Education

11 01, 2016

This Week in the Woods: Winter Tracks

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00January 11th, 2016|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

Have you ever walked outside in the morning to find that someone, or something, has been quite busy while you were asleep? Here are some hints to help you narrow down your suspects. There are four main ways that animals move: Walk/Trotters (cat family, dog family, and hoofed animals) move on their toes, front foot on one side, followed by hind foot on the other side. Typically you will only see the hind tracks as they place them on top of the front tracks. Waddlers (Bears, Beavers, Porcupines, Raccoons, Opossums, Muskrats, [Read More...]

11 01, 2016

This Week in the Woods: Freezing Frogs

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00January 11th, 2016|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

There are five species of frogs that are able to enter a “frozen state” as they hibernate for the winter: the Wood Frog, Cope’s Gray Tree Frog, the Eastern Gray Tree Frog, Spring Peepers, and the Western Chorus Frog. Even in their protected winter homes, temperatures are sure to drop below freezing. This causes the water in their outer cells to begin to freeze. Once this begins, their liver starts producing glucose, which the heart pumps through the blood to all vital organs. This glucose helps prevent the tissue from drying [Read More...]

17 12, 2015

Winter Programs & Conditions

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00December 17th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

Trail System Snow Conditions Groomed Open Trails / Total Trails Last Updated NorthWoods Center High Moisture Powder over Ice Yes  6 km / 18 km 4-March-16 Willoughby State Forest High Moisture Packed Powder Yes  12 km / 14 km 4-March-16 Q Burke Resort Please See Q Burke Site -  - - Click here for maps of our Nordic trails at NorthWoods, Willoughby, and Q Burke. NorthWoods will be posting up-to-date trail conditions on this page throughout the season. For a more detailed update on trail conditions and programs, please refer to our weekly [Read More...]

7 12, 2015

This Week in the Woods: Balsam Firs are Busy

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00December 7th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

The Balsam Firs are busy! Not only do they serve as one of the most popular choices for Christmas trees, they are also highly medicinal. This tree has been used throughout history by many Native Americans, such as the Iroquois, Algonquin, Abenaki, Penobscot, and others. The resin can be used on cuts and burns, as well as turned into a chest ointment for colds and congestion. A tea can be made from the needles to sooth coughs and colds. Once made into an essential oil, it can be used to calm [Read More...]

30 11, 2015

This Week in the Woods: Dog, Coyote or… Cougar?

2016-12-13T19:11:54-05:00November 30th, 2015|Education, Highlights, News, This Week in the Woods|

Fresh snow yields fresh tracks! But how can you tell if you are tracking a coyote, your neighbor’s dog, or the return of the cougar? Here are some helpful hints: Cats, including cougars, have retractable claws, therefore you will not typically see them in their prints. Cat prints are also wider than they are long. Dogs and Coyotes are a little tougher to distinguish. In general, a coyote’s toes are positioned closer together, whereas a dog’s toes splay out more. However, sometimes in soft conditions, such as mud or snow, a [Read More...]

28 10, 2015

Giving Tuesday & Jay Peak Donor Challenge

2016-12-13T19:11:55-05:00October 28th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

  Tomorrow is national Giving Tuesday. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, our good friends, for your past support of NorthWoods’ programs and let you know just how much community giving means to us. We couldn't do it without you! Last December, our Fall fund drive raised $21,000 toward the cost of offering conservation and outdoor programs. This year, our goal is to raise $20,000 by the end of the year. To help NorthWoods continue to provide quality educational and conservation programming in Northern New England, we are asking friends [Read More...]

26 10, 2015

Native Trees & Shrubs Planted to Help Local Rivers and Wildlife

2016-12-13T19:11:55-05:00October 26th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

NorthWoods and Beck Pond LLC staff plant trees and shrubs along the shores of the Connecticut river. Photo by the CT River Watershed Council, Inc. The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) and project partners recently finished planting nearly 400 native trees and shrubs along more than 900 feet of riverbank in Orford, New Hampshire as well as in Bradford and Groton, Vermont. The riverside plantings on the Wells, Waits and Connecticut rivers will help reduce erosion, improve water quality by filtering out pollutants, and increase habitat for fish and [Read More...]

9 09, 2015

$375,000 grant will expand AmeriCorps service in the NEK

2016-12-13T19:11:55-05:00September 9th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

AmeriCorps crew members building tent platforms this summer. Heard the latest from Vermont Business Magazine?   Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Friday announced a $375,000 federal grant to the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State College to improve access to education for Vermont students.  The grant helps to leverage more than $1 million to expand AmeriCorps service and to advance educational opportunities to first-generation, low-income students across the Green Mountain State. Leahy, the senior-most member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped to establish the Patrick [Read More...]

20 08, 2015

126 Campers, 9 Camps, 2 months…

2015-08-20T14:52:06-04:00August 20th, 2015|Education, Highlights, News|

This summer at NorthWoods went by in a flash! We reached a new record of 126 campers enrolled in 9 different camps, from ages 4-15, up from 112 total enrolled in 2014. This year our camps included Advanced Survival, Junior Survival, Nature Day, Wild Science Discovery, Earth Sisters, two NFCT camps and two Mountain Bike Camps at Burke Mountain. At Wild Science Discovery Camp, students learned about making predictions based on the scientific method, then tested their hypotheses among professional biologists, right on the NorthWoods campus. Our Northern Forest Canoe Trail Summer Camp allowed 16 young paddlers to hone [Read More...]

17 08, 2015

VCF Announces 29 Grants in Communities Across State

2016-12-13T19:11:55-05:00August 17th, 2015|Conservation Corps, Education, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News|

NorthWoods was proud to be a recipient of a Vermont Community Foundation grant this spring. Check out the other great work that is being done throughout the state through VCF funding: The Vermont Community Foundation, in partnership with some of its fundholders, awarded a total of $57,435 in Small and Inspiring grants to 29 organizations for local projects in communities across the state this spring. One of a number of competitive grant rounds at the Community Foundation, the Small and Inspiring grants program funds work that helps connect people to their [Read More...]

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