What's Your Nature?
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Just Our Nature - news, updates and insights
Groundhog Day, Again?
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureAgain?
I watched the 1993 film Groundhog Day featuring Bill Murray at least a dozen times. Or maybe it just felt that way. Just as February 2 was on a nonstop loop in the film, this year’s iteration of Groundhog Day is likely to feel roughly the same as all the previous ones. I think it’s a good metaphor for this time of year, as we stumble out each morning in the semi-dark to defrost the car,…
Food Webs and Tapestries - Connecting the Dots
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureBack in primary school in the ‘70s, we learned about nature’s “food chain.” In this linear model, which I assume was devised by surveyors who normally lay out rail lines and utility corridors, a tiny creature, let’s say a minnow, gets eaten by a bigger fish, and so on until the biggest fish of all eventually dies and its rotting carcass is maybe nibbled on by vengeful small fish.
After a while,…
Time For Torpor!
By Liz Anderson on
Blog: Just Our NatureIt’s well known that bears go into hibernation for the winter, eating lots of food during the fall, sleeping in their dens through the winter, then reemerging hungry in the spring. However, the process is actually not that simple. Bears don’t even actually hibernate! Instead, they enter a state called torpor.
Torpor is a general term for a state of inactivity during which animals enter a deeper…
Give the Gift of Being Green this Holiday Season
By McKenna Allardi on
Blog: Just Our NatureThe holiday season is a time to give thanks, rejoice with the company of family, and share gifts with friends. While we create memories to last a lifetime with loved ones, we also create waste that can last just as long in landfills. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American households increase the total waste they produce in a year from 4 million tons to 5 million…
Super Modeling
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureWeather modeling has become quite a big deal in recent decades, with meteorologists falling all over themselves to report what the latest models say. It sounds like a fun job, and I’m trying to find out how to apply to become a weather modeler. If it involves appearing in a swimsuit, though, forget it.
I love it when a radio announcer chirps “clear and sunny” during a storm because they read the…
Nature Up North 2024 Calendars for Sale!
By The Nature Up North Team on
Blog: Just Our NatureProceeds from calendar sales benefit Nature Up North's community outreach initiatives. Each year, Nature Up North reaches hundreds of local residents through guided hikes, paddles, workshops, and K-12 programs. Thanks for your support!
We hope you’ll support our programs and locally-owned businesses by buying a Nature Up North calendar this year. Proceeds from calendar sales…
The Benefits of Place Based Learning in Environmental Education and Outdoor Education
By Roisin Creedon-Carey on
Blog: In the SchoolsNestled in the corner of St. Lawrence county, St. Lawrence University students participating in the Adirondack Semester can be found waking up in their yurts to misty mornings in a forest of snow-dusted eastern hemlocks. Every Fall, a handful of college students live in Childwold, New York to better understand the ecology and land of the North Country. My sophomore year St. Lawrence, I was a…
Ask A Fairy: Thimble and Blossom Are Back!
By Thimble & Blossom on
Blog: Ask a FairyBesides the fall foliage and fresh apple picking available in the fall season, there’s one other thing we all look forward to - the return of the fairies! Each fall Thimble and Blossom migrate through the North Country on their way south for the winter. During their travels they spend a lot of time chatting with chipmunks, lounging with ladybugs, playing with plants. Through all their woodland…
Tree Sign Language: Early Fall Color Spells Trouble
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureEach fall deciduous trees, ice-cream stands, and marinas close for the same reason: as daylight dwindles and cold creeps in, they become less profitable. When income dips down to equal the cost of doing business, a wise proprietor will turn off the lights and lock the doors until spring.
Some enterprising holdouts stay solvent longer than others who are in the same business. Perhaps they have…
2024 Calendar Submissions Are Open!
By Kayla Edmunds on
Blog: Just Our NatureAugust 18th through October 7th
Calling all North Country nature photographers!
Get your camera ready! Nature Up North is once again hosting our annual calendar contest for nature photos that will be featured in our 2024 wall calendar. At Nature Up North we hope to inspire exploration and appreciation of the North Country environment. One way we do this is through the Encounters feature on our…