Well, I finally got around to sharing the #MaineAudubon #NatureExplorerBackpacks info with the #LibraryOfThings group. It seems to be a big hit! Good!

"This is a great resource!

Thanks for sharing,

Chris"

#SolarPunkSunday #LibraryOfThings #SpendTimeOutdoors #SpendTimeInNature #LibrariesRule #Audubon #NatureBasedLearning #CitizenScience #NatureObservations

🦅👀 Three New Jersey high school birders known as The Pete Dunnelins used a minute-by-minute schedule and advanced ear-training to compete in the World Series of #Birding.

The event challenges participants to find and identify as many avian species as possible to raise funds for #NewJersey #Audubon.

👉 https://www.npr.org/2026/05/12/nx-s1-5801539/world-series-of-birding-new-jersey

#ornithology #conservation #wildlife #science #nature #birdwatching

#Maine & #NewHampshire - Map of Certified Pollinator-Friendly Gardens

Bagley Pond Perennials
Open to the public.

Bedford, New Hampshire (Farm)
Farm

#BelfastME #SoupKitchen
Public

#BridgesHouse (#NHGovernor’s House)
Open to the public. New Hampshire
Governor’s House.

#BrownfieldME Public Library (Municipal)
Public.

Canterbury, NH (Farm)
Petals in the Pines Farm.

Center for Northern Woodlands Education
Open to the public.

Children’s Garden at #FortWilliams Park (Municipal)
Public.

#CurtisMemorialLibrary Children’s Garden (Public)
Open to the public.

Dedham, ME (Farm)
Open to the public.

#Elkins Public Library (Municipal)
Public.

Frisbee Field
Public.

Georges River Land Trust, Cushing, ME
Open to the public.

Grace Episcopal Church, Concord, NH
Public. Church garden.

Hancock Town Library (Library/Municipal)
Public

Haney Hillside Garden, Coastal Maine Botanic Gardens-Organization
Public.

Law Farm Nature Trails
Open to the Public. Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Libra Sun Flower Farm
Farm.

Lincoln, Maine (Historical)
Open to the public for viewing.

McLaughlin Garden and Homestead
Open to the public.

Merrimack, New Hampshire (Business)
Business.

New Gloucester Fairgrounds, ME
Open to the public.

New Gloucester Public Library (Library)
Public library

Nottingham, New Hampshire (Farm)
Farm.

#PollinateNewEngland Garden at Wells Reserve at #Laudholm, #WellsME
Public.

#PollinatorGarden at NH #Audubon Center Massabesic, Auburn NH
Public.

#TheSustainabilityInstitute- James Hall Pollinator Garden
Public.

Thornton Oaks Retirement Community
Public.

Tom Settlemire #CommunityGarden- Brunswick
Community Garden

#TrentonButterflyGarden (Municipal)
Public.

#UMaine Gardens at #TidewaterFarm, #FalmouthME
Open to the public.

#UniversityOfMaineCooperativeExtension, Oxford County
Organization.

#WalesPark Pollinator Garden
Open to the Public. Belfast, Maine.

FMI:
https://extension.umaine.edu/gardening/map-points-category/all/

#SolarPunkSunday #GardeningForPollinators #MaineGardens #NHGardens #ButterflyGardens #PollinatorGardens

#WellsME - Bird Walk

Saturday, May 16, 2026 (and every other Saturday through August 8)
7:30am – 9:30am

Reservations Required
Cost: Free with site admission

"Join York County #Audubon birders every other Saturday this summer, May 16-August 8, for a guided bird walk around the Reserve property. Beginners are welcome. Please bring binoculars if you have them. Space is limited."

FMI and to register:
https://wellsreserve.org/event/87151/bird-walk

#SolarPunkSunday #BirdWatching #GuidedBirdWalk #MaineEvents #Birding #WellsReserve #SpendTimeInNature #WellsReserveAtLaudholm

#GreenportNY - 2026 Spring #NativePlant Sale

- Saturday, May 16, 2026, 9am - 1pm
- Sunday, May 17, 2026, 9am - 1pm

#RoyLathamNatureCenter at Inlet Pond County Park
65275 County Rte. 48
Greenport, NY, 11944 United States

"Over Sixty species of plants native to the Northeastern United States and locally grown by Glover Perennials—many of which are drought tolerant and deer resistant—will be showcased outdoors at the Roy Latham Nature Center at Inlet Pond County Park. A list of plants available will be posted here a week before the sale.

Based at the Roy Latham Nature Center, the organization models environmentally responsible landscaping practices, including the replacement of #InvasiveSpecies with native plants, #WaterWise #gardening, and #HabitatCreation.

Proceeds from NFAS’s spring and fall plant sales directly fund ongoing #restoration projects, including initiatives to plant native plants and trees throughout Inlet Pond County Park."

FMI:
https://northforkaudubon.org/events/2023-spring-native-plant-sale-mj6z5-6hzht-mf47z

#SolarPunkSunday #Audubon #PlantSale #Fundraiser #DroughtTolerantPlants #ClimateChange #NativePlantSpecies

Sicilianews24.it: Come Spoorthy Raman racconta le storie della fauna selvatica dall’Atlantico.

Spoorthy Raman: Una Voce per la Biodiversità
Spoorthy Raman è una scrittrice per Mongabay, dove si dedica alla fauna selvatica, alla biodiversità e alle complessità del commercio di animali. La sua carriera nel giornalismo ambientale è iniziata con uno stage presso Mongabay nel 2022, che le ha aperto le porte per scrivere per altre testate come Hakai, Audubon, BioScience e Nature. L’ispirazione di Raman proviene da una curiosità di lunga data per la scienza, un amore per la natura e un’apprezzamento per il mondo vivente. È particolarmente orgogliosa dei suoi reportage sulla biodiversità, la fauna selvatica e le tradizioni alimentari indigene, incluso il lavoro premiato sulla modalità di vita dei granchi Dungeness e il ripristino del riso selvatico nei Grandi Laghi.

L'articolo Come Spoorthy Raman racconta le storie della fauna selvatica dall’Atlantico. sembra essere il primo su Sicilianews24.it.

As Spoorthy Raman tells wildlife stories from the Atlantic.

Spoorthy Raman: A Voice for Biodiversity
Spoorthy Raman is a writer for Mongabay, where she focuses on wildlife, biodiversity, and the complexities of the animal trade. Her career in environmental journalism began with an internship at Mongabay in 2022, which opened doors for her to write for other publications such as Hakai, Audubon, BioScience, and Nature. Raman’s inspiration comes from a long-standing curiosity about science, a love for nature, and an appreciation for the living world. She is particularly proud of her reporting on biodiversity, wildlife, and indigenous food traditions, including the award-winning work on the lifestyle of Dungeness crabs and the restoration of wild rice in the Great Lakes.

The article “How Spoorthy Raman Tells the Stories of Wildlife from the Atlantic” appears to be the first on Sicilianews24.it.

#SpoorthyRaman #Atlantic #Mongabay #Hakai #Audubon #BioScience #Nature #Raman #Dungeness #theGreatLakes #first

https://www.sicilianews24.it/come-spoorthy-raman-racconta-le-storie-della-fauna-selvatica-dallatlantico-827486.html

“The one who plants trees knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life”*…

… Yes, and, as John Parker and Justin Nowakowski explain, it turns out that what and how we plant matters enormously…

Around the world, people plan to plant more than 1 trillion trees this decade in an ambitious effort to slow climate change and reduce biodiversity loss. But if the past is prologue, many of those planted trees won’t survive. And if they do, they could end up as biological deserts that lack the richness and resilience of healthy forests.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The United Nations declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to encourage efforts to repair degraded ecosystems. Tree planting has become a centerpiece of that effort, championed by initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge and the Trillion Trees Campaign.

However, many tree-planting commitments have a critical flaw: They rely too heavily on monoculture plantations – vast areas planted with just a single tree species.

Monoculture plantations are generally one-way tickets to producing wood. But these high-yield plantations are high risk and can be surprisingly fragile. When drought, pests, or forest fires strike, entire monoculture plantations can fail at once. In one example, nearly 90% of 11 million saplings planted in Turkey died within three months due to drought and lack of maintenance.

Forests are more than just timber factories. They regulate water, store carbon, provide habitat for wildlife, cool the landscapes around them and even provide human health benefits.

Rather than gambling on a single species and hoping for the best, science now points to a smarter path that captures both ecological and economic benefits while minimizing risk: mixed-species plantings that mirror the biodiversity of a natural forest, ultimately creating forests that grow faster and are more resilient in the face of constant threats.

We are community and landscape ecologists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Since 2013, we and our colleagues have been rigorously testing this idea in a large, ecosystem-scale experiment called BiodiversiTREE. The verdict is striking: Trees in mixed forests don’t just survive – they outgrow their monoculture counterparts and support dramatically more biodiversity…

[Parker and Nowakowski outline their project, unpack it’s (impressive) results, and explore the challenges to sclaing their example. They conclude..]

… The stakes are high. Restoration has become a major global investment, with hundreds of billions of dollars already being spent annually. Getting it wrong means wasted resources and missed opportunities to address some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.

If the world is going to plant a trillion trees, we believe it needs to do more than just put seedlings in the ground. It needs to rethink what a forest should be.

The goal isn’t just to grow trees. It’s to grow forests that last.

Eminently worth reading in full: “Don’t just plant trees, plant forests to restore biodiversity for the future,” from @johndparker.bsky.social and Justin Nowakowski in @us.theconversation.com.

* Rabindranath Tagore

###

As we see the forest, we might send observant birthday greetings to a man who spent a good bit of time in and around forests, John James Audubon; he was born on this date in 1785.  An ornithologist, naturalist, and artist, Audubon documented all types of American birds with detailed illustrations depicting the birds in their natural habitats.  His The Birds of America (1827–1839), in which he identified 25 new species, is considered one of the most important– and finest– ornithological works ever completed.

 source