Past Field Trips
NEBS Day Field Trips and Collecting Trips in 2023
DAY FIELD TRIPS
Day field trips are informal, small-group outings to explore interesting places and to see (not collect) interesting plants, facilitated by knowledgeable and enthusiastic leaders. Bring your lunch, water, insect repellent, field guides, hand lens, and curiosity. Be prepared for the terrain and level of difficulty indicated for each trip. Please register at least 1 week in advance to get meeting time, location, and directions. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low or if inclement weather. Trips will be limited to 14 participants.
Saturday, May 20 (10 AM-2 PM) – Marble Quarries and Rich Forests of Dorset Mt., Dorset, Vermont
- The abandoned marble quarries and surrounding forest on the lower slopes of Mount Aeolus, part of Dorset Mountain, support a rich and diverse flora, with several rare species dependent on calcareous bedrock. All levels of botanist are welcome, from beginners to experts. Bryologists are likely to see uncommon mosses and liverworts, while everyone will enjoy the uncommon wildflowers. Bring lunch, snacks, and water. The walk to the old quarry is along an old woods road which leads uphill at a moderate slope. The terrain in and around the old quarry is rocky and uneven.
- Leaders: Lynn Harper, Land Protection Specialist, Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program and Karro Frost, Conservation Botanist, Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program
- Register here so Lynn may be in touch with you about this trip.
Friday, June 2 (10 AM-Noon) – Beginners walk: Floodplain Botany of the Sudbury River, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Weir Hill, Sudbury, Massachusetts
- Enjoy the wonderful vistas of the meandering Sudbury River at Weir Hill, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The habitat is lush and diverse, with floodplain trees, swamps of buttonbush and red maple, ferns, graminoids and other herbaceous species. We will take a close look at these riverine plants and learn to identify some typical denizens. The location has great observation platforms and boardwalks for examining plants. This field trip will be geared towards beginners, but all are welcome to join. Bring a packed lunch to enjoy after the field trip.
- Leader: Neela de Zoysa, NEBS Councilor, Botanist, Instructor at Native Plant Trust
- Register here so Neela may be in touch with you about this trip.
Saturday, June 10 (10:30 AM- afternoon) – Fox Den Wildlife Management Area, Middlefield, Massachusetts
- Join in for a day of exploring the Fox Den WMA. We will investigate and document the vegetation of an enriched mesophytic forest and a series of mixed forested wetlands. The entirety of this walk will occur off-trail through moderately difficult terrain.
- Leader: Matt Charpentier, NEBS President, Field Botanist, Oxbow Associates
- Register here so Matt may be in touch with you about this trip.
Friday, July 7 (9 AM – afternoon) – Mt. Washington and the Alpine Garden, White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
- Join us for a rare and very special opportunity for a guided visit to one of New England's most fascinating and imperiled plant assemblages: above tree line at the legendary "Alpine Garden" of our highest peak. Led by one of New England's most knowledgeable and experienced botanists and ecologists, this high elevation field trip – complete with stunning vistas -- is made accessible by the famed Mt. Washington Auto Road. Please note the terrain at the summit will be moderately strenuous with a 500-foot descent (and return ascent) from the road. Bring layers for cold or wet weather and sturdy footwear. Register early – this trip is sure to fill quickly. There will be a fee for the Auto Road.
- Leader: Dan Sperduto, Forest Botanist, White Mountain National Forest
- Register here so Dan may be in touch with you about this trip.
Saturday, July 15 (10:00 AM- afternoon) – Cumberland Land Trust's High Rock/Scott Brook Preserves, Cumberland, Rhode Island
- These preserves of the Cumberland Land Trust are home to a diverse array of habitats, from a sugar maple forest to dry, open ridgetop, and wet meadows in a power line corridor. These are unusually rich, offering an opportunity to see a number of uncommon species for the area. We will spend 2-3 hours botanizing along trails in the woods and power line corridor of the 268-acre property. Hiking difficulty will be easy to moderate.
- Leader: Laura Green, NEBS Councilor, Forester, and Botanist
- Register here so Laura may be in touch with you about this trip.
NEBS COLLECTING TRIPS
NEBS is continuing the tradition of Society collecting trips! The goal is to better represent the modern distribution of plants in New England as a resource for research. We are sponsoring two collecting forays in 2023, both in areas of New England that are under-represented in the historical and modern collection. These forays promise to be fun and will provide participants with the opportunity to visit new botanically interesting areas, learn new plants, and learn how to collect. We will also develop a species list for each locality as a resource for the local land managers. All specimens will be mounted, databased, and deposited in the NEBS Vascular and Cryptogam Herbaria (NEBC).
Saturday, July 1 – Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, Phippsburg, Maine
- Join us for a special joint day-long field trip of the NEBS and Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine to collect plants of Sagadahoc County! The trip will traverse maritime spruce fir forest, salt marsh, summit bald, and pitch pine dune woodlands, emerging at spectacular Seawall Beach. The walking difficulty will be easy to moderate along an access road, a round trip hike of 4 miles (not including botanical meanderings!), ascending Morse "Mountain" (433 ft elev). Be prepared for mosquitoes and flies in these habitats. Parking is limited and carpooling will be required.
- Leaders: Lisa Standley, NEBS Curator of Vascular Plants; Elizabeth Kneiper, NEBS Curator of Cryptogams; Melissa Cullina, Director of Plant Science & Collections, Coastal Maine Botanical Garden; Eric Doucette, President of the Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine
- Register here so leaders may be in touch with you about this trip.
Saturday, August 5 – Middlesex County, Connecticut (Vascular Plants)
- Middlesex County is one of the most under-collected areas in Connecticut, so this day-long collection trip will be particularly valuable. The county is rich in habitat diversity: it has 110 named hills and mountains; two rivers (Mattabesset and Connecticut) with associated floodplain forests, marshes, and beaches; upland forests; successional farmlands; and coastal habitats including brackish and salt marshes, sandy beaches, woodlands, and grasslands. The county contains at least 16 of the Critical Habitat types recognized by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Sites that we plan to visit include Wangunk Meadows WMA, Meshomasic State Forest, Cockaponset State Forest, and The Preserve State Forest. Some sites may include forays off-trail in somewhat wet or steep terrain.
- Leaders: Lisa Standley, NEBS Curator of Vascular Plants; Sarah Taylor, Scientific Collections Manager, University of Connecticut, G.S. Torrey Herbarium; Elizabeth Kneiper, NEBS Curator of Cryptogams.
- Register here so leaders may be in touch with you about this trip
NEBS Day Field Trips and Collecting Trips in 2022
Printable PDF of all details.
DAY FIELD TRIPS
Day field trips are informal, small-group outings to explore interesting places and to see (not collect) interesting plants, facilitated by knowledgeable and enthusiastic leaders. Bring your lunch, water, insect repellent, field guides, hand lens, and curiosity. Be prepared for the terrain and level of difficulty indicated for each trip. Please register at least 1 week in advance to get meeting time, location, and directions. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low or if inclement weather. Trips will be limited to 14 participants.
Sunday, June 19 (changed from Saturday, June 18) – Introduction to Invasive Species, Natick MA
- This short field trip to the Natick MA Hunnewell Town Forest will provide an introduction to many of the invasive plant species of eastern Massachusetts. The 200-acre complex of forest, meadow, and wetland contains 26 invasive species, including the emerging invasives Japanese angelica, sapphire berry, and wineberry. We will walk the easy trails and occasionally venture off-trail to find these target species, learn identification characters, and discuss control strategies.
- Leader: Lisa Standley, NEBS Curator of Vascular Plants, Natick Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee
- Register here so Lisa may be in touch with you about this trip
Saturday, July 9 – West Rock Ridge, West Rock Ridge State Park, Hamden and New Haven, CT
Joint field trip with the Connecticut Botanical Society
- West Rock is a distinctive feature on the greater New Haven landscape; the sheer, rusty-red cliff face is visible from much of New Haven and Rt. 15 tunnels through the middle! The ridge is the southwestern end of the Metacomet Range, a series of traprock (basaltic igneous rock) ridges that run through Connecticut's Central Valley and up into northwestern Massachusetts. From the shores of Lake Wintergreen to the rich talus slopes and dry oak-hickory glades along the ridge top, West Rock is home to a varied and distinctive plant community. Beginning botanists and all plant-curious people are very welcome! Together, we will get to know some of the plants - both common and unusual - that call southern CT home. There will also be plenty to see for more experienced botanists as we all learn together. Terrain in West Rock includes steep slopes and rocky trails. We will move slowly as a group, but the footing is uneven in places. Total distance covered will depend on our pace, but will not be more than 3 miles
- Leader: Laura Green, NEBS Councilor, Forester & Botanist
- Register here so Laura may be in touch with you about this trip.
Saturday, July 16 – Botany of Berry and Dexter Ponds, Winthrop and Wayne, ME -- Cancelled
- This kayak and canoe field trip will explore the aquatic, emergent, and pond-shore plants of Berry and Dexter Ponds in Winthrop and Wayne, ME. It will provide an introduction and guided keying of the aquatic, wetland, and pond-side plants of south-central Maine. These small shallow ponds offer excellent plant diversity, and participants can gain experience identifying plant groups that are often perceived as difficult, such as grasses, sedges, rushes, and willows. During our paddle, we will learn identification characters and key plants out together. A canoe or kayak is required.
- Leader: Eric Doucette, NEBS Councilor, Programs and Herbarium Committee Member, Associate Professor of Biology, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
- Register here so Eric may be in touch with you about this trip.
Saturday, September 3 – Plants of the Bike Path: Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, Arlington, MA
- As you shift into gear along the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, have you ever wondered which plant species were living there? During this brief field trip, we will seek to answer that important question. As we walk, peddle, or roll our way from the Alewife Brook Reservation to Spy Pond in Arlington, we will take the opportunity to learn and identify many of the plant species often passed by at high speeds. Get to know your green neighbors with this easy, informal stroll along 1.5 miles of the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway. Approximately 1.5 miles at consistent elevation along bike path; ~3 miles round trip.
- Leader: Michael Piantedosi, NEBS Councilor, Director of Conservation, Native Plant Trust
- Register here so Michael may be in touch with you about this trip.
Saturday, September 24 – Remnant Sandplains and Lakeshore Sedges, Burlington, VT
- Join us on a field walk through an interesting pair of sandy natural communities in Burlington, VT. We will begin in a remnant Pine-Oak-Heath Sandplain Forest for a discussion of how underlying geologic processes drive plant distribution and a look at a few rare disturbance-loving species. We will then walk up the bike path to a Lake Sand Beach for a look at some charismatic drawdown species, including late-season sedges, with views of the Adirondacks. Terrain will be flat, and we expect to walk 1-2 miles in all.
- Leaders: Brett Engstrom, Consulting Botanist/Ecologist, and Grace Glynn, Consulting Ecologist and NEBS Programs Committee Member
- Register here so Grace may be in touch with you about this trip.
NEBS COLLECTING TRIPS
NEBS is reviving the tradition of Society collecting trips! The goal is to better represent the modern distribution of plants in New England as a resource for research. We are sponsoring two collecting forays in 2022, both in areas of New England that are under-represented in the historical and modern collection. These forays promise to be fun and will provide participants with the opportunity to visit new botanically interesting areas, learn new plants, and learn how to collect. We will also develop a species list for each locality as a resource for the local land managers. All specimens will be mounted, databased, and deposited in the NEBS Herbarium (NEBS), which currently holds over 260,000 New England specimens of vascular plants.
Saturday, August 6 – Wantastiquet Mountain, Winchester, Chesterfield and Hinsdale, NH
- Join in on this day-long collection trip to Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area to document the site's flora. Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area is a 520-acre State Forest located in Hinsdale, NH (Cheshire County). The site's steep slopes are certain to provide interesting botanical exploration! The majority of our visit will occur off-trail on steep terrain (moderately difficult to difficult).
- Leader: Matt Charpentier, NEBS President, Field Botanist, Oxbow Associates, Inc.
- Register here so Matt may be in touch with you about this trip.
Saturday, August 27 – Mount Hope Farm and the Haile Farm Preserve, Bristol and Warren, RI
- Bristol County is one of the most under-collected areas in Rhode Island, so this day-long collection trip will be particularly valuable. We will visit two private protected areas in Bristol County – the historic Mount Hope Farm and the Haile Farm Preserve (Warren Land Conservation Trust). The terrain is relatively flat, and we will largely be on trails in varied upland and wetland habitats.
- Leader: Lisa Standley, NEBS Curator of Vascular Plants
- Register here so Lisa may be in touch with you about this trip
REMINDER: Each trip can accommodate a limited number of people, so please register at least 1 week in advance. This will ensure that you have a slot and will let the trip leader contact you if there are any changes. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low or if inclement weather. The trip leaders will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for their trip. Please remember to bring all your personal gear (lunch, water, insect repellent, field guides, hand lens), courtesy, and curiosity.
NEBC Day Field Trips in 2021
Summer day field trips are informal, small-group outings to explore interesting places and to see interesting plants, facilitated by knowledgeable and enthusiastic leaders. Bring your lunch, water, insect repellent, field guides, hand lens, and curiosity. Be prepared for the terrain and level of difficulty indicated for each trip. You should contact the trip leader at least 1 week in advance to register and to get time and directions. Trips will be limited to 10 participants.
Printable PDF of all details.
- Saturday July 24 (rain date July 25) – Ponkapoag Pond, Blue Hills Reservation, Canton MA – Fern Walk
- At 10 square miles, the Blue Hills Reservation is one of the largest wild tracts in Eastern Massachusetts. We will visit two relatively biodiverse sections and see about two dozen fern species, a few hybrids, and some club-mosses. Highlights will include Maidenhair Spleenwort, Long Beech and Broad Beech, Netted Chain and Virginia Chain, all three Thelypteris, as many as six Dryopteris species and four Dryopteris hybrids, and perhaps all three Dendrolycopodiums. Bring any fern you would like me to identify.
- Blue Hills Reservation http://NEfern.info
- Level of Difficulty – Easy (but some off-trail) about 4 miles without much change in elevation. Expect ticks, mosquitoes, and some poison ivy.
- Contact Don Lubin ([email protected]) for more information and to register.
- Saturday August 14 (rain date August 21) – Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, Monson MA – Rare Fall Blooms
- From high, dry glacial ridgetops to swamps and bogs, Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary is a unique blend of natural, semi-natural and built landscapes. With over 8000 acres, NWS is one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the area and at its center is a 75-acre core complete with walking trails for the public to enjoy. Specifically timed to overlap with the bloom season for some of the rarer plants at the sanctuary, visitors can expect to see Plymouth gentian (Sabatia kennedyana), sickle-leaved golden aster (Pityopsis falcata), flat-topped goldenrod (Oligoneuron rigidum) and more.
- Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
- Level of Difficulty – Easy
- Contact Dan Jaffe Wilder ([email protected]) for more information and to register.
- Saturday August 21 (rain date August 22) – Savage Hill Wildlife Management Area, Princeton & Rutland, MA – Wetland Wilderness Exploration
- Exploration of the 1066-acre Savage Hill Wildlife Management Area, which abuts another 234-acre Savage Hill Wildlife Conservation Easement. The trip will traverse oak-pine dominated forest with pockets of hemlock and maple along wetlands associated with the East Branch Ware River. Narrow-leaved gentian (Gentiana linearis) is expected to be in full bloom along the wetlands, along with taxa yet to be documented in wetlands and the adjacent uplands. Those that are interested are encouraged to explore further into the wetland. Please come with a sense of adventure and bring attire that fits your wetness comfort level. Hiking boots will suffice for uplands and upper wetland edges, while knee boots are more appropriate for shallow marshy areas, and waders are recommended for deeper investigations. Matt Charpentier has graciously offered to host a potluck social time in Princeton nearby after the outing.
- Savage Hill Wildlife Management Area
- Level of Difficulty – Easy to Moderate. Gear for wetlands suggested; Expect ticks, mosquitoes, and some poison ivy.
- Contact Brett Trowbridge ([email protected] for more information and to register. Trip leaders include Bob Wernerehl and Matt Charpentier.
REMINDER: Each trip can accommodate a limited number of people, so please contact the trip leader at least 1 week in advance. This will ensure that you have a slot and will let the trip leader contact you if there are any changes. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low or postponed to a rain date if inclement weather. The trip leaders will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for their trip. Please remember to bring all your personal gear and
curiosity to any field trip that interests you.
NEBC Day Field Trips in 2019
Join us and explore interesting places with great plants, led by local expert botanists. Trips for May, June, July, and August are planned. See all details below or print this PDF.
Each trip can accommodate a limited number of people, so please contact the trip leader at least 1 week in advance. This will ensure that you have a slot and will let the leader contact you if there are any changes. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low. The trip leaders will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for their trip. Bring lunch, water, insect repellent, plant field guides, hand lens, etc.
Saturday May 25 (no rain date) – Gap Mountain, Troy NH – Boulder Field Foray
- Gap Mountain has signs of enrichment not especially common in this part of New Hampshire. We'll skirt along the edge of an extensive (quarter mile long) exposed boulder field through a forest of old white ash, sugar maple, and cherry birch before heading up to the summit with a view of Mt. Monadnock. There are a number of uncommon plants in the area which we might see, including the independent gametophyte Crepidomanes intricatum.
- Level of Difficulty – Intermediate, mostly off-trail with some elevation gain. This will be an all-day trip
- Contact Matt Charpentier ([email protected]) for more information and to register.
Saturday June 8 (rain date June 9) - Notch Mountain, Northfield MA – Rich Forest Exploration
- The upper portion of Notch Mountain is composed of a rich, sedimentary bedrock, which is expressed floristically as a beautiful hickory-hophornbeam woodland with a diverse herbaceous understory, replete with interesting grasses, sedges, spring flowers & some less common ferns. Below the ledges are a rich talus slope, cliffs, and some rich-mesic seeps, each with their own novelties. I have observed several rare or watch-listed species here, but I have never visited in the spring, so others may be waiting to be discovered! Also, we will keep our eyes peeled in earnest for a few rarities that occur in very similar habitats elsewhere in Franklin County.
- Level of Difficulty – Difficult to arduous - some on-trail, but an appreciable portion off-trail on steep slopes with loose soil & talus, covering upwards of 3-4 miles total with about 800-900' elevation gain.
- Contact Peter Grima ([email protected]) for more information and to register.
Saturday July 13 (no rain date) - Kate Furbish Preserve, Brunswick ME – Coastal Habitats
- This 591-acre coastal area was recently conserved by the Town of Brunswick and named after one of the most esteemed and prolific botanists of the New England flora. The parcel contains mixed woods on a former sandy delta floodplain extending to the drainages of the Mere Brook estuary, where an uncommon Freshwater Tidal Marsh can be observed in an ecological gradation with Brackish Tidal Marsh and Salt-Hay Saltmarsh. If time allows, we will explore neighboring parcels with extremely rare Blueberry Sandplain Grasslands and Pitch Pine Barrens. On the trip, we will explore and document the unique flora of the preserve, sharing information with Town managers and collecting specimens for the NEBS herbarium, to be filed away alongside Kate's original specimens.
- Level of difficulty - Easy. Distance travelled not likely to exceed a mile and a half. Some marsh terrain may be unsteady underfoot. Consider bringing muck boots or old sneakers, bug spray, and a good sun hat.
- Contact Christian Schorn ([email protected]) for more information and to register.
Saturday July 20 (rain date July 21) - McLean Game Refuge, Granby CT – Connecticut's Rift Valley
- McLean Game Refuge contains more than 3,000 acres of varied habitats over a rolling terrain - from ridgetop glades and talus slopes, to kettles with black spruce. The refuge spans the western edge of Connecticut's central rift valley and overlies both an area of sweeter basaltic bedrock and sandstone, as well as the ubiquitous schist that graces any stone wall in the eastern and western sides of the state. In the lowlands, a sandy soil blanket of lake deposits and long esker add additional interest. Two tracts of the refuge are designated National Natural Landmarks. We'll explore the refuge and contribute to an informal inventory of its flora.
- Level of difficulty - Moderate; some terrain is steep, and we may get into a bit of muck and mud. Depending on the weather, you may want to have waterproof boots handy, as well as your usual comfortable field clothes, water, and a lunch. You can expect to walk up to 3 miles.
- Contact Laura Green ([email protected]) for more information and to register.
Sunday August 4 (no rain date) - Barton Cove, Gill MA – Connecticut River Aquatics
- Barton Cove is a large Connecticut River impoundment in the towns of Gill and Montague behind the dam at Turners Falls. It has a rich and interesting aquatic flora. Forty-two aquatic species have been noted on recent visits; some of the more interesting include: Crassula aquatica, Elatine americana and triandra, Najas guadalupensis, Heteranthera dubia, Nymphaea tuberosa (AKA Nymphaea odorata ssp. tuberosa), eleven Potamogeton species, and Sagittaria filiformis. This trip will focus on learning to identify aquatics.
- Bring your own boat (kayak or canoe is best) or pool with a friend. We can work out details for pairing those with and without boats if needed. Kayak rentals are also available at the recreation area. Bring lunch.
- Contact Matt Hickler ([email protected]) to register. Note whether you will bring a boat and if you have extra room for a "boatless" passenger. Registration will be limited to about 8 boats.
Saturday August 24 (no rain date) – Indian Pond, Orford NH – Stream-side and Wetland Exploration
- A Place for Native Plant Discovery is 5.5 contiguous square miles of privately-owned, managed forest in the foothills of the White Mountains and the watershed of the Connecticut River. The property includes substantial shoreline on the 150-acre lake known as Indian Pond, major wetland complexes, one mile of Indian Pond Brook with its riparian habitat, a bog, and two mountain summits. The owners have a special interest in field botany. See YouTube video for overview: https://youtu.be/eppECSPwzbw
- Level of Difficulty – Intermediate, including slopes along brook, off-trail exploration, choices of habitats to visit
- Contact Alice Schori ([email protected]) for more information and to register.
REMINDER: Each trip can accommodate a limited number of people, so please contact the trip leader at least 1 week in advance. This will ensure that you have a slot and will let the leader contact you if there are any changes. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low. The trip leaders will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for their trip. Bring lunch, water, insect repellent, plant field guides, hand lens, etc.
NEBC Brookfield, VT, June 2019 Away Meeting
Field Trip Highlights (PDF)
Saturday Field Trip 1: Berlin Pond and Ainsworth State Park with Art Gilman
Saturday Field Trip 2: Chickering Bog Natural Area and Calais Town Forest with Brett Engstrom
Sunday Field Trip 1: White River Ledges Natural Area with Matthew Peters
Sunday Field Trip 2: Allis State Park with John Burns.
NEBC Woods Hole September 2018 Away Meeting
Joint meeting of NEBC and BCCCI, exploring Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard..
Celebrating Botanical Club of Cape Cod and the Islands 20th anniversary!
14-16 September 2018
Schedule of Events
Six-page printable/downloadable PDF of program schedule and all field trips.
NEBC Day Field Trips in 2018
Join us and explore interesting places with great plants, led by local expert botanists. Trips for May, June, July, and August, 2018, are planned, and participants must contact the trip leader 1 week in advance. See all details below or print this PDF.
About the Trips
Sunday May 13 – Day Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Dalton, MA
- Enough of winter already! This is an early spring hike to a Rich Mesic Forest community embedded in Northern Hardwoods-Hemlock-White Pine Forest communities. We will follow the Appalachian Trail for portions of the hike and will be both on and off trail. We are hoping to see spring ephemerals with a hike at this time of year, and the sugar maple dominated rich, mesic forest shouldn’t disappoint. The hike will cross hillsides but is not particularly steep or rugged, and there shouldn’t be rocky scrambles. It is likely that we will have permission to collect for the NEBC herbarium in portions of the trip.
- Level of Difficulty – Easy
- Trip Leaders: Karro Frost ([email protected]). Karro will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for the trip.
Saturday June 23 – Carex Field Workshop, Pepperell, MA
- This early summer NEBC trip will focus on the wonderful diversity of Carex in forest understory communities in north-central Mass. We’ll start at the Pepperell Springs Conservation Area, where the vegetation includes rich Northern Hardwoods forest (Sugar Maple - Oak - Hemlock Forest patches with Hemlock stands, occasional talus slopes, an intermittent stream) and mixed oaks with mountain laurel, hemlock stands, Red Oak - Sugar Maple Transition Forest. Bring your field guides and hand lens, and prepare to move slowly as we focus on field identification and keying.
- Level of Difficulty – Easy
- Trip Leader: Lisa Standley ([email protected]). Lisa will send meeting time, location and directions to those who register for the trip.
Sunday July 8 - Sullivan County Farm and Associated Lands, Unity, NH
- These plots are in west-central New Hampshire, in the foothills east of the Connecticut River. The County owns 2,170 acres, and there are a variety of forest and wetland habitats, including a black ash swamp, wetlands dominated by cattails and/or sedges, riverine wetlands, a wet meadow dominated by Eutrochium and native Clematis, lowland spruce fir, northern hardwoods/pine, enriched Appalachian cove forest, and drier oak hickory communities.
- Level of Difficult- Moderate to Difficult, much of our time will be off-trail.
- Trip Leader: Alice Schori ([email protected]). Alice will send meeting time, location and directions to those who register for the trip.
Saturday August 18 - Phillipston Wildlife Management Area, Phillipston, MA
- The Phillipston WMA is comprised of 3,300 acres and an array of natural communities. Our visit will focus upon a nearly 70-acre forested wetland composed of a matrix of red and black spruce swamp. The forest is carpeted with mosses and liverworts and contains a variety of lichens. Additionally, hexenbesen (witches’ broom) adorn a number of trees and may afford an opportunity to see dwarf mistletoe should we find one within reach. This site provides one of the largest examples of the ‘Red Spruce Swamp’ natural community type in Worcester County.
- Level of Difficulty – Difficult. The majority of our time will be spent off-trail in densely wooded wetlands.
- Trip Leader: Matt Charpentier ([email protected]). Matt will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for the trip.
Summer Field Trip Summaries for 2017
Greenwich, RI - June 17
A small group of NEBC botanists joined trip leaders Tim Whitfeld and Doug McGrary in the Arcadia and Big River Management Areas in West Greenwich RI to collect plants from under-collected Kent County. We explored a boggy area, forested hillside and seeps along the Wood River and forested wetland and upland along the Big River. Some of the highlights of the day included Pogonia ophioglossoides, Luzula echinata, both species of Phegopteris, and many species of Carex – notably C. collinsii, C. polymorpha and C. abscondita.
South Washington, VT - July 9
Led by Art Gilman, five NEBC botanists explored a private property in Orange County with several interesting plant communities. We dodged plastic tubing in an active sugarbush with many rich-forest species, including Panax quinquefolia and Botrichium matricariifolium, and a plethora of Viola species in fruit. Carex tuckermannii and Pyrola elliptica were seen at the edge of a vernal pool. The highlight of the day was an unexpected discovery of a fen with Populus balsamifera, Carex castanea, Eriophorum viridicarnatum, and large patches of the spectacular Cypripedium reginae in bloom.
Salmon River Cove, CT - July 30
A small group of botanists, led by Bryan Connolly, met at the confluence of the Salmon and Connecticut Rivers near Moodus, CT, and put in kayaks at the boat launch. The group paddled up the Salmon River, which is freshwater, but still tidal. It was perfect weather for a kayaking trip, and the group was also treated to close-up views of nesting ospreys. The vegetation along the banks of the river included flooded green ash swamp, shrub swamps, and large dense stands of graminoids. Some interesting species seen include: Zizania aquatica, Platanus americanus, Equisetum fluviatile, Carex lupulinus, and Lobelia cardinalis.
Pepperell, MA - August 12
Pat Swain led a delightful walk through several Pepperell conservation properties (Gulf Brook, Heald's Pond, Pepperell Springs, Jeff Smith Trail). The group explored a fascinating and perplexing mixture of northern and southern, rich mesic and acid forest and seeps as well as rock outcrops and the wetland shores of Heald's Pond. We found abundant mushrooms (the tiny but exquisite oak-leaf Marasmius, M. capillaris), Botrychium virginianum, Phegopteris connectilis, Lobelia cardinalis, Asplenium platyneuron and A. trichomanes, Utricularia purpurea and U. intermedia as well as a high diversity of tree species, ranging from Acer saccharum, Tilia americana, Fraxinus nigra and Ulmus rubra to Quercus velutina. We finished at the famed Pepperell Spring, where we found Lycopodium lagopus.
Warren Woods Ashland, MA - September 10, 2017
- A baseline inventory of Warren Woods property in Ashland MA. 10 am - 2 pm. Leader, Bryan Connolly.
- Address: 22 Eliot St., Ashland, MA
NEBC Day Field Trips in 2016
NEBC Day Field Trips are back – join us and explore interesting places with great plants, led by local expert botanists. Trips for June, July and August, 2016, are planned, and participants must contact the trip leader 1 week in advance. See all details below or print this PDF.
About the Trips
- You must pre-register to get information on the trip meeting place and time. This will ensure that you have a slot, and will let the leader contact you if there are any changes. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low.
- Each trip is limited to 12 people, so please contact the trip leader at least 1 week in advance to be assured of a slot.
- Bring lunch, water, insect repellent, plant field guides, hand lens, etc.
Sunday June 26 – Inventory of Muddy Pond Conservation Restriction, Westminster, MA
- Explore a new access trail to a northern Worcester County pond with a bog perimeter on a 70 acre conservation restriction held by the town of Westminster, a recent project area of the Mount Grace Conservation Trust. Besides enjoying a pleasant walk, we will create a partial inventory of plants and animals to aid future management of the site. Time permitting, an Ashburnham bog site may be visited also.
- Level of Difficulty - Easy 1.5-2 miles, but be prepared for wet conditions.
- Trip Leader: Paul Somers ([email protected]). Paul will send meeting time, location, and directions to those who register for the trip.
Saturday July 23 - Sedges of the Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area, Kingston, RI
- Visit the wonderful Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area and search for sedges in the woods, swamps, bogs and fens. If time permits, we will also visit Worden's Pond to look for early coastal plain pondshore sedges, as well. Our focus will be Carex, but other genera are also likely.
- Level of Difficulty - easy walking, but be prepared for wet conditions.
- Trip Leader: Lisa Standley ([email protected]). Lisa will send meeting time, location and directions to those who register for the trip.
Saturday August 27 – Birding and Botanizing at the Hamilton Sanctuary, West Bath, ME
- Gather for a fun and collegial expedition to Maine Audubon's Hamilton Sanctuary in beautiful mid-coast Maine! Together, we'll help Maine Audubon by documenting the birds and plants of the sanctuary, using iNaturalist to compile and share our observations. Pack your smart phone or tablet, alongside your hand lens and binoculars – and we'll have fun birding and botanizing in the digital age!
- Level of Difficulty - 2.75 mile trail with easy to moderate walking.
- Trip leader: Melissa Cullina ([email protected]). Melissa will send meeting time, location and directions to those who register for the trip.
Black Rock Forest Field Trip and June 2016 Away Meeting
New England Botanical Club and New York Flora Association Joint Botanical Retreat
4 -5 June 2016
Exploring New York's Lower Hudson Valley
Two-page printable/downloadable PDF of all field trip info.
NEBC and New York Flora Association have teamed up to offer a botanical retreat in the Hudson Valley. There will be multiple field trips, a keynote presentation by Dr. James Lendemer, and ample time to socialize with your fellow botanists. Affordable lodging has been reserved at Black Rock Forest.
Black Rock Forest Maps
Schedule of Events
SATURDAY
BLACK ROCK FOREST MORNING FIELD TRIPS (~8am-11:30am):
Explore habitats within the 3,838-acre Black Rock Forest property. Two trip options expected. Meet at the Black Rock Forest main lodge.
SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN FIELD TRIP (~9am-3:00pm. Note that this is a strenuous hike.):
Explore Sugarloaf Mountain on the eastern side of the Hudson River in the towns of Fishkill and Cold Springs, NY (41.447860, -73.969966). MUST BRING OWN LUNCH: not returning to Black Rock Forest.
BLACK ROCK FOREST INTERMISSION 1 (~11:30-1:00pm):
Familiarize yourself with your sleeping quarters at the Black Rock Forest facility. Re-energize with a self-serve lunch station (sandwich, fruit, and snacks). Join up with others to carpool to your afternoon field trip destination.
STERLING FOREST AFTERNOON FIELD TRIP (~1-4:30 pm):
Explore this 19,132-acre state park located in the Ramapo Mountains. Please carpool from the Black Rock Forest as much as possible.
INTERMISSION 2 (~4:30-5:30 pm):
Make your way back to the Black Rock Forest facility, familiarize yourself with the facility, and get ready for the evening activities.
DINNER (~5:30-6:30 pm):
Cookout
BLACK ROCK FOREST OVERVIEW (~5:30-6:30 pm):
Executive Director Bill Schuster will summarize Black Rock Forest's living laboratory for field-based research and education.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER (6:45-7:30pm):
Dr. James Lendemer of the New York Botanical Garden will speak on the lichens of New York.
NYFA ANNUAL MEETING (7:30-8pm):
Short business meeting; all are welcome.
FREE TIME (8pm-??)
Socialize with kindred botany-lovers, participate in a Botanical Trivia contest, key out collected specimens, bring an instrument to make some music, etc.
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PREPARATION (7-8:30 am):
Self-service breakfast and lunch; plan on carrying your own bag lunch during your field trip.
BLACK ROCK FOREST FIELD TRIPS (~8:30am-1pm):
Continue exploring habitats within the 3,838-acre Black Rock Forest property. Two trip options expected. Meet at the Black Rock Forest main lodge.
LUNCH AND DEPARTURE (~1pm):
Lodging Details
The Black Rock Forest Consortium is located at 65 Reservoir Road, Cornwall, NY. Lodging cost is $40.
Black Rock Forest provides bedding and towels. The beds are twin bunks in rooms that sleep 4-8. The reservation includes use of the lodge (for dining and meeting) and kitchen, which has a commercial stove, large refrigerator, dishwasher, coffee makers, cups, mugs, plates, and utensils.
Lodging at Black Rock Forest is not available for Friday night. However, if participants wish to arrive on Friday, there are a number of motels within 10 miles of Cornwall, NY, north of Black Rock Forest. Other options can be found at Airbnb. For those who wish to camp, Beaver Pond Campground is found within Harriman State Park, which is south of Black Rock Forest.
Nantucket Island 2015 Away Meeting and Field Trip
Student Travel Grant
Nantucket Field Trip Schedule with links to all PDF's.
NEBC is offering an Away Meeting to explore unique, botanically interesting habitats on the island of Nantucket. As usual, we have a speaker lined up for an evening talk and field trips will highlight Nantucket's plant community diversity. The Registration Form explains fees for the trip. Registration closes September 4, 2015 and space is limited.
It is recommended that attendees travel to Nantucket via Ferry. The Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises provide ferry services from the mainland and both dock at Steamboat Wharf on the northern side of the island.
NEBC has made reservations for affordable overnight accommodations for Friday and Saturday at the UMass Field Station – a camp with bunkhouse accommodations, primarily used by the University for teaching and field research – located at 180 Polpis Road, 4.5 miles east of Steamboat Wharf. More limited apartment type lodging is also available at UMass's Goulin Village Apartments (20 Vesper Lane), ±1.2 miles south of Steamboat Wharf.
Directions from the ferry to Goudin Village and UMASS Field Station
UMASS Field Station Rules and Property Map.
Additional Nantucket Travel Resources.
Yes, NEBC Field Trips are back – join us and explore interesting places with great plants, led by local expert botanists. Trips for July and early August are listed below.
PDF for printing
About the Trips
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You must pre-register to get information on the trip meeting place and time. This will ensure that you have a slot, and will let the leader contact you if there are any changes. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low.
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Each trip is limited to 12 people, so please contact the trip leader at least 1 week in advance to be assured of a slot.
Bring lunch, water, insect repellent, plant field guides, hand lens, etc.
Saturday July 11 - Botanical treasures of the Greenfield and Montague area, MA.
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On this trip, we'll explore the Connecticut River's rocky shoreline, gravel and cobble bars and ledges in search of its unique flora and many rare species. The trip will also visit traprock ridges to find many specialist plant species of the open exposed rock and scree.
Level of difficulty – moderate (steep slopes, uneven footing)
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Trip Leader; Matt Hickler ([email protected]).
Matt will send meeting location and directions to those who register for the trip.
Saturday July 25 - Loverens Mills Cedar Swamp in Antrim and Stoddard, NH.
This TNC preserve contains a 4,000-year old Atlantic White Cedar swamp (accessed on a boardwalk) as well as diverse other wetlands – shoreline of the Contoocook River, beaver meadows, and red maple swamp – and upland forest habitats.
Level of difficulty – moderate (wet).
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Trip leader: Joann Hoy ([email protected]). Joann will send meeting location and directions to those who register for the trip.
Saturday August 1 – Big Rivers Wildlife Management Area, Kent County, RI.
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This trip will explore a large mixed oak-pine forest and a diverse seasonally flooded pond, with a focus on wetland species and coastal plan specialties. We will also be collecting to augment NEBC's holdings from the under-collected Kent County.
Level of difficulty – easy (flat walking, some wet).
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Trip Leader: Tim Whitfeld ([email protected]) Tim will send meeting location and directions to those who register for the trip.
September 6, 2014 Meeting Notice
- Registration Form - Student Travel Grant
- Russ Cohen, professional environmentalist, wild foods enthusiast, and author of "Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten"
- "Edible Wild Plants and Mushrooms of New England"
- Away meeting at D Acres of New Hampshire – Permaculture Farm & Educational Homestead, Dorchester, New Hampshire. Please register early using the registration form.
June 13-15, 2014 Meeting Notice - Field Trip Information - Registration Form - Student Travel Grant
- Saturday Evening Speaker -Tom Philbrick , Western Connecticut State University
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"Flowering Plants in River Rapids & Waterfalls: The Role of NEBC in Leading a Botanist to the Tropics"
- Trip Leaders: Ken Metzler, John Anderson, and Bryan Connolly
- NEBC Away Field Trip – Yale Forestry Camp/Great Mountain Forest, Norfolk, CT, June 13-15, 2014.
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Registration Deadline June 1, 2014
September 14, 2013 Field Trip Information
- Saturday Evening Speaker - Tim Simmons, Restoration Ecologist, Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program
- "Pine Barrens: Origins, Biodiversity, and Management."
- Trip Leaders: Tim Simmons, Irina Kadis, and Bryan Connolly
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NEBC Fall Field Trip – Myles Standish State Forest, Plymouth/Carver MA, September 14, 2013.
On a beautiful late summer day, Tim Simmons (Restoration Ecologist, MassWildlife NHESP) and Irina Kadis led sixteen NEBC members on a tour of the highlights of the 15,000-acre Myles Standish State Forest. We explored the roadsides of the reservation, highlighted by the aptly-named Eurybia spectabilis, Tephrosia virginiana, Polygonum articulatum and Liatris novae-angliae. Irina introduced the group to the invasive bush-clover, Lespedeza thunbergii ssp. formosa, and invasive willow, Salix atrocinerea. We explored two coastal plain pondshores and saw sedges large (Rhynchospora macrostachya) and small (Fuirena pumila), as well as Eleocharis robbinsii and Scleria reticularis. Other pondshore gems included Sagittaria teres, all three Drosera species (D. filiformis, intermedia, and rotundifolia), Gratiola aurea, Utricularia cornuta and Coreopsis rosea. Along a dirt road we found Linum intercursum and Polygala nuttallii (new to most of the participants). Irina led us into a vast frost bottom dominated by shrub oaks and other shrubs, including Salix occidentalis and late-blooming Kalmia angustifolia, and showed how effectively frost keeps the frost pocket mostly treeless. Tim lead us to an area previously burned to show how fire can be used to maintain pine barrens vegetation.
Submitted by Lisa A. Standley
Click on photo for large version.
June 8 - 10, 2013 Field Trip Information -
Registration Form (pdf files)
- Saturday Evening Speaker - Dr. Charles V. Cogbill, well - known plant ecologist, forest historian and author
- "Presettlement Forests of New England."
- Speaker's Location: University of Vermont - Jeffords Hall
- Field Trip Leaders: Art Gilman and Bob Popp
- Location: Northwestern Vermont – the Shores of Lake Champlain
- NOTE: Please submit the registration form by May 31, 2013
September 22-23, 2012 Field Trip Information - Field Trip Plant List (pdf files)
- Saturday Evening Speaker - Prof. Keith Killingbeck, University of Rhode Island
- "Autumn Leaves in New England: How Nutrient Conservation Fuels a Kaleidoscope of Color"
- Speaker's Location: Wood River Inn opposite the Stagecoach Inn in Wyoming, RI
- Trip Coordinators: Bryan Hamlin and George Newman
- Location: Rhode Island.
September 17, 2011 Middlesex Fells Reservation, MA
Click on photo for large version.
