News and Events for Nantucket Island
When we talk about climate change on Nantucket, the conversation often revolves around rising sea levels, erosion, increased storms, and storm surge. Lately, though, we have been seeing another effect of climate change in the form of warming ocean waters.
I am a terrible gardener. I try with my perennial garden beds, but the ecologist in me always wants to leave the plants to their own. Let them fend for themselves. Survival of the fittest is the theme. Needless to say, it’s the native plants that don’t need much water and the weedy species that persist. Anyone who has read my previous columns knows that I am not a fan of non-native invasive plants. However, the term “weedy” can be used for a number of plants that may be 1) native, but with fast growing, invasive tendencies (think poison ivy) or 2) non-native species that grow well in ruderal habitats such as roadsides, parking lots, and bike paths.
Ticks are as part of life on Nantucket as fog, summer traffic, and sand. That’s not a statement meant to scare people away. It’s a fact of life. Taking preventative and proactive measures will help ensure the health of you, your family, and your pets. First, it is important to know what we have on-island and what the potential dangers, if any, actually are.
“The Little Grey Lady of the Sea” is how we’re known. How many business names around Nantucket have something to do with “Grey Lady”? And it’s not just the gray shingles. Benjamin Moore even has a beautiful blue grey paint color called ‘Nantucket Fog.” On Nantucket, we literally live and breathe fog.
When you hear the word “milkweed” you probably think about monarch butterflies. Maybe you’ve even spent some time looking for monarch caterpillars on plants. What you might not realize is that Nantucket boasts six species of milkweed with at least four easily seen around the island. These plants are important to more than just monarchs. They play an important role to many other creatures in the environment.
You may have noticed, driving up Polpis Road or riding along the bike path towards ‘Sconset, a unique red pergola along the road flanked on either side by two stone lions. Once marking the entry to a private yard and secret garden, now these sentinels are welcoming spirits to a newly restored island oasis.
Nantucket is often thought of as a virtually tree-less landscape. Picturing the conservation lands and open space, we often think of rolling grasslands and the open moors. But take a look closer.
Our native orchids are remarkable for their diversity and their adaptations. Almost all of our orchids are rare and confined to specialized habitats. For some of our native orchids, these specialized habitats have meant a rarity or potential extirpation from the island. There are some species, however, that are still locally common enough that you may be able to catch a glimpse of one of these special native plants.
As the weather warms the island seems to spring to life. It’s not just the daffodils and birdsong. As you walk along the bike paths and travel on roads, some of our Nantucket turtles are on the move as well. Fresh out of hibernation, our smallest freshwater turtle, the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) is moving about travelling to springtime feeding and breeding grounds…
by Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois Director of Research & Education at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation If you have read this column before, you know that I have a love-hate relationship with invasive plant species. I love to research and write about them and I hate to manage them. They […]
