Owl pellet appreciation post! The woods we are working to protect are FULL of owls: great horned owls, barred owls, and screech owls. Owls swallow their prey whole, and their bodies can’t digest the bones, feathers and fur. The owl will cough the indigestibles back up in nifty little pellets, and you can find them easily once you get the hang of it! Look for a tree with whitewash on the side (owl waste looks like a splash of white paint) or on the ground. Check around the base of the tree, chances are you’ll find a pellet! Pull it apart with tweezers to check what treasures are inside. We find bones, beaks, teeth, feathers, and claws. It never fails to enthrall my kid, it awakens his curiosity and he loves feeling like a detective and scientist. Nature is our classroom, now more than ever. Please donate at change.org: Save Chebacco Trails to help preserve our woods 🌿 #getoutside #savechebaccotrails #owlsofinstagram #owls #naturelover #nature #naturelearning #kidsinthewoods #conservation

It’s that weird in-between time, mud one minute, snow the next (anyone out in this flurry today?), and it’s a strange time for our group: we’re getting the word out and making plans, but it’s still a few weeks until planning board meetings. This is a time when it’s so important we don’t lose our momentum. Please alert your friends and invite them to donate, it’s so important for planning legal representation and expert consultations to protect this watershed and land. We are working with some truly fantastic people, but the one we’re most grateful for is you (yes, you!)! Stay tuned for some exciting news this week about how you can get involved! #fakespring #springinnewengland #savechebaccotrails #newengland #animaltracks #getoutside #staywild #conservation #tracking #watchforsigns

Research shows the benefits children get from being in nature include better motivation and concentration, improved language, communication and social skills, enhanced physical skills (more stamina, improved balance, co-ordination and fine motor skills), appreciation of natural surroundings, and new confidence and self-esteem. The way it interacts and awakens their senses is unparalleled. Richard Luov, author of Last Child in the Woods, says, “As young people spend less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, both physiologically and psychologically.” Keep our kids in the woods, here in town and free of charge. As one particularly passionate 7 year old proclaimed (swipe to see), “Out with those houses, in with the woods!” #savechebaccotrails #getoutside #kidsinnature #forestschool #learnfromnature #staywild #keepkidswild #conservation #springinnewengland

“Increasingly the evidence suggests that people benefit so much from contact with nature that land conservation can now be viewed as a public health strategy.” —Richard Louv, author and Audubon Medal recipient Please support our efforts by donating at https://www.savechebaccotrails.org All money raised will go toward legal, hydrologist, and outreach expenses to save this important North Shore open space.

Why do the woods matter to the wildlife? “It may be intuitive: it’s their home! But if this area gets torn down they’ll just move elsewhere, right? Does it matter that much? Unfortunately, it does. In ecology, one of the detrimental consequences of habitat loss is known as ‘edge effects’. When tracts of forest such as Chebacco are broken up, it increases the perimeter of the habitat. If the area on the human side of the border is unnatural and manmade, it compromises the entire ecosystem. When the intrusion is as large and damaging as this one intends to be, wildlife that depend on the depth of the woods can easily be eradicated from the area. From the owls in their deep forest haunts to the salamanders that rely on untouched damp logs decades old, there would be simply nowhere to go. “ —Davey Walters, Environmental Science and Biology student at Hobart and William and Smith Colleges, naturalist, birder, photographer. Photo credit: Davey Walters. Also just one more day to enter our GIVEAWAY! Click here for details https://www.instagram.com/p/CL4vMQOMVUN/?igshid=nrw600f1us4j We’ll announce a winner on Saturday! 🌟🌿🌲🍄. #conservation #wildlife #nature #trails #getoutside #massachsettsconservation#wildlifephotography #animals #naturephotography #wildlifeconservation #photography #environment #birds #animal #naturelovers #biodiversity #sustainability #wild #photooftheday #outdoors #climatechange #education

It’s really starting to look like spring and it’s mud season in the woods, we’re looking forward to getting out there in some good boots! In the meantime, click over to Monday’s giveaway and tag 3 friends, we’ll draw a winner on Saturday! #getoutside #newengland #conservation #savechebaccotrails #goodboots #mudseason #staywild #intothewoods

GIVEAWAY TIME! It’s Monday and it’s soggy, let’s have some fun! To thank all of you for your support we are giving away a print of this award-winning photo by Davey Walters right here in the woods we’re trying to save. Davey grew up nearby and found a passion for wildlife photography in these woods, this particular piece was selected for Audubon’s Top 100. The bird is a hermit thrush which Davey, who majors in ornithology and environmental studies, explains, “is a classic example of a breeding species that is uncommon regionally and relies on the acres of the woods that are in danger.” TO ENTER (on Facebook or instagram) 1. Like and share this post 2. Tag three friends in the comments who need to know about this That’s it, easy like a rainy Monday! Get to liking, tagging and sharing, we’ll announce a winner on Saturday! #savechebaccotrails #getoutside #conservation #newengland #staywild #audubonsociety #birdingphotography #biodiversity

Please share far and wide! The very talented @rosewosepka made this fantastic infographic to help give a quick rundown of what’s happening! We are so fortunate to work with such talented people 🌟🌿🌲🍄 #savechebaccotrails #getoutside #wildspaces #keepforestsstanding #conservation #newengland #grassroots #climatechange

Love these trails? Please visit https://www.savechebaccotrails.org. Sign up for our email list to stay informed and help us try to preserve this open space and watershed forever. #conservation #getoutside #getoutdoors #bikingmassachusetts #mountainbikingmassachusetts #hikingmassachusetts

We are so grateful to our community for showing support and joining us here! It has never been more important to protect wild spaces, and it’s vital that no matter chaotic the world feels we always have these places to connect with nature and appreciate simple moments. We thought we’d have some fun during these soggy days before spring, stay tuned and next week we’re going to have a little giveaway! Please keep sharing and spreading the word 🌟 🌲🌿🍄 #savechebaccotrails #getoutside #winterinnewengland #springthaw #almostspring #conservation #wildspaces #staywild

The beauty of winter! Get out and enjoy the trails that we are so lucky to have right here in town. #getoutside #getoutsideandexplore #hikingadventures #bikingmassachusetts

Please help Save Chebacco Trails by signing the petition at change.org http://chng.it/FB5wYMWPqg #conservation #get outside #nature #mountainbikingmassachusetts #hikingmassachusetts

Davey Waters is studying environmental science and biology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in NY. He has been a wildlife photographer for over 10 years, and his close work studying nature has led to an interest in conservation photojournalism. He is also an expert birder and naturalist. https://drive.google.com/file/d/18M0MIZAJgnkuIBKKVQwgc-Os4wXAg7Ai/view?usp=sharing_eil&ts=60209622 Hayden Landry is a freelance filmmaker based in Hamilton Ma. having studied comparative literature at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst, he works with many local artists and grass roots organizations in helping translate their message through film. #conservation #savechebaccotrails #hikingmassachusetts #bikingmassachusetts #getoutside #getoutsidemassachusetts