Click through the images to see articles from the 2023 edition of  Field Notes.

2023 Edition of Field Notes

 

About Field Notes

No environmental professional succeeds without the force of the written word. Among conservationists and biologists, writing is a tool no less essential than a map or a hand lens or a great idea. In our program, we write site assessments and academic reflections, professional reports and news releases, magazine and journal articles, blog posts and web pages. We write to educate, entertain, motivate, or inspire. Every year we present insights from life and work outdoors in Field Notes — the proceedings of the Field Naturalist Program. In creating the magazine, students learn the essentials of publishing and public communications. Featured in these essays and news items might be intimate encounters with birds in the Maine woods or with orchids in Costa Rica, a report on beavers changing a stream course in Burlington or on smart phones changing how we experience nature. Produced entirely by students, Field Notes includes rich illustrations, vivid photographs, updates on student projects, and other breaking news from our program. It is required reading for alumni, prospective students, and anyone who wants to learn more about the natural world we share. Painting by Claire Dacey '03 (Cohort S3)

 

Editors' Note – Volume 35

We Amanita muscarias like to consider all possible options. We find it hard to land on one answer. So much so that in the final hours before winter break, with the fire crackling and snow falling at Zero Gravity, we had yet to pick our name. It was time to make a decision. As the 39th cohort of the Field Naturalist Program, alphabetically we were known as the AMs. It is tradition for each cohort to select a mascot with the same initials as its Latin name. We had been circling for a while, weighing pros and cons and penciling in more possibilities even as we told ourselves and others that we were narrowing it down. Though the stunning spotted red mushroom won, the rigidity of a single answer didn’t sit right with us. We hated to rule out the equally enticing spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) or spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius), so we named ourselves the Spotties. Like all good naturalists, we seek out circuitous routes. After all, we had spent the fall wandering talus woodlands and beaver wetlands, discovering a joy in asking every stump, dead end, and gall: Is there another question here? Is there a different interpretation?

We’re not particularly interested in a single answer—finding one seems less interesting than finding more questions. Perhaps more than just acquiring knowledge, the role of a naturalist is to seek understanding. And so, we ask: What can come when we put aside our first impressions and look more deeply? We’d like you to explore an abundance of options with us in this edition of Field Notes.

In the following pages, we share questions that continue to poke us—weighing a rare buckwheat against lithium mining, and reflecting on our relationship with invasive species. We guide you through what sunrise means to a plant and several ways we can observe succession. We search for the legendary creatures with whom we share the valley and mountains, and consider communication beyond our own species. We invite you to join us in not always deciding and instead to celebrate the space before or beyond an answer. We feel this is a place where more meaningful questions come from.

Thanks for being here with us.

Catherine Wessel (Cohort AM '24)

Cohort AM on Log

Cohort AM '24 perched in their natural habitat. (L to R: Lee Toomey, Catherine Wessel, Will Durkin, Evan Horne, Michelle Giles, Dave Moroney)

 

Director's Note

Photograph of Walter Poleman.

Walter Poleman

There are events in life...

 

Red Pines of Northern New England

Photograph of Brett Engstrom

A Tribute to Cathy Paris: Our Teacher in the Language of Botany

A Tribute to Dave Barrington: Our Guide to the Complex and Diverse

The Curious Case of Eriogonum tiehmii

Photograph of Will Durkin

Botany Quiz: Boreal Silhouettes

Notes from the Field

Luna moth on rock

Publisher

Evan Horne

Production Editor

Michelle Giles

Content Editors

Catherine Wessel
Dave Moroney
Sonia DeYoung

Design and Layout

Lee Toomey
Kelly Finan

Website Design

Will Durkin

Field Notes Archive

 

Volume 35 — 2023 (Coming soon)

Volume 34 — 2022 (Coming soon)

Volume 33 — 2021

Volume 32 — 2020
PDF icon Volume 31 — 2019
PDF icon Volume 30 — 2018
PDF icon Volume 29 — 2017
PDF icon Volume 28 — 2016
PDF icon Volume 27 — 2015
PDF icon Volume 26 — 2014
PDF icon Volume 25 — 2013
PDF icon Volume 24 — 2012
PDF icon Volume 23 — 2011
PDF icon Volume 22 — 2010
PDF icon Volume 20 — 2009
PDF icon Volume 19 — 2008
PDF icon Volume 18 — 2007
PDF icon Volume 17 — 2006
PDF icon Volume 16 — 2005