UVLT and the Hartland Conservation Commission invite you to enjoy a summer afternoon at the new Timotheus Pohl Conservation Area! Explore, learn and celebrate this fabulous place with informal outdoor activities for people of all ages. Free. Come for any and all — Join a nature walk, find Vermont’s largest black birch tree, learn about hay-making, hike on Hartland Winter Trails, bring your kids for a treasure hunt, share stories, and meet friends. Refreshments by Mac’s Maple. Registration is not required but will help us plan to have enough maple creamee treats!
2:15 pm Nature Walk – Hartland Conservation Commissioner Tina Barney will provide a guide to some of the plants, animals and birds that can be found here. We’ll help you practice using i-Naturalist and e-Bird to upload observations to build a natural resource inventory.
2:30 and 3:30 pm Pollinator Walk – Desiree Narango and Onome Ofoman from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies will bring nets and vials and describe how to take photos of pollinators for the VCE’s Pollinator Interactions on Plants (PiP) project and their Plant Provenance work.
2:15 and 3:30 pm Hike the Trails – Join UVLT staff and volunteers from Hartland Winter Trails to learn about the community Nordic network on this land and UVLT’s plans for eventual four-season access on some of them.
3:30 pm Bird Walk – Join UVLT’s Alexander van Engelen in getting to know the Pohl Conservation Area’s avian residents. We’ll use e-Bird to upload a bird report (and demonstrate how to use the Merlin app for those unfamiliar). With this walk, we’ll kick off a “bird list” for the Pohl Conservation Area, which all will be able to contribute to in the future.
and ongoing:
Hug a Tree – It is believed that the largest black birch tree in Vermont (and maybe in the country!) is at the Pohl Conservation Area. Come put your arms around it. We’ll snap a photo!
Making Hay – Pull up your lawn chair or put down your picnic blanket! Mark Wood, who leases the meadows, will be on hand if farm needs permit. Join him and farmer/raconteur extraordinaire, Steve Taylor, for stories about how this land has, and currently is, being used for agriculture, what “hay” is, how it is made, and why it is important.
Nature’s Treasures – A scavenger hunt (no collection) for all ages, created by Hartland Conservation Commission chair, Rob Anderegg. Pick up a list and take up the challenge of finding items in nature.
Talk about Chestnuts – Dan Jones will share information about efforts to restore native chestnuts and answer your questions about the work of the VT/NH Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation.
Parking: Please enter the property from Route 12 on our right-of-way (look for our signs).
Parking access from our right-of-way off Route 12.
No dogs, please.
There is no rain date for this event. We have reserved Damon Hall in the village nearby. In case of rain, we will move the refreshments and conversation indoors.
