If you missed the Rain Garden presentation on April 19th, we have a link to the manual published by UVM and Sea Grant.

What are some of the benefits of a rain garden?

• Reduces stormwater runoff
• Improves water quality
• Helps control flash flooding
• Removes Pollutants
• Provides Wildlife Habitat

Read more about using nature-based solutions to manage runoff on your property. 2021 Rain Garden Manual for Vermont and the Lake Champlain Basin

Help Birds and Pollinators by adding some native plants to your gardens this year. Plants are Vermont-grown at Riverberry Farm in Fairfax and will be available for pick up in Jericho. Proceeds from the plant sale will benefit the Jericho Community Center. The deadline for placing orders is April 30th.

More details and Plant Order Form here: https://jerichovermont.blogspot.com/2023/02/pollinator-plant-sale-2023-community.html

Read more about the role that clean water plays in building climate resilience in these fact sheets published by the VNRC.

Jericho, Vermont is part of the Lake Champlain Watershed: The Browns River feeds into the Lamoille River and the Mill Brook feeds into the Winooski River.

Click on each image to read the PDF.

How to Participate

Participating is easy, fun to do alone or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds.

Step 2: Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 17-20, 2023.

Step 3: Identify all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings:

• If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to bird identification, try using the Merlin Bird ID app to tell us what birds you are seeing or hearing.
• If you have participated in the count before and want to record numbers of birds, try the eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list

If you already contribute to Merlin or eBird, continue what you are doing! All entries over the 4-days count towards GBBC.

Learn more at: BIRDCOUNT.ORG

The Jericho Conservation Commission is beginning a project at the Town Green which will model the practices of allowing leaves to remain under trees from the trunk out to the dripline and combining that with some native plantings ("Soft Landings"). This will:

• Protect the trunks of the trees
• Prevent soil compaction around the trees
• Provide natural mulch in the forms of leaves and other plants
• Provide habitat for overwintering insects such as moth caterpillars and some types of bees

Stay tuned as this project progresses through 2023 and beyond.

One of three Sugar Maples in the project with a base layer of fallen leaves from the site

Click here to read more about Soft Landings

Join the Jericho Conservation Commission on Thursday, May 19 at 6:30 pm at the Community Center (Browns Trace) as we welcome local plant expert and nursery owner, Jane Sorenson. View the video of the presentation here: Pollinator Gardens Presentation link

She will give us professional tips on how we can use pollinator plants to improve the ecological function of our gardens. Learn which plants can be used to provide blooms throughout the growing season to support a wide range of native bees and other pollinators.

Jane Sorenson is a retired landscape architect. She gives presentations on Landscape Design for Pollinators around the region and also teaches a course at the University of Vermont. Her locally grown plants were featured in our recent pollinator plant sale to benefit the Community Center.

Friday the 13th Bat Walk and Talk

Learn Why It’s GOOD LUCK To Have Bats Around

8pm, May 13^th – meet at the Jericho Center Green

Join state small mammals biologist Alyssa Bennett from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department as she teaches us about the bats in your backyard, barn, and bat house.

Take a walk around the Green and nearby quiet streets as the sun goes down and bat activity starts up around dusk to learn about what bats live in Jericho and how you can manage your home, yard, fields, and forests to support these voracious insect eaters while avoiding any unwanted conflicts.

Providing there is good weather (no heavy rain, strong winds, or temperatures below 45 degrees), we will also be able to listen for bat activity and identify species flying in the air around us using specialized microphones and sonogram software. Dress for a walk on easy terrain and bring a headlamp for this family-friendly event.

The Great Backyard Bird count is a Community Science event open to anyone who wants to participate. Join bird watchers from around the globe between February 18 and 21 to be part of this event. How To Participate