A logjam is more than a pile of fallen branches in a river. Where woody debris collects across a channel, it can slow water, trap leaves and sediment, and…
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How Logjams Create Nurseries for Streamside Trees
How to Create a Tree Seed Identification Quiz for Kids
A tree seed identification quiz can turn a walk through a park, schoolyard, or stream corridor into an engaging lesson about native plants. Children learn to…
Moving Native Seeds Safely To Donation Sites
Native seeds are small, but the way they are handled after collection can determine whether they become healthy seedlings or unusable material. Acorns,…
How to Identify Hackberry by Bark and Fruit
Hackberry is an easily overlooked native tree with two features that make it easier to recognize: gray bark covered in raised, wart-like ridges and small…
Why Sweetgum Trees Matter To Wildlife All Year
Sweetgum trees are familiar sights across the eastern United States, especially in moist forests, floodplains, old fields, and streamside corridors. Their…
How to Build a Simple Acorn Cracker for Large-Scale Processing
Collecting acorns for restoration projects can produce several buckets of seed in a single morning. Removing caps, separating debris, and opening damaged or…
Native Trees Create Essential Pollinator Habitat
Healthy forests begin with relationships among plants, insects, birds, soil, and water. Native trees are part of that network, providing nectar, pollen,…
Training confident leaders for native seed collection events
A successful seed collection event depends on more than full buckets and enthusiastic volunteers. It requires people who can explain why native seeds matter,…
Mulching Newly Planted Streamside Seedlings
Young trees planted beside creeks, rivers, and wetlands face demanding conditions from their first day in the ground. Their roots must establish in soil that…
American Elm Identification: Asymmetric Leaves and Samaras
The American elm (Ulmus americana) is one of the most recognizable native trees in eastern North America once its key features are understood. Its tall,…