Celebrate nature at Bioblitz for four days in April

At the end of April, Burlington and several neighboring towns will host a four-day bioblitz.

You might ask, what is a bioblitz? An array of events celebrating nature and the outdoors. If you’ve ever wanted to taste Japanese knotweed ice cream, you are in luck.

Speakers, walks, exploring and documenting the natural world, storytelling and just plain fun are on the agenda.

Across four days, April 26-29, residents, students, teachers and scientists will fan out across the Greater Burlington Area to document diversity in our natural environment. Using the iNaturalist app, volunteers will record wild organisms in Burlington, Colchester, South Burlington and Winooski.

At Main Street Landing, speakers will discuss Vermont’s amphibians on April 17 and community science on April 25.

Readers of this column may recall that I participate in a team that monitors a vernal pool in Charlotte. We are part of a long-term community science project overseen by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Now in year six, we are listening via audio recorder to frog courtship, monitoring water, ice and snow levels at our vernal pool, and later in the season, we’ll be searching for wood frog and salamander eggs and their hoped-for offspring.

We even dream one day of finding fairy shrimp. Vermont Center for Ecostudies speakers will enumerate ways that community members can contribute valuable information and data about our ever-changing world and have a great adventure doing it.

Guided walks will focus on spring ephemerals, or wildflowers, on April 27 and, on April 28, forest bathing.

Also on Sunday, April 28, the Intervale Center hosts a nature extravaganza for all ages. Participants can taste and learn about foraged food, including the aforementioned ice cream and perhaps some garlic mustard pesto, birdwatch and plant young ostrich (fiddlehead) ferns. Children can go pond dipping for aquatic insects or play at a kids’ activity table.

Last but not least, storytelling. Nature Stories Open-Mic at Railyard Apothecary on April 27, 6-9 p.m. Advance registration required.

Solar collecting turtles
Each March offers a few tantalizing warm days. On one of these, you might spot a painted turtle sunning on a rock or log. In order to be active, and that includes eating, turtles must raise their winter temperature of 43 degrees F to at least 63 degrees. They do this by basking in the sun. In addition to warmth, the sun provides Vitamin D, allowing turtles to metabolize calcium to grow and strengthen their shells. But in March, the cold inevitably returns, making it a dangerous month for turtles.

Green Mountain Club outings
I know, I know, these gray days can be a little discouraging. But fresh air and exercise, as our mothers remind us, can boost even the darkest of moods. Better yet, consider an outing in good company.

While the original mission of the Green Mountain Club was to create and preserve the Long Trail, today volunteers lead trips in all seasons in all regions on foot, bikes and water. Here’s a sampling of April events:

• Saturday, April 6 in Middlesex, a 6-mile, moderate walk on Bear Swamp Road Loop.

• Saturday, April 13, Trail Around Middlebury, a moderate hike of 3-5 miles, 2-3 hours, route to be selected depending on conditions.

• Friday, April 19, Means Woods, Middlebury. Easy paced, 2-mile walk with little elevation gain.

• Sunday, April 28, bike outing on easy to moderate 25-mile ride in Panton and West Addison.

Dozens of outings cater to a range of abilities, modes and interests, including birding and wildflower walks. Check out the calendar for contact information and details. If you feel stuck in the house, don’t blame the Green Mountain Club.

Maple for the birds
Vermont maple stands host more than 70 nesting species of birds, including scarlet tanagers and wood thrush. Vermont Audubon launched the Bird-Friendly Maple program a decade ago to encourage sugar makers to manage the forests with these birds in mind. Nearly 90 Vermont producers participate in the program described on the website. To find participating producers, keep an eye out for a yellow badge featuring a scarlet tanager with a green maple leaf and the words: “Produced in Bird-Friendly Habitats.”

“Certain management practices enhance this habitat for birds,” said Steve Hagenbuch, a small-scale maple producer and biologist at Vermont Audubon, who dreamed up this program almost 20 years ago, “like maintaining a diversity of tree species, having at least a quarter of the forest be species other than sugar maple, leaving downed logs and standing snags, and maintaining leaf litter by preventing the spread of invasive earthworms.”

However you choose, seize the energy of spring and get outdoors.