There's a companion website for #TheWoodsInYourBackyard ! Sweet! It also has PDF versions of the book (I like having physical copies of books).

The Woods in Your Backyard

"This web site was developed as a companion piece to 'The Woods in Your Backyard: A Guide to Your Woodland.' This resource guide was developed by the Maine Forest Service to help you understand the woods in your backyard and provide ideas about how to work with your property, whether you own a 1-acre lot or 20 acres on the edge of town.

"A directory of state agencies and natural resource-based organizations can be found beginning on page 3 in Chapter 1 and also in the Chapter 1 section below. These agencies are good initial contacts and a great source of additional information on a variety of topics.

"'Backyard Family Activities' are included at the end of each chapter to help you learn more about your property as a family. The activities are most suitable for older children and teens, and they all require adult supervision. Teachers and youth group leaders can adapt them for use with older students. When completed, the Backyard Family Activities also provide a planning framework for working in your woods.

"We hope you enjoy this web site and find the information enjoyable and valuable!"

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/publications/woods_in_your_backyard.html

#ForestGardens #Forests #MaineForests #Reclaiming
#GardeningForWildlife #FarmingTheWoods #Woodland
#SolarPunkSunday #BackyardWoods
#Ecosystems #Maine #MaineForestService #Foraging

So, my neighbor and I share a property line which contains a wooded area full of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, sweet pea and other plants (as well as trees). We've been talking about taking walks together to see what's out there, figure out what's invasive, and growing more for the local wildlife (and maybe ourselves -- we've had some great blackberry harvests in the past). We both garden for pollinators in our yards, so it would be great to collaborate (and maybe include some of the other neighbors). I just bought a couple of books that might prove very useful with this endeavor!

#ForestGarden #Forests #MaineForests #OvergrownFields #Reclaiming #GardeningForWildlife #GardeningForPollinators #FarmingTheWoods #Woodland #SolarPunkSunday #BackyardWoods #Ecosystems #TheWoodsInYourBackyard #Maine

Why you should tell your children about vanishing #fireflies

I’ll be telling my son stories about the wild lives that existed in the places we go before anyone thought to call them “Maine” or “California.” If he won’t inherit an ecosystem with all its parts, he’ll have a shot at reassembly.

Advice by Michael J. Coren, August 29, 2023

"The #PenobscotNation is among the oldest continuous governments in the world. Some of its members still recall stories of Atlantic salmon filling #Maine’s rivers and of alewife, or river herring, swimming upriver by the uncounted millions, says Chuck Loring Jr., the Penobscot Nation’s director of natural resources. Last year, fewer than 1,400 salmon returned to the state.

"Loring, who manages forests, game and fisheries across 121,000 acres, doesn’t think in decades in his work. He looks back centuries. 'We have a seven-generation approach,' he says. Unlike most commercial timber harvesters, he’s aiming to create an old-growth forest like those that existed hundreds of years ago across Maine but now cover only 0.05 percent of the state.

"Instead of cutting trees every 30 to 40 years, Loring plans to grow them for a century or more. And he’s not optimizing for wood. 'We’re one of the biggest timber tribes,' says Loring, 'but the most highly regarded goal is water quality.'

"For the #Penobscot, the goal is restoring a landscape and its inhabitants’ place in it — from fish to moose to future members of the Penobscot Nation. 'That’s one of our goals getting into the school, and talking about everything we do,' says Loring. 'The tribe has made ensuring a viable forest in the future the priority, even if we’re not generating income from the forest.'

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/08/29/shifting-baselines-maine-forests/

#Extinction #SevenGenerations #Maine #MaineForests