Blog By Joan Greene, Tennessee Naturalist Program __ Photo: Common or European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris The annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2022 begins Friday, February 18 through Monday, February 21.  This year the bird count (GBBC) is celebrating 25 years of people across the globe coming together to enjoy and document birds.  The count was

by Joan Greene “Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.” Yoko Ono There is something about the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night, that marks the true beginning

by Joan Greene Recently the Tennessee Naturalist Program sponsored a workshop on Empowering Environmental Advocacy.  The class leaders Noah Charney, Executive Director of Radnor to River and Stewart Clifton, former member of the Metro Nashville Council and Planning Commission presented ideas on how normal citizens can make a difference in the politics of environmental advocacy. 

Landscaping with Native Plants . . . In the spring many of us think about cleaning out flower beds and planting native plants that brighten our landscape and provide for Tennessee wildlife.

by Joan Greene Baby, it is cold outside.  On winter days like today one becomes aware of the tenaciousness of birds. According to Bernd Heinrich in Cornell’s All About Birds blog, “They (birds) solve the winter survival problem in many ways, often by doing many things at once.  . . . The most simple formula:

by Margie Hunter A good friend of mine who introduced me to the beauty of native plants in 1994, Paul Moore, has an alter ego — Moss Man. With patches of moss dangling from his head, he peers around the trunk of a tree sporting a big grin and wide eyes, a grown man totally

by Joan Greene My natural instinct a few days before Thanksgiving 2020 is to write about wild turkeys. But just as I was into my third or fourth paragraph of waxing on about the Tennessee wild turkey population and signs of decline in certain counties, a colleague sent me an engaging blog about turkeys written

by Joan Greene — Published 10.15.2020 — Tennessee Naturalist Program One early autumn a murder (flock) of crows took over the big oak tree next to my driveway out front. The scene was perfect, rich hues of fallen leaves covered the ground and an abundant crop of acorns lay scattered on the drive. That year

by Joan Greene According to Wikipedia: A BioBlitz, also written without capitals as bioblitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct the field study over a set period of time. On Saturday, September 12, 2020,