, it’ll last longer!

While you’re in a park, take great pictures and protect the things you come to enjoy, as well as yourself and other photographers, by following these simple rules:

📸 Oh, snap! Zoom with your lens, not your feet.

📸 Stay on designated trails and walkways.

📸 Park in roadside pullouts to snap a pic.

📸 Felt cute, might be in pain later. Selfie goals should not include 2500 pound wild animals.

Learn more photography tips at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/photography

Image: A trail sign that reads, “Take nothing but pictures…leave nothing but footprints” at Tuzigoot National Monument, AZ.

06/18/2024

Woohoo VT Storm Chase underway!

06/18/2024

Helpful terminology

I made this graphic for y'all cause there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding around these terms.

Native plants originated and evolved where they're growing.

Non-native or exotic plants originated and evolved somewhere other than where they're growing. Sometimes "exotic" is used specifically for a species from a different continent, other times it's used interchangeably with "non-native."

Not all non-native plants are invasive or harmful, but all invasive plants are non-native. However, non-native plants don't support wildlife the way natives do, and non-natives that aren't invasive generally require more maintenance than native plants.

Naturalized species are those that were introduced to the region by humans (non-native) and has populations that are self-sustaining without the help of humans after initial introduction. This can include invasive species, but it can also include species that don't cause any harm. There are naturalized species in the US that are protected as if they were native.

Invasive plants are NON-NATIVE ~and~ harmful to native ecosystems, the health of animals, humans, and other plants, etc. They often overtake large areas like forests, roadsides, farmland, etc. and outcompete native plants and destroy biodiversity. Native plants cannot be invasive.

Noxious weeds are regulated by governing bodies, usually in agriculture, and refer to plants that are "injurious" to other beings. Noxious weeds can include native plants, for example, if a plant is native to the region it's growing but it's poisonous if eaten by livestock, it may be classified as noxious.

06/18/2024

Read about the importance of nurse logs...

05/06/2024

Animation highlights the wildlife benefits of native trees.

05/06/2024

03/20/2022

A place close to many of our hearts at VT

10/04/2021

https://youtu.be/oI8dL5gXwys

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible for spreading serious diseases like dengue virus, Zika virus, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Historically, scientis...

09/10/2021

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/clouds-wildfire-smoke-rain-climate

As wildfires become more frequent in the western United States, these low-rain clouds could exacerbate drought, fueling more fires.

06/16/2021

"Lake heatwaves – when surface water temperatures rise above their average for longer than five days – are a relatively new phenomenon."

The lives of one in ten of Earth's species are connected to lakes and their tributaries.