The Fern Identification Workshop has been postponed due to the forecast for heavy rain early on the 7th. It will be held on September 8th at the same time.
How many times have you seen a group of ferns in your woods and wondered, “what species are those?” Knowing more about the different types of ferns and how they affect the natural environment can help us be better stewards of our woods.
Vermont forester Lynn Levine, working with illustrator Briony Morrow-Cribbs, has created a handy guide to Northeast ferns that you can carry in your back pocket and use in the woods. Their 74-page guide, Identifying Ferns the Easy Way: A Pocket Guide to Common Ferns of the Northeast, provides drawings and text on how to identify 25 different fern species, both by the shape and type of leaves, and the habitats in which they are found.
On Saturday, September 7th, Levine will lead an MFA workshop on Fern Identification at Ben & Susie Feldman’s Tree Farm in Athol from 9 to 11 am, weather permitting. Participants will each get a copy of her new guidebook, and learn how to use it to identify different fern species.
Cost of the workshop is $25 per person, $20 for MFA members, including a copy of the fern identification guide. In case of bad weather, the rain date will be September 8th at the same time.
Participants can register by calling Greg Cox at (413) 339-5526 or emailing him at gcox@crocker.com Attendees must pre-register so we can arrange to bring sufficient copies of the guide.
The Feldman Tree Farm is located at 586 Briggs Road in Athol. To get to the Tree Farm, take Route 32 south from Route 2 and turn left onto Briggs Road. The Tree Farm is at the end of the road.
For more information about the Fern guide, see www.heartwoodpress.com