Conservation Commission

Gardens provide a deep connection to the natural world. In turn, they inspire us with their beauty, their vibrancy, and their bounty. How often do we intentionally share those benefits with the birds and pollinators? No matter how big your growing space – a balcony of pots, a small patch off the back stoop, or acres to experiment with, we can all plant gardens that better support the wildlife in our communities.

Register now for Gardening for Birds, a class from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology taught by staff member Becca Rodomsky-Bish. Project Leader for the Great Backyard Bird Count, Becca is an avid gardener who has worked on projects related to creating habitat for wildlife and nesting birds. She will discuss the importance of native habitat and share information about specific trees, shrubs, and flowering plants to have in, or add to, your northeast landscape to better support the birds in your community.

Link for pre-recorded webinar: https://cornell.box.com/s/q3xxi8e1fnqui4nx1jcxjiqx5js1jupj (expires July 2020)

Password = Gardens

Here is an article from VT Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Andrea Shortsleeve, on a new method of controlling Knotweed. The Conservation Commission does not have direct experience with this method, but it seems like it deserves our consideration as a viable option.

Managing Knotweed with Hardware Cloth

You can do your part as a steward of the land by learning to recognize common invasive plants and removing them from your property. Most can be pulled by hand when small and when the problem is limited to only a few plants. Invasive plants are... INVASIVE; they spread easily and in many cases prevent native plants from being able to grow. Stopping them early is KEY to success. Main site: VTinvasives.org

BUSH HONEYSUCKLE fact sheet VTInvasives.org

GARLIC MUSTARD fact sheet VTinvasives.org

COMMON BUCKTHORN fact sheet VT invasives.org

JAPANESE BARBERRY fact sheet VTinvasives.org

WILD CHERVIL fact sheet VTinvasives.org

ALTERNATIVE PLANT CHOICES TO REPLACE INVASIVES

The Jericho Conservation Commission would like to invite you to join us for a town-wide read of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac, a provocative collection of essays from one of the most influential thinkers in the environmental movement.

We will host a kickoff meeting on February 5th at 7pm at the Community Center to introduce the book and enjoy some light refreshments. We have 20 copies of A Sand County Almanac and will give them to the first 20 people who arrive at the kickoff meeting. We invite readers of all ages to participate as well as anyone who has already read the book and wants to read it again or just join in on the discussion.

We will give readers a little over a month to complete the book. We plan to reconvene for a book discussion on March 11th at the Jericho Town Library to enjoy some more light refreshments and talk about the book! Time TBA.

Meadows can be big or small, short or tall. However large, the environmental benefits are great. Meadows sequester carbon, retain water, filter pollutants, eliminate the need for fertilizers or pesticides and provide habitat.

Reduce your carbon footprint. Improve your neighborhood. Enjoy a meadow in your backyard!

Join the Jericho Conservation Commission as we show the film "Urban and Suburban Meadows: Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces".

Date: Thursday, October 24th at 7pm

Location: Deborah Rawson Memorial Library

Please join us on Thursday, July 25th at 8 pm as we celebrate our first MOTH NIGHT!

Where: Mills Riverside Park, Rt. 15, Jericho, VT - meet in the Pavilion

What: As part of National Moth Week,a global citizen science effort to learn more about moths, we will be hosting some experts from the Vermont Entomological Society. We will begin with a short presentation about moths and then go out into the field to observe them up-close.