Trends in Flower Times Can Be Indicators of Change
Flowers you know * Flowers you love * Flowers you can track!
Have you ever noticed flowers on the trail when you are on a hike or bike ride? If so then you are qualified to help our scientists with a very important task – finding flowers then reporting when and where you saw them. Not just for botanists and White Mountain hikers, AMC’s Flower Watch program is looking for reports from AMC’s entire region from DC to Maine. Choose your favorite naturally wooded area, download one of our free flower checklists, and go in search of our targeted flowering plants.
Coming up this Saturday, 9/24, join in on many conservation-related events. It's National Public Lands Day, the U.S.'s biggest volunteer day for public lands. There are many activities going on in the Pioneer Valley and nearby, including removing trail debris in Hubbardston, monitoring water quality in Thomaston, CT, renovating trails in Charlton, and installing a bog bridge in Sturbridge. Just go to the website, www.publiclandsday.org, and put in your zip code to find out what's going on near you.
Are you a Massachusetts resident who wants to help fund your favorite park, river, or trail? All you have to do is take part in this survey for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The National Park Service requires every state to complete a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) every five years to be eligible to receive Land and Water Conservation Fund grants. The distribution of these grants is dependent on the feedback received through the survey.
This June, AMC’s volunteers invite you to get into conservation by doing some trail work, helping with a clean up, or finally learning the name of that beautiful white flower you see every year. See below for a link to the list of opportunities for training, education, and recreation throughout AMC’s region.
For a list and to register for these events go to http://www.outdoors.org/conservation/green-june.cfm and get in touch with the leaders. With your help we will have a very Green June.
Patricia Lukas, who chairs the AMC/Berkshire Conservation Committee, wants people to know idle cars can make for busy police officers.
If you’re interested in becoming “carbon-neutral” by purchasing carbon offset credits to compensate for the carbon dioxide you spew, or cause to be spewed, into the atmosphere, head on over to our “Be Carbon-Neutral” page to find out how. It’s surprisingly affordable, and your money goes to the building of clean alternative energy projects.
Concerned about global climate change? Want to avoid contributing to the problem with your lavish (by world standards) American lifestyle? Be carbon-neutral! Here’s how:
Leave No Trace™ (LNT) is a philosophy of backcountry recreation that stresses leaving the wilderness as untouched as possible by your visit. It’s also a program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts understand and minimize their recreational impacts on the land.
In an effort to increase its air quality database and educate its members about air quality concerns, AMC launched its Visibility Volunteer (VizVol) program in 2003. The program, part of AMC’s “citizen scientist” Mountain Watch program, is designed to collect ozone and haze data from the peaks that AMC members frequent. Participants record ozone levels using a simple, credit card-sized device, and document visibility using a digital camera. AMC researchers will combine these measurements with weather data to track air quality trends in the Appalachian region.
Good air quality is vital for outdoor enthusiasts, who are vulnerable to elevated ozone levels and to airborne particles that cause haze.