Farmscape Ecology Program

a Hawthorne Valley Association Program

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General News

The Little Things That Run the World—A Winter Lecture Series (recordings available)

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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):

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.

Exciting Publication Co-authored by FEP staff in Journal of Ecology

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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 now accepting applications for 2022 Summer Internships/Learnerships

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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.

Woody Plants in Winter–A Self-guided Course

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Are you interested in seeing the winter forest as more than a grey-brown woody maze? This free Winter Botany Workshop is designed to help you become familiar with the identification of woody plants in winter.

The workshop, piloted last year, is offered again in collaboration with the Town of Chatham Recreation Department and PS21 from Jan 15 – March 20. The workshop has a flexible format, allowing for completely self-directed learning, participation in outdoor in-person sessions, or a combination of the two. It uses a holistic approach, considering clues given by the habitat, the shape of the plant, the bark, the buds, its fallen leaves/fruits, its smell, and more… Customized online learning materials (https://hvfarmscape.org/WinterWoodies) are matched with flagged trees and shrubs along the trails at Crellin Park and PS21 in Chatham. This enables participants to work with the materials at their own pace and to learn how to recognize 30 different species of trees and shrubs in the winter. The materials can also be used for family-friendly out-door activities. For example, the maps of flagged trees could serve as the basis for “tree treasure hunts”.

Three outdoor sessions at the same locations will be guided by Conrad and Claudia Vispo (Saturdays, Jan. 29, Feb. 12, and Feb. 26; 1-3pm). These will parallel the three installments of the do-it-yourself course. To reserve your spot for the free outdoor sessions and to learn about the Covid protocol, contact fep@hawthornevalleyfarm.org.

For those who used these materials for self-directed learning last year, we hope this serves as a chance for review; for those undertaking this for the first time, we hope it’s a doorway to a new world!

For more information please reach out to Conrad Vispo at conrad@hawthornevalleyfarm.org.

Our Research on Native Meadows, Insects, and Crops at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub

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Our long-term applied farmscape ecology research at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub is entering its 5th year and there are several ways how you can learn more about it. A 25 minute documentary “Farmscape Ecology” by Jon Bowermaster/Oceans8 gives a beautiful introduction to some of the questions that guide our research, to the physical setting, and some of our colleagues at the Applied Farmscape Ecology Research Collaborative.

Conrad created an easy-to-read, well-illustrated description of our experimental research and first results.

More details about the native meadow establishment, maintenance, and plant community development can be found in the Native Meadow Trial Botany Report (and its appendices 1-15 and 16).

Finally, you can watch the recordings of two presentations given at two virtual FEP Open Houses in the spring of 2021, “Native Meadow Trial at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub–The botanical perspective of the first four seasons: 2017-2020” by Claudia Knab-Vispo (April 1, 2021) and “If you build it, do they come? The bugs’ perspective” by Conrad Vispo, Dylan Cipkowski, and Kendrick Fowler (May 6, 2021).

We hope you find this work interesting, inspiring, and thought-provoking! We are happy to field any questions or to hear your comments. Write to us at fep@hawthornevalleyfarm.org.