Category Archives: OBSERVATION

Annual Meeting on November 19 to Feature Wildlife Observations

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Wheaton Professor Jessie Knowlton, with her students at the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve

You are invited to attend the 35th annual meeting of the Attleboro Land Trust:

Tuesday, November 19
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church
505 North Main Street, Attleboro

The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm with the traditional social gathering with light refreshments, followed at 7:00 pm by the business meeting and keynote address.

We are excited to have Jessie Knowlton, Associate Professor of Biology at Wheaton College, deliver our keynote:  “A Year in the Life of the Lawrence Preserve.”

Professor Knowlton will be discussing the one-year scientific study of our Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve that began this summer and share the observations that her team from Wheaton and our local “citizen scientists” have made to date.  Her presentation will include photos and video from a remotely-triggered wildlife camera, including deer, wood ducks, a coyote, and a bobcat.

This project, which will lead to recommendations for protecting the Lawrence Preserve ecosystem, is supported by a Giving While Living Grant from the Woodard & Curran Foundation.

The annual meeting is open to the public, so please bring a friend.  Only members of the Attleboro Land Trust may vote during the brief business meeting.

If you have donated $25 or more in the past year, you are automatically considered a member.  If you have donated $50 or more in the past year, two adult members of your household are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Members should have received a notice of the meeting by U.S. mail.  If you donate now, your membership will not expire until December 31, 2025.

Learn more about the Lawrence Preserve Study at the Attleboro Public Library on October 7

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Several volunteers look on as biology professor Jessie Knowlton demonstrates how to use the iNaturalist app to record observations at the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve.

The Attleboro Land Trust’s Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve is currently the focus of a one-year scientific study of its ecosystem.  Jessie Knowlton, Associate Professor of Biology at Wheaton College, is leading the study, which began in June.

Professor Knowlton and her team of Wheaton students have already identified many species of plants and animals observed over the summer.  The study will continue through fall, winter, and spring.  You are invited to help as a Volunteer Observer by visiting the Preserve once in each season on your own and reporting what you observe.

To find out more about how the study is being conducted, and how you can help, you are invited to attend a free Orientation Session to be held on Monday, October 7, at 7:00 pm at the Attleboro Public Library, 74 North Main Street, Attleboro.

This project is made possible by a Giving While Living Grant from the Woodard & Curran Foundation.

 

It’s not too late for you, or your child, to play a part in our scientific study

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The Attleboro Land Trust invites you to participate in a one-year scientific study of the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve.  Jessie Knowlton, Associate Professor of Biology at Wheaton College, is leading the study, which began in June.  More information is available on the project page.

Professor Knowlton and her team of Wheaton students have already identified many species of plants and animals observed over the summer.  The study will continue through fall, winter, and spring.  You are invited to help as a Volunteer Observer by visiting the Preserve once in each season on your own and reporting what you observe.  As a citizen scientist, you might spot a rare bird or other animal or plant that no one else has seen.

You may submit observations in the form of photos, videos, drawings, notes, or audio recordings.  If you are tech savvy, you may upload photos using a free cell phone app called iNaturalist. Photos submitted may be viewed at the iNaturalist website.

At the conclusion of the study, a final report will include recommendations for maintaining and protecting the Preserve’s ecosystem, and for engaging the public in stewardship of the property.

If you or your child would like to sign up as a Volunteer Observer, use the online form on this website or email [email protected].  If you are under 18, ask an adult partner to co-sign your application and go with you on your site visits.

This project is made possible by a Giving While Living Grant from the Woodard & Curran Foundation.

 

 

Would you like to be a volunteer observer?

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The Attleboro Land Trust invites you to participate in “A Year in the Life of the Lawrence Preserve”, a one-year scientific study of the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve.  Jessie Knowlton, Associate Professor of Biology at Wheaton College, is leading the study and providing guidance to participants.

Volunteer Observers are asked to visit the Preserve on their own at least once in each of the four seasons and to report what plants and animals they observe.  These reports may include notes, sketches, photographs, and audio or video recordings.  The volunteer reports will be reviewed every three months and combined with the observations of Professor Knowlton and her students.  The data will then be summarized and made available to the public.

The study began in June and will end on June 21, 2025.  A final report will include recommendations for maintaining and protecting the Preserve’s ecosystem, and for engaging the public in stewardship of the property.

There is still time, if you or your child would like to be a Volunteer Observer.  You may sign up by email to [email protected], or by using the online sign-up form on this website.  If you are under 18, you must have an adult partner to accompany you on your site visits and to co-sign your application.

This project is made possible by a Giving While Living Grant from the Woodard & Curran Foundation.

Full Moon Hike

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Join us on Thursday January 25th for a full moon hike at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve. Beginning at 8 pm, ALT board members will lead a moonlit walk through the preserve. Dress warmly, including shoes that are waterproof, and bring a flashlight or headlamp. Walk is a little less than a mile! Short and sweet, but a great opportunity to see the full moon and its beauty!

Meet at parking lot at 577B Wilmarth Street.

Any cancellations due to weather conditions or overcast skies will be posted on our Facebook page.

Dogs not permitted at this event.

Pileated Woodpecker

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This photo was taken at the Vaughan Memorial Forest on April 21, 2023, by ALT board member and devoted birder Bob McKetchnie.

For much more about this amazing bird, check out this YouTube video:

A spot of mid-winter color

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Even in the middle of winter, an observant hiker can be rewarded with a spot of color while walking on one of the Attleboro Land Trust’s nature preserves.  This is British Soldier lichen, Cladonia cristatella, photographed in February, 2007, at the Nickerson Walking Woods Preserve.  The species gets its name because of the red caps that are a reminder of the red coats worn by British soldiers at the time of the American Revolution.

Like many lichen, this lichen is actually a combination of fungus and algae living in a symbiotic relationship.  The fungus provides structure for the algae, while the algae turns sunlight into food which is shared with the fungus.  The red caps contain reproductive spores.