Recently in Volunteer Opportunities Category
If so, then you could help with Project Swallow CORE
Swallows are back and will be building nests soon. NH Audubon needs volunteers like you to help with swallow observations over this summer season. Volunteers for Project Swallow CORE help monitor nesting colonies of Purple Martins and Bank, Cliff and Barn Swallows – four species that have declined in the state. You can visit a nesting site just once or monitor a colony all summer long. The most important thing is to record your information using the special forms we provide. The 2012 volunteer packet with instructions and forms is on the project web site. You can also receive a packet by email by contacting us at SwallowCORE@nhaudubon.org, or call Becky Suomala (603-224-9909 x309) with your mailing address and we will send you a packet by mail.
Statewide Survey of NH Dragonflies Completed
NH Fish and Game reports that between 2007 and 2011, a small army of net-wielding naturalists was unobtrusively scouring the wetlands of New Hampshire for dragons - or more specifically dragonflies an
d damselflies. And they found them - lots of them. Over those five years, roughly 100 volunteers collected more than 18,000 records of dragonflies and damselflies, representing 157 of the 162 species known to occur in the state. They surveyed sites from the southern border along the Connecticut River to Fourth Connecticut Lake (only a couple of hundred feet from Canada), and at elevations from sea level along the coast to the top of Mount Washington. Read more
Wednesday, June 20, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Concord Conservation Center, 54 Portsmouth St., Concord
Back for 2012 by popular demand, this fun, interactive workshop for natural resource volunteers will cover the basics of planning and delivering a field trip. Emphasis will be on leading walks on local conservation parcels, but lando
wners interested in leading walks on their own land are also encouraged to attend.
Participants in this (free) training should be willing to commit to leading at least one outdoor event in the subsequent 6 months. You can do it! It's easy, it's fun, and we promise you'll feel prepared after this workshop!
Who should attend? Any new or existing natural resource volunteers, including Coverts Cooperators, Forest Society Land Stewards, Audubon Society Sanctuaries volunteers, trails groups, Natural Resource Stewards, Conservation Commissioners, Local land trust volunteers, and other community volunteers.
Sponsors and Instructors: UNH Cooperative Extension NH Coverts Project: Malin Clyde & Emma Carcagno, and Society for the Protection of NH Forests: Carrie Deegan & Dave Anderson
Register Today! To register, e-mail Forest Society registrar Tina Ripley at: signup@forestsociety.org or call 224-9945 ext. 313. Workshop is free, but space is limited, so sign up today (last year this filled quickly).
Volunteer Opportunity - Ecological Restoration Project
SATURDAY May 19th 8:30AM till 4PM
Route 140, 2.7 miles west of Main St in Belmont, NH
Rain or Shine!
The Belmont Conservation Commission contracted the Student Conservation Association (SCA) to eradicate the non-native, invasive Glossy Buckthorn plant from on the Tioga River Wildlife & Conservation Area. The SCA’s Six-Person Team will return this month to work a 10-day hitch, helping control the Buckthorn. This Conservation Parcel has the highest rated Wildlife Habitat in Belmont. For more info download flyer here or contact: Dale Squires, Belknap Landscape Co. at (603) 455-1594 or dale@belknaplandscape.com
If you would like to make a difference by helping to protect the ecological integrity of this property, please join us to eradicate this invasive plant!
Volunteers Needed to Plant Shrubs in Late April and Early May - Sign Up Today!
Do you want to help conserve one of NH’s endangered species plus a whole host of other wildlife? Interested in promoting native plants? Need a reason to get outside? Help plant native shrubs on the Fish & Game owned Bellamy WMA in Dover to restore habitat for the New England cottontail rabbit, American woodcock, chestnut-sided warblers, eastern towhees, and many more!
Last week we were able to plant 10,000-11,000 dogwoods and bayberry from the State Forest Nursery planted with a planter pulled behind a tractor. The remaining arrowwood and Virginia rose plants are just too small to work in the planter and will need to be planted by hand over the next few weeks. 
We can do it, with your help! If you are interested...
Contact Jim Oehler, State Lands Habitat Biologist at james.oehler@wildlife.nh.gov. Please put “Bellamy WMA” in the subject line. Spots are available at the end of April and the first two weeks in May. You should expect to get your hands dirty. Please come prepared to work hard with appropriate clothing and boots that will hold up well in mud and dirt, work gloves, water, and lunch! Snacks will be provided.
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n a few years the plantings will grow into excellent wildlife habitat that will provide food and cover for many species and provide a picturesque backdrop for visitors to the WMA.
For more information visit:
Photos courtesy of the NH State Forest Nursery.
A great big thank you to Coverts volunteers Jan Woodbury, Beth Penney, Mason Donovan and Kristina Burgard for helping staff the Extension Forestry & Wildlife booth at Discover Wild NH Day in Concord this past weekend (Sat. April 21). Here's part of what Jan reported (I LOVE the volunteer initiative of improvision with the buzzer board!)
"We were mobbed today. Beautiful weather and an amazing crowd! Unfortunately the buzzer board died within the first hour...so I just acted like the buzzer and told the afternoon people to buzz or tell people when they had the correct answer."
Then there was the reports about the din of wild turkey calls among other booths, but we'll chalk that up to putting the "wild" in the event. Ha!
Thanks to all four of you for a job well done. I promise to get the buzzer board fixed up for the next event!
- Malin
Coverts Cooperator Celeste Barr sent in the following about a upcoming program at the Beaver Brook Association in Hollis - it looks great!
Work of 1000 Program
May 2, 2012 6:30-8 pm
Hollis Brookline High School Auditorium.
Free. Donations accepted. Reception to follow.
One person can make a difference. "The Work of 1000" tells the story of Marion Stoddart, who mobilized clean-up of one of America's most polluted rivers – for herself, for her community, and for future generations – and, in doing so, became a citizen leader honored by the United Nations. This program, a 30-minute film complemented by a personal talk with Marion herself, provides a gripping profile of an ordinary citizen who realized her power to make a difference. Civic, educational, and professional organizations are using this program to build leadership skills and give people confidence that they can make a difference in crucial social issues. Co-Sponsored by Beaver Brook Association, Hollis Social Library and HBHS Green Club.
Beaver Brook Association, the Hollis Social Library, and the HBHS Green Group are partnering to bring a special program to Hollis, the “Work of 1000” tour. This program features Marion Stoddart, the woman who cleaned the Nashua River. She has been honored by the United Nations and National Geographic for her work turning the Nashua River from one of the 10 most polluted rivers in America, into a clean, healthy environment for wildlife and people.
Marion has been traveling across the United States sharing her story and highlighting the importance of protecting our water resources. She also is inspiring people to know they can and do make a difference. We are so lucky to have Marion right here (in Groton Ma) and her work has directly benefited each and every one of us who live in Hollis since the Nashua River runs through our town.
The website for Marion’s program is workof1000.org if you would like more detail.
For more information contact the Hollis Social Library 603-465-7721 or Beaver Brook Association 603-465-7787.
Watch New Presentation on YouTube: "A Garden for Wildlife: Natural Landscaping for a Better Backyard"
The Speaking for Wildlife program has finalized our latest presentation on landscaping for wildlife. Volunteers Dave & Kathi Govatski, Marcy Stanton, and Donna Miller have already given the talk, but many other volunteers are waiting in the wings to bring it to a community group near you.
Watch Video of "A Garden for Wildlife" here (YouTube)
To request a presentation or learn more about Speaking for Wildlife, visit the SFW website
Lots and lots of events sponsored by Bear-Paw Regional Greenways, including the aforementioned Aldo Leopold Day. More information about all events is on their webpage here.
- Spring Migration Bird Walk May 19 • 7am-9, Carlson Conservation Easement, Epsom
- Biothon, June 9, Candia and Nottingham (dawn - noon) - On Saturday, June 9th, from dawn to noon, two teams of Bear-Paw naturalist volunteers and Board members will take to the woods and wetlands of two of Bear-Paw’s newest properties, the 106-acre Fordway Brook Headwaters Preserve in Candia and the 52-acre North River Preserve in Nottingham. This annual treasure hunt to identify and catalogue as many plant and animal species as possible on a particular property helps us discover and promote the biodiversity of the lands Bear-Paw works to protect and raise money to support our Land Protection program.
- Field Identification of Reptiles and Amphibians, June 23 • 9am-1pm, North River, Nottingham
- What’s that Dragonfly? August 4 • 9am-12, Kimball Family Forest Preserve, Nottingham (led by Coverts Cooperator and awesome naturalist Scott Young!)
- Casting on the Suncook (and we don’t mean fishing!), September 8 • 2:30pm-5, Suncook River, Epsom
For information about Bear-Paw events, how to become a member, land protection options for landowners or volunteering with the land trust, please contact Daniel Kern at Bear-Paw Regional Greenways, Post Office Box 19, Deerfield, NH 03037, 603 463-9400, or info@bear-paw.org. You can also visit their website at www.bear-paw.org.
The NH Reptile and Amphibian Reporting Program (RAARP) has just published the 2011 sightings report, available now on their website here Biologist Michael Marchand asks of interested volunteers across the state, "Keep those sightings reports coming in 2012!"
