This fall, we’ve been exploring some of PEI’s least-common trees, including Balsam Poplar, Ironwood, and Jack Pine. Today it’s one many people haven’t even heard of: Bog Birch ( Betula pumila ).   We often think of Birch as among the majestic trees of PEI’s early forests. Nineteenth century writers told of Yellow Birch ( Betula alleghaniensis ) three to four feet in diameter, and it was said that Mi’kmaq people were able to make a six-person canoe from the bark of a single Wh

Most Islanders are familiar with Poplar (aka Trembling Aspen, featured last week), and many know of its relative, Large-tooth Aspen. But...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Today’s topic is courtesy of...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Winter is great time to spot...

Some may say that PEI is geologically boring, but I think nothing could be further from the truth! Our sandstone bedrock holds...

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s easy-to-identify fungi. ‘Mushroom’ usually evokes the stereotypical...

When you hear the words ‘endangered species’, I’m betting animals like Piping Plover and Monarch Butterflies – or maybe Elephants and...

Humans think in decades, forests operate in centuries, but the land’s timeframe spans hundreds of millions of years.  We can read...

There’s a line in E.B. White’s book Stuart Little that I love “…orchards so old they have forgotten where the farmhouse is”. I often...

I’ve been enjoying the first berries of the season here on PEI.  No not Wild Strawberries, though a quick glance at a handful might fool...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal “Google” for information on all things natural on PEI!  In October, I posted about...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal ‘Google’ for all things wild on PEI! Late last week, my inbox started filling up with...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal ‘Google’ for all things wild on PEI! I received these photos of foamy trees from...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal ‘Google’ for all things wild on PEI! I’ve gotten lots of great questions since...