Author Archives: jltnatural-admin

June Book Club Selection

The JLT Natural History Society book club will meet at 3:30 pm on Monday, June 23 to discuss The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest, by Jack Nisbet.

From 1823 to 1834, Scottish plant collector and naturalist David Douglas explored what is now Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, and the impact he had continues to be enormous today.

The Collector tracks Douglas’s fascinating history, from his humble birth in Scotland in 1799 to his botanical training under the famed William Jackson Hooker, and details his adventures in North America discovering exotic new plants for the English and European market.

The book takes readers along on Douglas’s journeys into a literal brave new world of then-obscure realms from Puget Sound to the Sandwich Islands. In telling Douglas’s story, Spokane-based naturalist Jack Nisbet evokes a lost world of early exploration, pristine nature, ambition, and cultural and class conflict with surprisingly modern resonances.

To RSVP, and for locations and directions, please contact Pat at jltnatural@saveland.org

May Book Club Selection

The NHS Book Club will meet at 4:30 pm on Monday, May 26 to read, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, by William Bryant Logan.

Logan, a columnist for The New York Times, combines science and philosophy with a quirky curiosity about why the universe works the way it does to create this beautifully written celebration of the birth, death, and regeneration of the soil and the human connection to it.

In these brief, elegant essays, the author raises the concept of dirt to new levels. Logan looks at soil formation and development. His topics range from quarries and the foundations of cathedrals to graveyards and earthworms, from husbandry in ancient Rome to composting in Florida. Logan pays tribute to the dung beetle as a symbol of renewal; he notes that dirt is the source of many drugs that work against infectious diseases (penicillin, streptomycin). He discusses the many forms of clay and the agricultural practices of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and the Iroquois. Dirt is a natural history of the soil and our connection with it. –Publishers Weekly

Whether Logan is traversing the far reaches of the cosmos or plowing through our planet’s crust, his delightful, elegant, and surprisingly soulful meditations greatly enrich our concept of “dirt,” that substance from which we all arise and to which we all must return.

To RSVP and to get location and directions, please contact Pat at jltnatural@saveland.org

Experiencing birdsong

Please join us at 7:00 pm, Thursday, June 5, for an exhilarating multimedia excursion into the nature of birdsong by veteran educator, ecological field guide, and bird expert Ken Wilson.

The mysteries of birdsong have long delighted and intrigued humans. Observers of nature have pondered questions such as the purposes of singing and calling, whether birds have a sense of music—or sometimes sing simply for the joy of it—and why some birds don’t sing at all. In his presentation, Ken will share recent scientific insights on the functions and ecology of birdsong, including examples from the Olympic Peninsula’s diverse birdlife. He will also explain ways to improve the ability to recognize birds by enhancing listening skills. “Regardless of your experiences as a naturalist, improving your ability to distinguish the ‘voices’ of birds will deepen your enjoyment and knowledge of them,” he says.

Ken’s personal and professional focus on the natural world spans nearly 50 years. His background includes earning a Bachelor’s degree in neurobiology and animal behavior from Cornell University, and a Masters in applied science engineering (water resources) from the University of Washington. He has conducted field studies in arctic, temperate, and tropical ecosystems, ranging from Alaska and the Western states to Hawaii, and participated in numerous projects focused on birds. He has taught natural-history-related classes in public and private schools, lectured at the college level, and worked as a field ecologist guide for Elderhostel educational travel programs. He has shared his experience and teaching wisdom in a nationally available book, Tools for Energized Teaching, published in 2006. A resident of Port Townsend for more than a decade, Ken has been a frequent contributor to the KPTZ “Nature Now” program and an enthusiastic leader of outings for local organizations.

Ken’s evening presentation will be followed by local birding trips on Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7. Details and the opportunity to sign up will be available at the presentation.

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This event will take place at the Cotton Building, 607 Water Street, in Port Townsend.

Open and free to the public, with a suggested donation of $5 to help defray costs.

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Whidbey Prairie Wildflowers

Join us on Friday, May 9 for a picnic outing to Whidbey Prairie led by Beach Watchers coordinator Cheryl Lowe. This outing will last from 9:30 am-3:15 pm. Bring your own picnic lunch and water, wear sturdy hiking shoes/boots and layers for the weather. You may also want to bring a field guide, hand lens, camera and binoculars.

We’ll walk onto the 9:30 ferry at the Port Townsend ferry dock; please meet at the passenger loading area at 9:15. Cheryl will meet us on Whidbey Island to lead us through Fort Casey, Camp Casey and the new Admiralty Inlet Preserve before arriving at the 33-acre Naas Natural Area Preserve. It might take 45 minutes to an hour to get there, especially if the golden paintbrush is blooming on the Fort Casey bluffs.

Prairie species we will see include Camas, several Lomatium species, Ranunculus, Cerastium, Chocolate lily (Fritillaria), Eriophyllum lanatum, yampah (up but not blooming), native Prunella, Scarlet and Golden paintbrush, plus some prairie grasses. We’ll return to the Coupeville ferry terminal in time for the 2:45 pm ferry back to Port Townsend.

Please visit the Whidbey Camano Land Trust website at www.wclt.org/projects/admiralty-inlet-preserve/ to read more about the Admiralty Inlet Preserve, including a brief description of the forest area and the prairie.

We’ll learn that prairies were once a significant part of Whidbey Island’s landscape, but less than one percent of the original native grasslands in Washington still remains.

The 33-acre Naas Natural Area Preserve was created to protect this important habitat, which is also a home to Golden paintbrush, a plant listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Globally, only 12 populations occur naturally. Five of those 12 native populations are in the grasslands of Whidbey Island prairies.

For more information about this preserve, go to: www.dnr.wa.gov/AboutDNR/ManagedLands/Pages/amp_na_admiralty.aspx
www.dnr.wa.gov/ResearchScience/Topics/NaturalAreas/Pages/amp_na.aspx

The Whidbey Camano Land Trust owns this property, which is also one of the WA’s designated
Natural Areas.The Land Trust has been working on this prairie restoration since they acquired the property, expanding the golden paintbrush population from 59 plants to over 2,000. Cheryl worked on this site for the 5 years she was with the Land Trust as their Land Steward.

For more information about this outing, contact Pat at jltnatural@saveland.org

Spring nature walk

Join us at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, April 9 for a spring nature walk on tribally-owned property, led by Gideon Cauffman, the Cultural Resources Specialist of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.

We will walk about 3 miles on well-maintained trails along the Dungeness River near Sequim.

Bring your binoculars and field guides for plants and birds, as there will be plenty of opportunities to use them.

Please RSVP to Dave at JLTnatural@saveland.org for directions and car-pooling, and let him know what town you live in and if you are willing to drive. Carpool deadline is April 6.

This outing was attended by 21 people.

Jefferson Land Trust Natural History Society

Enjoying nature in the Pacific Northwest