Projektin Jericho Conservation Commission/Mobbs Bioblitz Spring 2021 Päiväkirja

Thanks to all who participated in the Spring Bioblitz 2021. We rely on your contributions to make our community science project happen.
Keep on observing!

Today I had the opportunity to walk and make iNat observations with a group of newly minted grads of the UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. After a pandemic-restricted semester of masks and remote meetings the team's diligent work assisting the Jericho Conservation Commission with a mapping project as part of their course 'Environmental Problem Solving' is finally complete.

On this beautiful May day they were finally able to visit Jericho and see first-hand the beautiful place that we work so hard to protect and how their work contributes directly to that effort. Their enthusiasm for each bud and birdsong was contagious and it renews my hope for the future to see that there are such talented people venturing into the ever-important work of conservation.
Best wishes for your future endeavors to Dayna, Flynn, Liz, Lucca, Maddie, and Zoe - "Team Jericho".

Ralph Waldo Emerson said " Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
One thing I love about collecting data for iNaturalist is slowing my pace and taking time to notice. To notice the sights and sounds around me, pause to be present in the moment and then make a record of my observation. Being aware of my surroundings helps me stay connected to the abundance of life on Earth and reminds me that I am part of an ecosystem.
We're getting some great submissions! Keep the observations coming and thanks for taking the time to slow down to look at what's out there and participate in this project.

The Jericho Conservation Commission welcomes the opportunity to host a spring edition of the BioBlitz at Mobbs Farm. The Mobbs Committee had a busy winter rallying the citizens of Jericho behind their effort to place a permanent conservation easement on the Mobbs property. Their efforts paid off when on Town Meeting Day 2021 the voters supported the initiative at the ballot box and the town is now in the early stages of drafting the easement with the Vermont Land Trust. Excellent News! And a win for current and future nature enthusiasts.
Since April is Poetry Month and that 's only a few days behind us I thought I would open this Blitz with one of my favorite poems.

Enjoy, and happy observing!

The Tables Turned
William Wordsworth

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless—
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.