Tag: Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois

Koi fish
Island Science

Monsters of the Deep

In the early 2000s, I was sampling vegetation in the Middle Moors for a joint project between the Nantucket Conservation Association and Massachusetts Audubon. It was a hot summer with long days sampling transects through the dense brush. Ticks, poison ivy, thorns, and dehydration were my worst enemies. One day I thought I was hallucinating from lack of water when I saw a relatively small fluffy bunny nibbling vegetation in front of me. It wasn’t scared of me and just went about eating as if it was pleased to see me. This wasn’t the common Eastern Cottontail ubiquitous on Nantucket. This bunny was chocolate-colored with long fur and floppy ears.

Continue Reading
Island Science

A Solstice Pause

Director of June 21 marked the 2023 summer solstice, and it has me thinking about what the solstice means. Technically, it is when the sun is at its azimuth, the longest day of the year for us. The particular dates are targeted as the boundary between our seasons because of a series of factors based upon the relationship between the earth and the sun. I am an ecologist, not an astrophysicist (though one of my best friends is!), but I do know the seasons change based on more than just the calendar and light levels. However, there is a lot to think about when we consider solstice.

Continue Reading
lupines on nantucket
Island Science, Nantucket Voices

Nature Is for Us All

On Nantucket we like to boast about our open space and the amount of conservation land available to the public. In theory, these spaces are open to all. There aren’t any physical gatekeepers (unless you’re trying to drive to Great Point). But for many in our community and more broadly across the US, nature and open spaces aren’t as welcoming as some would like to think.

Continue Reading
ticks | Nantucket, MA
Insider Tips, Island Science

It’s Tick Time

With FIGAWI in the rearview mirror, it really feels like summer is upon us on the island. As we all start to spend more time outdoors on our conservation trails, we come into contact more frequently with one of the few hazards we have on Nantucket. We don’t have skunks, bear, coyotes, or venomous snakes. We do, however, have ticks. Late spring/early summer is a boon time for ticks, but with a mild winter and temperatures rarely going below freezing, ticks on island have been active all year round.

Continue Reading
Island Science

Nantucket’s Rare Sandplain Grasslands

Driving around the south of the island, you may be headed to the beach or just going on a traditional Nantucket “rantum scoot.” Most dirt roads headed to the shore take you past open landscapes of waving grasses, low shrubs, and wildflowers when the season is right. Head of the Plains, Smooth Hummocks, Cisco— these are sandplain grasslands and coastal heathlands. On Nantucket, we’re pretty lucky: the sandplain grasslands here are some of the largest remaining intact grasslands of their kind in the world.

Continue Reading
Girl with net in Nantucket grassland
Island Science

The Buzz about Bees

We know our little island is special. There are so many unique and wonderful things about Nantucket: the history, the community, our flora and fauna, and our open space protection.

Now we can add one more thing to the list; our bees.

Continue Reading
Geocaching
Exploring Nantucket, Insider Tips

Winter Treasure Hunt

We’ve had a marvelous fall with warmer weather than ever before. This has led to many more outdoor adventures, longer hikes, and even some late fall ocean swims.

However, as we settle in towards real winter on Nantucket, the winds will whip up and the bitter cold will eventually set in. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors. You might just need an excuse to get outside. In the dead of winter, as the sun sets earlier, I know that I sometimes need an excuse to walk a little further or to explore a new spot. One answer to this problem for me, especially when my son was young, was to go on a treasure hunt. Welcome to the wonderful world of geocaching!

Continue Reading
Deer on Nantucket
Island Science

True Story of How Deer Got to Nantucket

If you ask anyone around the town of Nantucket how the deer came to the island, you may have some variety of answers, but generally “they swam” and “they were brought here” will be the primary responses. There is a local legend or old wives’ tale that states that our current population of more than 2,000 animals are descended from just three deer.

Continue Reading
Second Summer
Insider Tips

Welcome to Second Summer

Labor Day weekend is a transition period for the island. The first Monday in September marks the end of summer—droves will have left the island by then. It’s also the start of school, the beginning of fall. Shopping at the Stop and Shop will tell you it’s Autumn for sure (the Halloween candy is already out). But don’t rush to put on boots and drink pumpkin spice lattes just yet or you’ll miss one of the best “seasons” on-island.

Continue Reading
1 2 3 4 5 … 9