News & Events

Trail Work Day at Aton Forest, Friday and Saturday, October 9 & 10.

2009-09-30T15:22:00.001-04:00

Hello Friends of AF!

Please help us clear the trails at Aton Forest Friday, October 9^th from 1 to 4 pm and Saturday, October 10^th from 9 am to 12 noon. In case of rain, I’ll contact those who RSVP to reschedule, or you can call or email me.

We’re still cleaning up trails and need your help to get the trails in shape our Open House on Saturday, October 17^th.

We will meet at the AF Headquarters, 270 North Colebrook Road, Norfolk. If you arrive late, look for my red Chevy pickup along North Colebrook Road and the trail we are working on should be obvious. You can also try to reach me on my cell phone on the workday, but service is spotty around AF (860-248-1053).

Please wear suitable clothing, gloves and footgear for hiking and some heavy clearing of downed wood and brush. If you have hand tools for brush cutting please bring these as well. Most work will entail cutting downed wood to manageable sizes and dragging brush off the trails. Call or email me if you have any questions. Thank you.

Please RSVP

* * * * * * *

Hope to see you soon,

John P. Anderson Jr.

Executive Director, Aton Forest, Inc. and Aton Forest Fellow

E-mail: johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net

Office: 860-542-5125

Mail: PO Box 509, Norfolk, CT 06058

If you know others who might be interested in attending these get-togethers, please send me their contact information.

If you are no longer interested in being notified about these meetings, please e-mail me at johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net.

Aton Forest Open House, Saturday, October 17, 10 am - 4 pm, Norfolk, CT

2009-09-30T10:53:00.000-04:00

ATON FOREST

An Ecological RESEARCH Field Station

OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, OCTOBER 17, 2009 - 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 p.m.

ATON FOREST, INC. HEADQUARTERS

270 NORTH COLEBROOK ROAD, NORFOLK, CONNECTICUT

Telephone (860) 542-5125 E-mail contact@atonforest.org

10:00 AM: Bird Walk – Meet at the AF Log Cabin & Beaver Pond at 70 S. Sandisfield Rd. & walk to AF Hq (an easy 1 mile hike)

12:00 PM: Welcome – Meet the AF, Inc. officers & directors

12:30 PM: Talks and posters on recent AF activities, programs for 2010 and tours of the Egler House

Naturalistic Landscaping by Larry Weaner

American Chestnut Research

2:30 PM: A Nature Hike into the interior of the Forest – Leaving from AF Headquarters (a moderate hike of about 2 miles)

Dulcimer Music by Mixolydian

Light Lunch and Refreshments provided

Aton Forest Open House

2009-09-09T17:24:00.000-04:00

Saturday, October 17, 2009, from 10:00 AM To 4:00 PM

All are welcome to the 7^th Annual Aton Forest Open House!

Beginning at 10 AM there will be a bird walk in the vicinity of a beaver pond and along portions of a bird research survey line. Then at 12 PM will be the official welcome and introduction of the Aton Forest, Inc. officers & directors. Following this will be a variety of talks and demonstrations related to activities at AF. Finally around 2:30 PM there will be a hike into the interior of the Forest. Music & refreshments will be provided for all to enjoy.

For updated information please visit our website at www.atonforest.org. Aton Forest is located at 270 North Colebrook Road, Norfolk, Connecticut. For more information: Telephone: (860) 542-5125; E-mail: contact@atonforest.org; Website: www.atonforest.org.

There is still room for a few more participants for the Carex Workshop!

2009-07-04T11:06:00.000-04:00

Field identification of Sedges (the genus Carex) of Northwestern Connecticut: a 2-day Workshop.

This plant identification workshop focuses on the most diverse genus of vascular plants in Connecticut: Carex, or the “sedges” sensu stricto. Considered by many a “cryptic” (i.e., hard-to-identify) group, the sedges are actually a well-behaved taxonomic group, with relatively little hybridization, that have high value as indicator species of hydrologic regime and fertility regime, and the vast majority of species are identifiable with no more than 10X magnification. This workshop will focus on field identification, ecology, and indicator value of wetland Carex species. The workshop will emphasize development of field identification skills, as opposed to collection and keying out of specimens in the lab. On the first day, we will visit wetlands in and around White Memorial Conservation Center, in Litchfield, CT. This 4000-acre sanctuary contains a great variety of wetland types. The second day will begin at Aton Forest, a research forest in Norfolk and Colebrook, CT, that is especially rich in northern-affinity wetlands. After Aton Forest, we will visit several calcareous wetlands in the marble districts of northwest Connecticut. Field days will begin at 09:00 and end ~18:00. There will be an optional lab session on the evening of the 7^th, on the first floor of the dormitory at White Memorial Conservation Center. The running of the workshop is conditional upon a minimum enrollment of 12 people. Decision as to whether or not the workshop will run will be made July 2^nd. Enrollment is limited to 15 people, so those who are sure they want to take the workshop should contact Bill Moorhead (contact info below) as soon as possible to reserve their space.

NOTE: for people working toward New England Wildflower Society (NEWFS) Regular or Advanced Field Botany certificates, this workshop can be counted as 1 elective course in the Regular Field Botany program, or 1 core course in the Advanced Field Botany Program.

Each participant should bring: a good quality hand lens with at least 10X magnification; fine-pointed forceps that can be carried in the field, hip or chest waders, his/her choice of insect repellant, sun protection, etc. The waders are not absolutely essential, but participants should be in any case prepared be in thigh-deep water/muck some of the time. A waterproof field notebook and collecting bags are highly recommended.

Taxonomy will follow Flora of North America Volume 23, with exceptions noted when Arthur Haines draft Flora Novae Angliae differs.

This workshop is sponsored by Aton Forest, Inc.

Instructor: Bill Moorhead, Consulting Field Botanist, 486 Torrington Rd, Litchfield, CT 06759. Telephone: 860-567-4920. Email: whmoorhead@optonline.net.

Dates: Tues July 7 - Wed July 8, 2009. Field days will begin at 09:00, and end ~18:00. An attendance-optional lab session will occur ~19:00-21:00 on July 7^th, on the first floor of the dormitory.

Accommodations and amenities: dormitory-style overnight accommodations at White Memorial Conservation Center on the night of July 7^th are included in the tuition. This includes use of a kitchen on the night of the 7^th and morning of the 8^th. Overnight accommodations on the night of the 6^th and the 8^th may be available, for an extra fee that is dependent on the number of people that need accommodations. Lunch and liquid refreshments on both July 7^th and 8^th are included in the tuition. Transportation to field sites will be provided.

Tuition: $225.00. Payment in full, by cash or check, is due by the beginning of the workshop on July 7^th, 2009. Credit or debit card payment is not accepted (sorry). An advance deposit is not required, but those who wish to take the workshop should contact Bill Moorhead by telephone or email as soon as possible. Enrollment will be on a first-come-first-served basis, and is limited to 15. As the running of the workshop is conditional upon a minimum enrollment, the final decision as to whether the workshop will be run will be made by July 2^nd. Any advanced payments will refunded in full if the workshop is cancelled.

For more information, contact Bill Moorhead (860-567-4920, whmoorhead@optonline.net) or John Anderson, Executive Director, Aton forest, Inc. (860-542-5125, contact@atonforest.org)

A talk by the eminent entomologist David Wagner, July 9th

2009-07-03T11:50:00.000-04:00

WHO AM I? WHAT DO I EAT?

HOW DO I KEEP FROM BEING EATEN?

Photo © Katherine Griswoldaaiaa

Thursday, July 9, 7:30 p.m.

Norfolk town hall (19 Maple Avenue)

David Wagner, author of “Caterpillars of Eastern North America” and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, will give a slide show and talk on local caterpillars, their myriad disguises and defenses, and some of their favorite eating places.

No admission charge; crawl-ins welcome!

Sponsored by the Norfolk Conservation Commission

FW: sedge ID workshop

2009-06-29T20:11:00.000-04:00

From: whmoorhead@optonline.net [mailto:whmoorhead@optonline.net]
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:39 AM
To: contact@atonforest.org
Subject: sedge ID workshop, this time with attachment

Dear actual and potential sedge-o-phile,

Attached is an announcement of a 2-day workshop I am instructing, on July 7-8, on the field identification and ecology of sedges (genus Carex) in northwestern Connecticut, sponsored by Aton Forest, Inc. Please review the announcement and consider attending, if you are an intermediate to advanced botanizer who has a strong interest in gaining (or regaining) more taxonomic confidence in the field with largest genus of flowering plants in Connecticut (and North America). It is not a beginner's guide to grass-like plants. This workshop will focus, in largest part, on wetland habitats. I hope that this will be the first in a series of annual field identification workshops that will focus on different habitat suites, seasonal timings, and geographic subsets of Connecticut.

Also, please note, the New England Wildflower Society, though not a sponsor, has graciously agreed to count this workshop to count as one elective course or one core course, respectively, for those in their Field Botany and Advance Field Botany certificate programs.

Also, please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone else you think would be interested in this workshop.

Bill Moorhead
Consulting Field Botanist
486 Torrington Road
Litchfield, CT 06759
Phone & FAX: 860-567-4920
Cell phone: 860-543-1786
Email: whmoorhead@optonline.net

AF Bird Walk - Saturday, June 6th at 8:00 AM

2009-06-01T21:07:00.000-04:00

Hello naturalists!

You are invited to a bird walk at Aton Forest on Saturday, June 6th at 8 am, lead by local bird enthusiast Ayreslea Denny.

Meet at the Log Cabin, 70 South Sandisfield Road, Aton Forest, Norfolk. (Call or email for more directions or check our website at www.atonforest.org.) We will be walking around the open field south of the cabin to the shore of the large beaver pond and then up the road and onto some of the forest trails of Aton Forest. Most of the walking will be easy and there will be access to a restroom at the cabin. Please wear proper footgear for hiking and be prepared for some biting insects and ticks.

Please RSVP

* * * * * * *

Hope to see you soon,

John P. Anderson Jr.

Executive Director, Aton Forest, Inc. and Aton Forest Fellow

E-mail: johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net

Office: 860-542-5125

Mail: PO Box 509, Norfolk, CT 06058

If you know others who might be interested in attending these get-togethers, please send me their contact information.

If you are no longer interested in being notified about these meetings, please e-mail me at johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net.

Trail Work Day at Aton Forest, Saturday, May 30 at 9 am

2009-05-28T14:51:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends of AF!

Please help us clear the trails at Aton Forest this Saturday, May 30^th from 9 am to 12 noon.

The wind and ice storms of 2008 left our trails and boundary lines in terrible shape. We are hoping to make a concerted effort to clear them this year with your help, our friends and volunteers. Other works dates will be announced soon. We will meet at the AF Headquarters, 270 North Colebrook Road, Norfolk. Please wear suitable clothing, gloves and footgear for hiking and some heavy clearing of downed wood and brush. If you have hand tools for brush cutting please bring these as well. Most work will entail cutting downed wood to manageable sizes and dragging brush off the trails. Call or email me if you have any questions. Thank you.

Please RSVP

* * * * * * *

Hope to see you soon,

John P. Anderson Jr.

Executive Director, Aton Forest, Inc. and Aton Forest Fellow

E-mail: johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net

Office: 860-542-5125

Mail: PO Box 509, Norfolk, CT 06058

If you know others who might be interested in attending these get-togethers, please send me their contact information.

If you are no longer interested in being notified about these meetings, please e-mail me at johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net.

Bird Walk, Aton Forest, 70 South Sandisfield Road, Norfolk

2009-05-28T14:34:00.000-04:00

Hello naturalists!

You are invited to a bird walk at Aton Forest on Saturday, June 6th at 8 am, lead by local bird enthusiast Ayreslea Denny.

Please RSVP

* * * * * * *

Hope to see you soon,

John P. Anderson Jr.

Executive Director, Aton Forest, Inc. and Aton Forest Fellow

E-mail: johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net

Office: 860-542-5125

Mail: PO Box 509, Norfolk, CT 06058

If you know others who might be interested in attending these get-togethers, please send me their contact information.

If you are no longer interested in being notified about these meetings, please e-mail me at johnanderson7440@sbcglobal.net.

Bird Walk for the Norfolk Girl Scouts, Saturday, April 25, 2009, at 8:00 am

2009-04-18T21:54:00.000-04:00

This is a special outdoor nature experience to introduce the Girl Scouts and their families to the study of birds and opportunities for nature study at Aton Forest. Included will be a walk led by Ayreslea Denny around a variety of habitats important for bird species, such as an open field, mature forest, a beaver pond and marsh. Shelley Harms will demonstrate live-capture using mist nets and bird-banding. We will meet at the Aton Forest Log Cabin, 70 South Sandisfield Road, Norfolk, at 8 am. Please park on the right (south) side of the driveway. Bring a lunch and enjoy the views and nature while you eat. Contact Vanessa Millard if you are interested in attending.

Vernal Pool Workshop, Saturday, April 18th at Botelle School, Norfolk

2009-04-08T20:39:00.000-04:00

Sponsored by Aton Forest and the Norfolk Land Trust

Come learn about vernal pools and their vital role as nurseries and feeding grounds to a wide range of forest wildlife. Saturday, April 18^th, 10 am. Meeting place: Norfolk town tennis courts by the Botelle School Soccer Field on Rte 44, east of the town center. The outdoor workshop will be led by naturalist Betsy Corrigan. Please sign up by emailing her as space is limited (elizabethcorrigan(AT)yahoo.com). She will arrange another session if there is enough interest. Be prepared for a short hike to the pool.

Please make sure you rsvp to Betsy as she is planning to cancel the workshop if it is raining and will need to alert you.

Aton Forest Open House, Saturday, October 18, 2008

2008-09-18T11:12:00.000-04:00

ATON FOREST

An Ecological RESEARCH Field Station

OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, OCTOBER 18, 2008 - 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 p.m.

ATON FOREST, INC. HEADQUARTERS

270 NORTH COLEBROOK ROAD, NORFOLK, CONNECTICUT

Telephone (860) 542-5125 E-mail contact@atonforest.org

10 AM: Hike to Chimney Hill - guided by J. Anderson (meet at office)

12 PM: Welcome - Meet the Officers & Directors

12:30 PM: Magnificent Failure: Frank Egler and the Greening of Ecology by William Dritschilo

1:30 PM: Naturalistic Landscaping and the Life Work of Dr. Frank Egler by Glenn Dreyer

2:30 PM: Birds & Global Warming: a walking talk by Robert Moeller

Dulcimer Music by Mixolydian

Refreshments provided

Cancelled - Aton Forest Naturalists' Speakers Lunch, September 10th

2008-09-05T09:44:00.000-04:00

The Aton Forest Naturalists' Speakers Lunch scheduled for September 10th has been cancelled.

Aton Forest Board Meeting

2008-07-29T16:04:00.000-04:00

August 6, 2008

10 am at AF Hq.

AF Plant Collections Day & Barbeque

2008-07-10T12:29:00.000-04:00

Plant Collections Day & Barbeque

Saturday, July 19, 2008, 10 am to 4 pm

Meet at the AF Visitors' Quarters, 70 South Sandisfield Road, Norfolk

This is a day to hone your herbarium skills and help us work on the AF plant collection: mounting, labeling, cataloging. We have some dried and pressed plants to mount (or bring your own), including some recently discovered sedges collected by the late Dr. Frank Egler.

This summer AF has hired a botany intern, Tom Edson of Meriden, who you will have an opportunity to meet. Tom has been mounting, labeling and filing existing specimens and working on increasing the AF collection through field collection, pressing and mounting additional plant species from the property.

A present, there are 265 species of vascular plants represented in the AF collection. In addition there are several unidentified specimens and 100 specimens of mosses and lichens which you can help us identify.

A barbeque will be ongoing throughout the day; grilled meat and veggie burgers will be provided. Please bring a cold dish to share and your beverage of choice.

Please RSVP or contact John Anderson for more information.

Phone: 860-542-5125 office, 860-542-6924 visitors’ quarters, 860-248-1053 cell

Google Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=70+South+Sandisfield+Road%2C+Norfolk&hl=en

New Marlborough Land Preservation Trust Hike, Saturday May 3

2008-04-29T18:42:00.004-04:00

Sat May 3 2pm – 5pm
AF HQ, 270 North Colebrook Road, Norfolk

A special hike for members of the Land Trust

Local Naturalists' Lunch & Walk, Wednesday, May 7th, 12 noon

2008-04-27T11:25:00.002-04:00

Hello naturalists!

The Local Naturalists' Wednesday Speaker's Lunch & Afternoon Walk will be held at Aton Forest on Wednesday, May 7th at 12 noon.

Meet at the Headquarters of Aton Forest, Inc., 270 North Colebrook Road, Norfolk.

Guest Speaker: Bill Moorhead, botanist, who will speak on Old Growth Forests, based on his experiences in Virginia and the Northeast.

After lunch there will be a walk around AF, to see some of our older growth forest.

Lunch will be provided.

Please bring your beverage of choice.

RSVP so I can plan the meal (but don't hesitate to come if you don't).

If you know others who might be interested in attending these get-togethers, please send me their contact information.

Hope to see you soon,

John P. Anderson Jr.

Office: 860-542-5125

Vernal Pool Workshop at AF, Saturday, April 12, 1 pm

2008-04-12T14:09:00.000-04:00

Vernal Pool & Amphibian Identification Field Study: as in past years, we will visit vernal pools at AF; participants will learn to identify early season amphibian egg masses, spermatophores, and adults, as well as characteristics of vernal pools.

For those who can come early (11 am – 1 pm), lunch will be provided and we’ll hold a Local Naturalists’ Gathering. (AF, Inc. board members note: this is the day following the next board meeting.)

Participation for each workshop will be limited to 20 people.

Please RSVP to help us plan these activities.

Note: In 2008 I will be changing the local naturalists’ gatherings. Some of these will be workshops, such as the two notices above. I am also planning two Wednesday Lunches (in May and September) with speakers and an afternoon walk around AF. Other meetings may be announced as well. The now familiar and relaxed Local Naturalists’ Gatherings will follow (or proceed) some of these and you will receive notices as they are scheduled. If you have any comments or suggestions about these meetings or workshops, please fell free to contact me.

If you know others who might be interested in attending these workshops and get-togethers, please send me their contact information.

If you are no longer interested in being notified about these meetings, please e-mail me at contact@atonforest.org.

Think Spring!

John P. Anderson Jr.