Quincy Bog Natural Area

Nature Walks and Workshops -- Summer 2008

Walks are free and open to the public and (except the Dragonfly Workshop) will be held rain or shine. All Walks will leave from the Quincy Bog Nature Center located on Quincy Bog Road, off Quincy Road, in Rumney, New Hampshire. (Click link for a Map to Quincy Bog ). Wear comfortable walking shoes (except as noted in individual descriptions), and bring drinking water and bug spray. For further information or directions, phone Betty Jo Taffe at (603)786-2553

Wildflower Walk: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 5 – Once again Sarah Schwaegler will share her passion for wildflowers and her extensive knowledge of the subject. Her years of experience include work with the New England Wildflower Society.

Dragonfly Walk: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, July 19– Can you tell the difference between a dragonfly and a damselfly? Join amateur odontologist Bill Taffe to learn about these fascinating insects. The walk will include both lab and field work. Wear shoes or boots appropriate for standing in water, bring drinking water, a lunch and a hand lens (7X – 10X). Limited to 6 participants – preregister by calling Bill Taffe at 786-2553. Call Bill if there are questions about cancelling due to clouds or rain (dragonflies only appear when it’s sunny).

Fern Walk: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 2 – Join Scott Bailey in looking for ferns and fern allies (clubmosses and horsetails). Scott and his wife Amey identified two dozen types of ferns and allies found at the Bog, summarized in a helpful Fern Checklist that’s available in the kiosk at the trailhead. Bring a hand lens if you have one.

Explore a Local Natural Treasure – Quincy Bog: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 23 – Quincy Bog is one of the Baker River Valley’s special places. Wetlands are common in New Hampshire, but Quincy Bog has features that make it exceptional. The Bog is a peatland, a type of wetland with deep soils composed of decayed organic matter. Peatlands, which include bogs and fens, occupy only a small part of the state’s landscape and are considered critical wildlife habitat in New Hampshire. This habitat supports a number of rare species and is vulnerable to changes in water levels, sediment and water pollution. Join Frank Mitchell on a walk around Quincy Bog as he explains the origin and ecology of peatlands and points out characteristic peatland plants. He will help people identify signs of wildlife in and around the Bog, and discuss the reasons for and means of protecting wetlands such as Quincy Bog to safeguard their ecological integrity. If possible, please bring your favorite tree/shrub field guide. Binoculars may be useful but are not necessary.

Frank Mitchell is a Land and Water Conservation Specialist with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and Professor of Extension with the UNH Natural Resources Department. He has experience as a conservationist, educator, and naturalist. He is active in his community, Deerfield, where he has served on the Conservation Commission for over a decade. He is also on the Board of Directors of Bear-Paw Regional Greenways, a regional land trust in southeast New Hampshire.

An Evening of Star Gazing – To Be Announced. Please keep checking back to this site for updates on this program.

Fabulous Fungi Workshop: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sunday, September 7 – This short seminar on Mushrooms will introduce the beginner and amateur mushroom enthusiast to the intricate world of higher fungi in northern New England. We will introduce the basic groups of mushrooms as well as their role in nature, and sort out the sometimes daunting task of keying out species by using diagnostic keys. Toxic mushrooms will be separated from their edible look-alikes. All common reference works will be reviewed in the context of suitability and accuracy. Participants are welcome to bring their own collections, although we will foray around Quincy Bog in the late morning and afternoon for fresh material.

Our instructor, Dr. Rick Van de Poll, is the principal of Ecosystem Management Consultants (EMC) of Sandwich, New Hampshire. Beginning in the mid-1980’s, his company was one of the first to perform natural resource inventories for the public and private sector of New England. With an emphasis on biodiversity conservation, Dr. Van de Poll has included inventories of fungi among many of his projects. Dr. Van de Poll has completed field-based biological inventories on over 100,000 acres of land, including the Castle-in-the-Clouds Preserve in Moultonborough, the Hersey Mountain Preserve in Sanbornton and New Hampton, the Peirce Reservation in Stoddard, and the Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge in Errol. He has recorded over 1200 fungi in New Hampshire, including a number of undescribed species. After studying with Dr. Harry Thiers at San Francisco State University for 2 years, he taught Mycology at Antioch New England from 1985 to 2001, and currently teaches Mycology as an adjunct faculty at Plymouth State University. As a lecturer, Rick has presented at dozens of seminars and conferences as an invited guest and keynote speaker. He co-founded the Monadnock Mushroom Club in 1988, and founded the local Sandwich Area Mushroom (SAM) Club in 2001.

Limited to 20 participants, pre-registration required. Email or call Betty Jo Taffe (bjtaffe@roadrunner.com, telephone 786-2553) to reserve your spot and arrange to pay the $15.00 fee. Bring drinking water and a lunch. Baskets and 10x hand lens are encouraged. Please bring your favorite reference guides as well.