Friday, May 9, 2008

The ability of pigweed to grow cannot be denied. It grows just about anywhere and may grow to be six feet tall. Last May we discovered it in our community garden plot at the Farm Institute, which is not too surprising since it is a common garden weed.
» Full Story By Robert A. Culbert

At its annual meeting last month, the Edey Foundation awarded $82,250 in grants for 2008 to organizations working for conservation on the Vineyard.
» Full Story

Nature & Conservation from the Vineyard Gazette Archives

Friday, May 2, 2008

I guess that it is true that you can’t have it all. Wood anemones should know this adage well since they lack much.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, April 25, 2008

The other night I had the strangest sensation that I was sleeping with Dracula.

Morning brought not the prince of darkness, but another vampire-like creature. Unlike the original scourge of Transylvania, this small blood-sucking beast took to my leg rather than my neck and was still with me by the light of day.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, April 18, 2008

Paul Mahoney, a nurseryman for 30 years and the owner of Jardin Mahoney in Oak Bluffs, spoke at a recent meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club on the topic of Sustainable Plants in the Landscape.
» Full Story By Marcia Randol

Island Grown Initiative has scheduled its first Summer Institute for Teachers, a three-day workshop for educators on the Vineyard interested in incorporating curriculum tied to farms and gardens into their classes.
» Full Story

There are many wonderful sayings regarding the first blooms of spring.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

On May 31, the Polly Hill Arboretum and the Vineyard Conservation Society will welcome Paul Tukey, founder of SafeLawns.org, an international coalition promoting environmentally friendly lawn care, for a lively discussion on lawns.
» Full Story

Friday, April 11, 2008

It seemed like a harmless sort: a symbol of purity and hope, a cancer crusader and fundraiser, and beautiful harbinger of spring; but, if the truth be told, the daffodil has a dark and sinister side.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, April 4, 2008

Green home building is all the rage right now, but humans are Johnny-come-latelys to ecological building. Our “nests” are too often made from new materials that come from far and wide. Not so in the avian world.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, March 28, 2008

Run, herring, run! Or, rather, swim, herring, swim, to your natal stream. River herring — harbingers of spring — should be back soon, if they are not already.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, March 21, 2008

Next week, I will put all of my eggs in one basket.

It is, after all, Easter, and more importantly spring. Eggs are a symbol of the season. In addition to representing rebirth of the earth, new life and fertility, they are just plain good to eat.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

On Sunday, March 30 from 1 to 3 p.m., The Trustees of Reservations will sponsor a Squibnocket Point walk.
» Full Story

Friday, March 14, 2008

This tree will give you shakes and shingles.

Building materials aside, many of us agree that the Eastern red cedar is a terrific tree.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Martha Stewart Living radio will feature Elizabeth Germain today discussing Community Supported Agriculture. The broadcast is Friday, March 14, from 2:30 to 3 p.m. on Sirius Satellite radio, the Living Today Show. Tune in to learn about the history of CSA programs, the benefits of being a shareholder, and the similarities and differences between projects around our country.
» Full Story

Can’t wait for those fresh salad greens? Well, by the first of May, a mere 45 days away, you should be able to drop by Cronig’s and purchase a 10-ounce bag of North Tabor Farm’s salad greens, and the season will be under way.
» Full Story By Tom Dresser

A few things became quite clear at Wednesday night’s public hearing on the draft environmental impact statement on the Cape Wind project.

The first was that about twice as many Vineyarders, assuming those who attended are broadly representative of Island opinion, oppose the project as support it.
» Full Story By Mike Seccombe

Friday, March 7, 2008

The Vineyard Conservation Society Winter Walks Program will feature a free guided walk at North Tabor Farm in Chilmark on Sunday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m. The walk leaders will be Matthew Dix and Rebecca Miller, the family farmers who have been farming North Tabor Farm for the last fifteen years.
» Full Story

Some males will do anything to impress the ladies.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, February 29, 2008

Only slow food will do for this bird.

Faster prey would fly, run or otherwise get away before it became a vulture’s meal. Vultures like their food not just slow, but stopped cold (and dead too.) Fresh kill is good, but, in a pinch, the vulture can eat meat that has begun to rot. Luckily (or, thanks to adaptation), the vulture won’t get sick.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, February 22, 2008

There is a whale of a tale in Edgartown.

Marine mammal madness is what I call it. Earlier this week, I received a call about a few animals that have been swimming around Edgartown harbor. The caller thought that they were either dolphins or pilot whales. Either one would be a good sighting and would make for a nice article.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

Friday, February 15, 2008

The Trustees of Reservations will sponsor a walk in Chilmark on a private parcel covered by a conservation restriction on Sunday.
» Full Story

I learned a hard lesson last Sunday.

It was about two hours into my research and half an hour into the writing of this week’s column when I came across a disturbing fact.

Hail occurs in the spring and summer.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi

The purchase of an 18.9-acre conservation restriction last week will expand the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank’s holdings at Sepiessa Point Reservation on the Tisbury Great Pond.
» Full Story

Friday, February 8, 2008

The apple was wrongly accused. It might just have been an innocent victim of an ancient slander. Many scholars believe that it was actually a pomegranate and not an apple that tempted Eve and led to her banishment from Eden. The mistake may be understandable, as pomegranate translates roughly as “apple with grain-like seeds. ” Eve was not able to resist.
» Full Story By Suzan Bellincampi