FEP STAFF

We invite you to check out the digital version of the Map and Descriptions of 57 Columbia County Public Natural Areas.

The map (which will be included in our upcoming Field Guide) and descriptions (only available online!) build and expand on Columbia County Outdoors: A Guide to Recreational Areas in Columbia County, NY by Sheldon Evans, published in 2012 (currently out of print) and other resources provided by the Columbia Land Conservancy. It includes a lot of new information we have compiled and will periodically be updated online.

We hope the map and descriptions of public natural areas will serve as a stand-alone resource for anybody looking for a suitable place to be in nature in our county. These resources will also serve as a companion to the Field Guide for anybody looking to experience different habitats “in-person.”

If you would like to receive our end-of-year mailing, which includes the annual appeal, a printout of the map, a discounted preorder form for the Field Guide and a Field Guide sticker, which can be used as a placeholder, should you want to gift the book in advance of its release, please send Josie your mailing address.

If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation to the Farmscape Ecology Program, in support of our research, free online resources, and public programming, you can do so online or by sending a check to: FEP, 1075 Harlemville Road, Ghent NY 12075.

There is a lot going on at the Farmscape Ecology Program this summer, and we hope you can join us for one or more of our summer events.

On July 15^th, we welcome visitors to the Creekhouse for a free, all-day Butterfly and Garden Open House featuring brief tours of the locally-stocked Butterfly House and Native Plant Garden, a butterfly-themed StoryWalk for children, and two in-depth workshops: Gardening with Native Plants (10am-Noon) and Exploring Columbia County Butterflies (1pm-3pm). Click here for more details and how to register for the workshops.

Meanwhile, the StoryWalk from our last Open House, The Bug Girl, will stay up at the Creekhouse through July 10^th. Park at the Creekhouse (1075 Harlemville Road, Ghent) and begin the StoryWalk at the kiosk.

Interested in mushrooms? Botany technician Josie Laing will be leading our first ever Mushroom Walk on July 19^th in Harlemville (though adjustments may be needed if the conditions then are not suitable for mushrooms). Click here for more details and how to register for the walk.

Farmscape Ecology Program biologists will lead a Meadow Walk on July 30^th on 80 acres of private land in Gallatin will explore native plants and pollinators, featuring a three-acre field that forms part of Partners for Climate Action’s at-risk pollinator habitat restoration program, Pollinate Now! This walk is being hosted by the Partners for Climate Action and you can click here for more details on the walk and how to register.

A World of Wonder Open House on Saturday, August 26^th will celebrate 20 years of the Farmscape Ecology Program with a variety of “Wonder Stations” highlighting new ways to experience and appreciate the wonders of the natural world through different senses and perspectives. We’ll also have tours of our locally-stocked Butterfly House and Native Plant Garden, and a new butterfly-themed StoryWalk for children.

New events are likely to be added throughout the summer, so if you would like to ensure you have all the latest Farmscape Ecology Program news and events, please sign up for our email list; news and event emails are sent before the beginning of each month.

Hawthorne Valley’s Executive Director, Martin Ping, sits down with Conrad Vispo and Claudia Knab-Vispo to talk about the Farmscape Ecology Program on Season 2, Episode 4 of Hawthorne Valley’s “Roots to Renewal” podcast.

The “Roots to Renewal” Podcast started in 2021 as part of the celebration of Hawthorne Valley’s 50th anniversary. In each episode, podcast host Martin Ping sits down with people advancing the ecological, social, and spiritual work at the heart of Hawthorne Valley’s mission. Guests have included such internationally renowned thinkers and practitioners as Bill McKibben and Frances Moore Lappe, alongside those doing this work locally or at Hawthorne Valley.

In this episode, Conrad and Claudia share the background story of how they came to start the Farmscape Ecology Program, where the term “farmscape” came from, and some of the surprises, highlights, reflections, and accomplishments along the way. As the Farmscape Ecology Program celebrates its own anniversary of 20 years, this episode is a wonderful opportunity to hear directly from its founders.

This autumn/winter, we will be offering a four-part lecture series “The Little Things That Run the World“. These in person lectures will focus on four fascinating insect groups and their role in regional biodiversity and agriculture. The richly illustrated presentations will explore the amazing worlds of bees, ground beetles, ants, and wasps. What do these insects look like? How many species do we know of? What have we learned about what they are doing? And how can we help them to continue thriving in our landscape?

This free lecture series will be presented on four Thursdays, 7pm in the Hawthorne Valley Learning Center (327 CoRoute 21C, Ghent NY; the white building attached to the red barn):

• The Wonderful World of Bees by Timothy Wayman (Nov. 10); watch the recording online
• What the Ground Beetles See: Thinking about Farmland as a Patch in the Farmscape Quilt by Conrad Vispo (Dec. 1); watch the recording online
• From Amazon Warriors to Weed Seed Eaters – Ant Diversity in Columbia County and Their Role in the Farmscape by Kyle Bradford (Jan. 19); watch the recording online
• Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The Incredible Diversity of Wasps by Kendrick Fowler (Feb. 9); watch the recording online 

Please note that for extra safety of attendees and presenters, these will be masked events; masks will be available at the event for anyone who may not have one.

If you would like to attend any of these events online, please register with Josie and she will send you a Zoom link the day before each event.

Last week, a paper was published in the Journal of Ecology co-authored by FEP staff documenting the advancement of spring in plants.

Around 7 years ago, Conrad discovered a unique treasure trove of 19th century records from around New York State documenting the timing of the seasonal life cycle events (phenology) of many different plants and animals. When were apple trees in flower? Or the lilacs in leafing out? All of the observations were carefully documented as part of an early meteorological network that initially was comprised of the academies (19th century high school equivalents) before expanding more widely. The network collected data from 1826-1871.

We digitized and standardized the resulting data set (available through a searchable browser here) and partnered with Kerissa Battle of Community Greenways Collaborative and the New York Phenology Project to explore how this historical data set might be paired with recent records – from a current phenology network of citizen scientists- to inform our understanding of the effects of climate change on seasonal plant cycles.

This analysis, spearheaded by Kerissa, and a great team of co-authors, has been published as a paper in the Journal of Ecology: it is freely accessible here. If you want a short teaser, below is the title and brief abstract sharing what we found:

Citizen science across two centuries reveals phenological change among plant species and functional groups in the Northeastern US

Citizen observations across two centuries reveal a dramatic, climate-driven shift to earlier leaf out and flowering, which varies across settings, species, and functional groups. Plants in urban areas, insect-pollinated trees, and early-season species show the greatest rate of advancement overall. This unprecedented comparison of historical-modern network observations illustrates how long-term monitoring and citizen science efforts are invaluable for ecological forecasting and discovery.

We are inviting two or three learners or student interns (one working primarily with plants and one or two primarily with insects) to join us for the 2022 summer months.

Learnerships and internships form a cornerstone of our educational outreach at the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program. Through our learnerships and internships, we hope to provide participants with experiences, knowledge, and skills that will enrich their lives and help them to explore potential career paths. Learners and interns are involved directly in our ongoing projects and our public outreach. We train them in research methods and encourage them to explore our region’s landscape through various lenses which, depending on the exact position, could include agroecology, botany, wildlife ecology, entomology, and/or anthropology. We are especially interested in mentoring people whose interests align closely with the themes of our research, but who have not previously had opportunities to pursue those interests in a professional setting. We also believe that diverse voices enrich our profession and can help our program to maximize the impact of our work. To that end, we welcome and encourage applications from people who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color, who identify as LGBTQIA+, who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, or who belong to other historically marginalized communities.

Please see the links below for details and application process. If you have any questions, please contact us by email (or phone, 518 938 1109). Unfortunately, we are only able to consider applicants who are US citizens or permanent residents, or who otherwise have US working papers.

ENTOMOLOGY position description (.pdf file) for the Summer of 2022.

BOTANY position description (.pdf file) for the Summer of 2022.