The Rivanna Rambler

December 18, 2008

Learning to identify trees is the business of the amateur naturalist — and these days, one that includes learning about and spreading the word about invasive pests that are threatening whole species, such as the Emerald Ash Borer.

Last weekend I took a short walk along the scrubby and thinly buffered banks of the Rivanna near Free Bridge with some fellow Master Naturalists.  We were out to hone our tree identification skills – best done, I’ve found, after the fall of leaves when one is forced to use the most reliable tools of branching, bark, and leaf scar shape to confirm the ID.

Land disturbance and compaction at this site along the river has been pretty much uninterrupted

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 September 25, 2008

 

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This show originally aired in September 25, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net

I recently spent a few days on Cape Cod, that sandy fist off the coast of Massachusetts — prime vacation destination and historic homeport to whalers and fishermen and native Americans even earlier.  On the morning of my departure, I took one last dip in the buoyant salt water of Nantucket Sound

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