By Sarah Sherwood, SCA Franconia Notch State Park Interpretive Ranger and NH Corps Member June 12, 2019 was arguably the most exciting day of service for the Interpretive Rangers of the SCA New Hampshire Corps. On this sunny Wednesday we departed Bear Brook State Park, our home of five months, and went our separate ways […]
Rhododendron Bloom Report: June 12, 2019
Hey folks,Even though your backyard (improved and hybridized) rhododendron bushes may have already bloomed, the native Rhododendron Maximus at Rhododendron State Park aren’t even close to flowering yet. The flowers here are due to be blooming in two to three weeks with “peak bloom” around the middle of July or a few days later. This […]
Animal of Interest: Eastern Red-Spotted Newt
By Eilís Donohue, SCA Interpretive Ranger for Franconia Notch State Park Prime salamander spotting season has come and gone—but wait, there’s still a chance to catch a glimpse! Among enthusiasts of these lovely and delicate amphibians, the nocturnal spring migration from their hibernation spots to breeding pools is known as the Big Night. Often it […]
Wildflower Watch: Spring Blooms
By: Simone Maule, 2019 SCA Interpretive Ranger Now that the warmer spring weather is here we have had a number of new neighbors pushing their way into the forest understory: wildflowers! Here is a closer look and some more information about a few of the common species you can find growing in Bear Brook State […]
7 Ways to Leave No Trace While Exploring State Parks
By: Thomas Cummings, SCA Interpretative Ranger for Umbagog Lake State Park Exploring New Hampshire’s State Parks is a great way to spend a summer. From lounging on the beach to hiking up mountains, there is bound to be something to do for everyone. With more people going outside and recreating in the parks it is […]
Lichen: Colors and patterns of the forest you might have overlooked.
Written by Matt Pyster, a member of the SCA NH Americorps program – soon to be interpretive ranger at White lake and Ellacoya State Parks. Lichen. These beautiful and oddly simplistic organisms are a focus of attention for me right now. Until recently I didn’t realize just how many types of lichen are in the […]
Spring Sense of Wonder
By Nell Davis, Interpretive Ranger for Monadnock State Park As an SCA-Americorps Interpretive Ranger living at Bear Brook State Park, I have spent the last two and a half weeks running outdoor field trips for 3rd or 4th grade students from local schools. Each school comes to Bear Brook for a day, and we take […]
5 Migratory Birds to Mark the Start of Spring in NH
By: Xandri Clifton, SCA Interpretive Ranger for Greenfield and Monadnock State Parks With the shift into Spring (or mud season as I hear it called here) some of our part-time residents have made their way back into the state. I’ve made a list of some of my favorites to look out for, in your backyard […]
What a Bear Brooker’s Day Looks Like
By: Thomas Cummings, 2019 Student Conservation Association New Hampshire AmeriCorps Member For the past nine weeks, myself and my twenty six of my now closest friends have been teaching in elementary schools in the Manchester and Concord areas. Our lives in this short amount of time have been filled with countless adventurers to schools, designing […]
Conservation-itis
Written by Matt Pyster of the Student Conservation Association. There are countless beauties in nature to experience, such as spiders hanging in their webs, a bobcat relaxing in the sun, or an owl perched in a tree. However, if you talk to many conservationists, you will be able to find at least one thing that […]