Naomi Robert Receives First Place Scholarship for Earthworm Research Project!

Naomi Robert collecting earthworms as part of her research project.

Congratualations are well deserved to Naomi Robert for receiving a first place scholarship from UCONN's Natural Resources Conservation Academy for her research on earthworms at White Memorial!  Her poster is below:

White Memorial Posters at the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources 2015

Monday 16 March 2015 will be the CCNR at University of Connecticut.  We will present two posters at the conference.  Click on the images above to enlarge the poster.

Introducing Our Seasonal Research Technician -- Jared Franklin

Jared Franklin

We are pleased to introduce you to Jared Franklin, our Seasonal Research Technician.  Jared has had a wide variety of experiences that make him an excellent addition to our staff.  He recently graduated from Messiah College with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science.  Jared grew up in Torrington, CT and graduated from Wamogo Regional High School in Agricultural Science Education Program.  During his academic studies, Jared broadened his perspective by traveling to several regions of the world including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Thailand.  Jared's travels have impacted his intellectual development greatly.  In Costa Rica, he examined the health of volcanic rainforest streams compared to size, elevations, and levels of human disturbance.  This research examined how this impacted water quality and macroinvertebrate species assemblages.  He was a project leader in Nicaragua that researched water filtration and purification systems, sustainable development, and implications on local human community water resources.  Jared recently returned from Thailand, where he examined the relationship of current agricultural practices and their impacts on soil erosion.  We are fortunate to have Jared with us this summer.  Jared is guided by his desire to explore the natural world.  His perspective will have important impacts on our program.

Cerceris Wasp Bio-Surveillance for Emerald Ash Borer -- 2012 Season Update

Although catching Cerceris Wasps can be challenging,
finding a Buprestid Beetle in the net is a great reward! 

We need your help!  The more people we have at each of the Cerceris colonies, the more beetles we catch!  That’s the secret to our success, so far.  Our goal is to collect 50 beetles at each colony so that we can assess the diversity of species now.  When Emerald Ash Borer colonizes the property, not only will we lose the ash trees but we will also see changes in the beetle population, too!  More importantly though, this project is really fun!  We need your help but don’t miss out on the fun.  


We finished Litchfield P.S. Plumb Hill Ball Field today with a total of 50 beetles, exactly!  On Tuesday there were 4 of us and we caught 25 beetles in two hours.  We finished this site in just a few days because we collected 50% of the goal in one day!


St. Anthony’s cemetery has 38 beetles so far, which means one more day’s worth of work will finish it off.  We’ve had one person at this colony by themselves for 3 days.  Those individuals caught 10 – 13 beetles each day.  We've almost finished with this colony!  Can you help us finish this colony tomorrow?  

Wamogo’s colony just woke up around Monday, but we have 13 beetles collected so far.  Three people caught 13 beetles in one day!  The pitcher’s mound is the place to be at Wamogo with over 20 nests.  Then there are the other nests in the rest of the diamond!  This site could be finished quickly with just a little bit of your help!

Morris Town Beach also woke up on Monday but we have not made it to that location yet, therefore no beetles have been collected at that site.  This colony is closest to some of our best ash stands on the property; therefore it is vital that this site not get put to the last colony for the season.  We can’t miss the big push.  We need you here!  

Please be part of this project.  As you can see if you want to part of the fun, you will need to be part of it before we finish the season without you.  

Contact me to let me know when and where you want to catch wasps and collect beetles.

White Memorial's Notable Trees

Of the 2.5 million trees that can be found living on the White Memorial Foundation, there are a few that stand out above the rest.  A systematic and repeatable method has been developed to measure and rate whether certain trees of the same species can be classified as a Notable Tree.  

(l to r) Eddie Matthews, Lukas Hyder, and Nicole Morin measure the spread of this tree's canopy.  

Lukas Hyder, Assistant Property Superintendent, has been reviewing the trees found on the property.  Eddie Matthews, Wamogo Region #6 H.S. Agricultural Science Education student, has been helping him with this procedure.   White Memorial conserves several trees that are recognized as some of the largest trees for certain species in the state and New England!

The circumference of the tree bole at a specific height up the trunk is measured.  

The height of the tree is measured using a clinometer at a specified distance from the tree.

The tree is geo-referenced so that it can be mapped and found later.

The tree is tagged so that everyone knows the tree is part of the project.

The data is recorded and a score is calculated.

Finally, a photo is taken of the tree with a person in the picture
to serve as a scale to size the tree

White Memorial Organizing BioBlitz for 2013

Middletown BioBlitz

White Memorial is proud to announce that it is planning a BioBlitz for May 31 - June 1, 2013 as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of White Memorial Foundation's incorporation.  A BioBlitz is an event where every living organism is counted within a 24 hour period.  Scientists who study specific groups of flora and fauna, referred to as taxonomists, perform the counting and are helped by volunteers.  Families are welcome to attend nature walks, learn more about our natural world, and participate in the inventory.  BioBlitzes are intense with every one trying to count as many species as possible and are loads of fun!  Thousands of organisms are counted by experts and amateurs in only 24 hours.  Our organizing committee consists of local educators, scientists, and conservationists.  Check back here to learn more about our BioBlitz in 2013!

Sue Clarkin, Wamogo High School Science Teacher
April Devereux, Wamogo High School Science Teacher
James Fischer, White Memorial Cons. Ctr. Research Director
Gerri Griswold, White Memorial Cons. Ctr. Director of Administration and Development
Jeff Greenwood, White Memorial Cons. Ctr. Education Director
Nicki Hall, Litchfield Hills Audubon Society Board Member
Twan Leenders, Connecticut Audubon Society Conservation Biologist
John Markelon, Litchfield High School Science Teacher

Introducing Faye Curran: Our New Student Intern

Faye Curran

Faye will be working with us over the next several months to gain practical experience in science.  She graduated from Wamogo Regional High School with several Advanced Placement credits in June and wants to attend the University of New Hampshire. She is interested in a career in Genetic Counseling and during her "gap" year is working as a child caregiver at a daycare center.  Faye has monitored neotropical migratory songbird populations in the Costa Rican rain forests and studied the periphyton and water chemistry in several of Connecticut's rivers.  She is currently helping us with sampling chytrid fungus on White Memorial's amphibian population.  With all of Faye's experiences, we are looking forward to her contributions to the program.

Cerceris Wasp Biosurveillance of Emerald Ash Borer -- 2011 Initial Results

Locations of Cerceris Wasp colonies (Red Markers) used as biosurveillance tool for
Emerald Ash Borer at White Memorial Foundation, Litchfield & Morris, CT, USA.
Google Earth Image 

We identified 4 colonies of Cerceris Wasps in close proximity to the property.  The wasp watchers have been  steadily collecting beetles (42 from all of the colonies) that the wasps have been bringing back to their nests.  The wasps become active every sunny day around 11:00 a.m. EST with their orientation flights around the nest entrance.  Very soon after leaving they start bring back beetles to their nests, where the wasp watchers are waiting to catch and release the wasp unharmed but leaving a beetle in the bottom of the insect net.  The beetles are sent to our state's coordinator for this project Claire Rutledge at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.