GreenUp Jamestown Coalition Events Commence February 28th
The GreenUp Jamestown Coalition (GUJC), of which RTPI is a proud partner, announces their first Earth awareness program. Becky Nystrom, JCC biology professor, environmentalist, LEED expert, and recipient of last year’s GUJC Eco-Award, will present “Earth Stewardship/Creation Care: Seeking Nature’s Truths through Science, Philosophy, and Faith.” The program will be held in the undercroft at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 410 North Main Street, Jamestown, New York, on Wednesday, February 28, at 7 p.m. All GUJC activities are non-sectarian, free, and open to the public. For more information,...
Read MoreMapping Global Temperature Changes
This is a sobering graphic via the Twitter feed of Ed Hawkins (https://twitter.com/ed_hawkins), Climate scientist at the University of Reading. He said, “When considering changes in global temperature, it’s always important to look at the big picture, rather than obsess over short-term effects” which is why something like the cold and snowy days in the winter are not an indicator of how the planet is feeling. Our lives encompass a very small span of time compared to that of the Earth itself, and we often do not have an appropriate sense of the environmental and climate...
Read MoreThe Big Dipper
Can you spot the Big Dipper just above the horizon between the trees? It can be hard to believe in the midsummer heat but birds are already migrating south for the winter both during the day (various swallows to Eastern Kingbirds to Blue-gray Gnatcatchers) and the night (Red-eyed Vireos to Indigo Buntings to Black-billed Cuckoos). Those nocturnal species use various methods to help them move around our planet – some may use a coastline, others the Earth’s magnetic field, and like people, certain birds gaze at the stars. Various species take in the night sky as a map, just as we...
Read MoreSong Sparrow
What is one thing nearly all of the sparrows have in common? Those special earth tones, with varying shades of brown making up a lot of their appearance because they are ground-based birds. This Song Sparrow was showing that off with its camouflage working wonderfully and apparently letting it feel comfortable enough to let me shoot these close-up photos. They really are brilliant little birds, and I mean that for all the many subspecies of Song Sparrow in the world. One wonders how many of these would or will evolve to completely different species over time. Even now it is vital to always...
Read MoreCrocus Flowers
It is only mid-March but the crocus have come to join us! We are about to hit spring and the first signs continue to spring up everywhere we look. These lovely crocus flowers were opening up this morning to feel some sun on another beautiful and unseasonably warm day. The first bees are in the air, too!
Read More
