Forest Society Blog - News & Features

A look at why it's been a good foliage season in NH.

Great Bay is one of the largest estuaries on the Atlantic Coast, covering 6,000 acres. An estuary is a tidal inlet where fresh water from rivers mingles with salt water from the sea.

At 640 acres, the Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve is the largest protected block of conservation land in the city of Manchester. It contains some special forest communities that Something Wild will visit as we discuss inclusive trail design.

Today, the Something Wild team is at NH Audubon’s Silk Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Concord, touring the pollinator meadow and the adjoining All Persons Trail. About two-thirds of a mile long, the trail winds through a pollinator meadow and grassland habitat, extending into the woods on the shores of Turkey Pond.

It's a place for meditation on the chill amphibian lifestyle of breeding, laying eggs and laying low next to the water, at times soaking up the summer sun or hiding in the lily pads.

Sy Montgomery's gift is getting into the heart and soul of an animal, and her extraordinary worldview is what makes spending time with her, and the animals she loves, so special. We hope this 3-part summer series of Something Wild gives you a glimpse into Sy’s world.

“We want people to get excited about turtles” says Matt Patterson. “Turtles are so important and amazing…we talk about turtles that can climb trees, and turtles that can sprint 15 miles an hour.”

Bob and Binney Wells, Hopkinton residents since 1971, have long been interested in land conservation. In 1984, they donated a conservation easement to the Forest Society that protected 119 acres in Hopkinton/Henniker. But that was just the beginning.