The 16th annual Regional Conservation Partnership Network Gathering will take place on Thursday, November 6, at UMass Amherst. This year’s conference,“A Home for Us All: Working Together for a Resilient Future,”will focus on the crucial intersection of housing, conservation, and justice.
Working across boundaries and cultivating trust are essential to protect enough habitat for biodiversity to flourish while also ensuring equitable and accessible housing and land for people. Achieving this vision of an interconnected, resilient, and just landscape amid sweeping changes in federal policy, growing income inequality, and the worsening climate crisis will require strong partnerships and a willingness to share knowledge, resources, energy, and time.
Regional Conservation Partnerships have a crucial role to play in building bridges and forging alliances across boundaries and sectors. RCPs work at the landscape scale, but individual partners work with local communities. Their work can frame our discussions in a way that underscores our collective responsibility as stewards of the home we all share.
Gather with us on November 6 as we explore innovative and just solutions to the related biodiversity and housing crises. Click the link below to submit a Proposal to Present or Apply to Table. The deadline for proposals is May 30.
Regional Conservation Partnerships (RCPs) exist because partners can be more productive when they work together. This past April, four RCPs and several partners came together at the 80th annual Northeast Fish & Wildlife Conference, sponsored by the Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA), to present their efforts to advance land protection, management, and research through the RCP Network.
Their symposium, “Doing More by Working Together: Research, Conservation, and Management of Fish and Wildlife by Regional Conservation Partnerships and their Local Partners,” showcased the impactful work of four RCPs: Cold Hollow to Canada, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative, Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative, and Hudson to Housatonic RCP (H2H). Nine speakers shared their insights, highlighting the importance of local partnerships in landscape-scale wildlife conservation.
RCP coordinators and partners present at the symposium (left to right): Budd Veverka, Sara Barker, Connie Manes, Stefanie Covino, JoLeisa Cramer, Julia Rogers, Katherine Blake, Donna Merrill, Tim Duclos.
NEAFWA plays a pivotal role in the conservation of fish and wildlife resources across thirteen states, six Canadian provinces, and the District of Columbia. This quasi-governmental organization serves to enhance cooperation and understanding among its members by fostering communication and collaboration among various stakeholders, including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and local communities.
Budd Veverka, Director of Land Management at the Mianus River Gorge and President of the Northeast Section of The Wildlife Society, had the vision for the RCP symposium. As the principal investigator for a black bear monitoring project in the Hudson to Housatonic region, he has seen firsthand the role RCPs play in supporting wildlife research and landscape conservation. “I wanted to bring leaders from RCPs across the Northeast to speak to the work they’ve done on research, management, and conservation of wildlife, and position them in front of an audience of fish and wildlife experts to create new connections,” he said.
“RCPs are local engines of conservation that collectively work together to effect regional change,” said Katie Blake, H2H Coordinator and Regional Conservationist at Highstead. “Our state and federal fish and wildlife partners are critical in this work.”
Connie Manes, Executive Director of the Kent Land Trust and lead partner of the Greenprint Collaborative said, “It was terrific to be able to present to what was for most of us a new audience. Not only did we demonstrate the leveraging power of working within RCPs and the larger RCP Network, we opened the doors to new interface and proactive partnership.” Similarly, Donna Merrill, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway, reported that it was well worth the trip to New Hampshire. “The conference demonstrated a core RCP principle about the power of learning from each other by connecting in dialogue,” she said.
“There are so many partnerships dedicated to helping conserve our landscape in so many ways,” said JoLeisa Cramer, one of the presenters. “Each of us works every day on our little slice of the puzzle, and this symposium really helped put into perspective how it all connects. Our web isn’t just impacting our daily work, but the larger-scale work of ecology in the Northeast.”
Northwestern Connecticut is one of New England’s most iconic landscapes, home to rolling hills, verdant forests, vast wetlands, cold water lakes, meandering rivers, and an abundance of both residential and migratory wildlife. Those seeking a challenge can summit the state’s tallest mountains while fishermen cast their flies for trout and locavores relish the region’s vibrant food scene. For those who love to be surrounded by nature, this is an ideal place to live, work, recreate, and raise a family.
Members of the Northwest Connecticut Affordable Housing and Conservation Collaboration survey the future site of Haystack Woods affordable homes in Norfolk. Photo by Shana Sureck.
But with soaring housing costs, many people—especially first-time home buyers and those on a restricted income—are being priced out. In Litchfield County, the median home sales price last month was up 9% from a year ago. In Cornwall, Kent, and many other towns, a single-family home can easily cost you upwards of a million dollars.
“There isn’t a lot of diverse housing stock for people that are beginning homeowners, looking to rent, or seniors who are looking for step-down housing,” says Connie Manes, Executive Director of the Kent Land Trust. “There is a predominance of larger, vacation homes, but overall, there’s a lack of housing diversity, and certainly a lack of housing that’s affordable for people who are just starting out.”
It might seem unusual to hear a conservation professional talk about the housing crisis. Indeed, when Manes began her career two decades ago, most land trusts were solely focused on land protection. And conservationists and affordable housing advocates, in specific, often perceived each other’s mission as incompatible with their own.
Jocelyn Ayer (left), Director of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity, and Connie Manes, Executive Director of the Kent Land Trust, lead the Collaborative group in a discussion at the Norfolk Hub. Photo credit Shana Sureck.
“Over the years, some people have tried to use conservation organizations to drive home a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) argument, to say, ‘I don’t want affordable housing because there’s a salamander there, or because that should be a public park,’” she says.
But recently, with the growing climate crisis and the need to conserve enough land to ensure we have clean air, drinkable water, and species resiliency, many land trusts have begun to recognize that in order to be effective, they must develop strong partnerships to leverage funding, community support, and organizational capacity, including with folks outside the conservation field.
“The way that land trusts operate today is very community-based,” Manes says. “Land trusts have a scope of work that is much larger than just land preservation. As non-profit organizations formed to pursue public benefit, we really want to come out front and center with our partners in town that are also looking to serve the community.”
In early 2024, the Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative, a Regional Conservation Partnership (RCP) of more than 30 partners in northwestern Connecticut, and the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity, which supports affordable housing organizations, formed the Northwest Connecticut Affordable Housing and Conservation Collaboration. Their goal was to create a network within local communities to find common ground and opportunities for collaboration in both conservation and affordable housing projects. More than 60 representatives from over 40 organizations joined the collaboration, including members of Boards of Selectmen, Planning and Zoning Commissions, conservation organizations, and housing organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. Over the next several months, they drafted a purpose statement, defined goals, and developed strategies for assisting local communities, including a mapping tool to help towns evaluate parcels suitable for conservation and affordable housing development.
Land trusts have a scope of work that is much larger than just land preservation. There are ways that we can work together to make this place better.
The group’s purpose statement is simple and straightforward: Healthy communities need both affordable housing and land conservation. But Manes, who serves as co-facilitator of the collaborative on behalf of the Housatonic Valley Association, cautions that not all organizations might be at a point where they’re ready to jump to this kind of vision. While the collaboration brought together organizations who may have been unaccustomed to partnering with each other, many of the individual participants knew each other and had previously worked together. These pre-existing relationships gave the group a head start in building the trust required for collaboration, says Manes.
“I think coming to the truth of the purpose statement would be important for any group trying to replicate this work,” she says. “We talked about our communities; we explored places of alignment in our visions; we thought about many ways we could work together, including by being a voice of support for each other’s projects. And then going forward it’s like, ‘Okay, well what can we do? How can we problem-solve to make both affordable housing and conservation happen in a way that’s beneficial and aligned?’”
Collaborative Conservation
The collaboration, which included the towns of Cornwall, Falls Village, Goshen, Kent, Norfolk, Salisbury, Sharon, and Warren, and was supported by grants from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and Foundation for Community Health, builds on the work of the Greenprint Collaborative, including its participation in Follow the Forest, a large landscape initiative that seeks to conserve a connected corridor of core forest from the Hudson Valley to Canada and encompasses the Greenprint’s region.
Community members representing both affordable housing and conservation organizations discuss strategies during a Collaborative meeting at the Norfolk Hub. From left: Arlin Deboer, Sharon Housing Trust; Jonathan Doster, Sharon Land Trust; Mary Oppenheimer, Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission; and Abeth Slotnik, Salisbury Association. Photo by Shana Sureck.
“Follow the Forest makes it easy to evaluate whether the property under consideration is core forest habitat; whether development in a certain place would be disrupting habitat in some way, depending on how that land is developed,” Manes says. “(It) informs where the linkages are between core forests, and where we might be cognizant of how wildlife is going to move through a developed area and make better decisions that way.”
“Follow the Forest is a strategic land protection vision to help accomplish the goals and meet the multiple priorities that communities have,” echoes Isabel Bronson, Conservation Projects Coordinator at the Housatonic Valley Association, which oversees the Greenprint Collaborative. “It’s understanding where these ecologically important pieces of land are for climate resilience and where we can support communities in other ways, such as affordable housing
Manes also credits the RCP Network for cultivating a space for people to connect around issues that cross boundaries, both real and perceived. “The RCP Network is really good at opening our minds about how we might work together, who we might work with, how to serve people, and how to live in this world together,” she said. “(It) allows a lot of people who are trying really innovative and terrific things to come together, share information, think about lessons learned, and replicate each other’s projects. It’s beyond safe; it’s a celebratory place to do that.” Manes, who previously served on the RCP Network Steering Committee, believes the RCP model enables more people to participate in their community’s future, including conservation and affordable housing, through collaboration.
“There are ways that we can work together to make this place better,” she says. “There are still things we can talk about; there’s still a place where we can connect. And probably we align, so let’s find that place and work together. That participatory nature is unique to RCPs, to the RCP Network, and to the work we’re doing here.”
Erin Witham is the Regional Conservation Partnership (RCP) coordinator for the Downeast Conservation Network, which has been driving collaborative conservation and research projects throughout Maine’s coastal Hancock and Washington counties since 2010. Erin attended her first RCP Network Gathering in 2018 as a UMass graduate student in sustainability science and has attended nearly every Gathering since. Today she is a veteran of the annual conference and a member of the RCP Network Steering Committee.
What was your first impression of the Gathering?
I had already been working in conservation and had figured out that “partnerships” was my area of passion. I was like, “Wow, there’s this whole group of people who are already thinking about this!” It was so exciting for me! And a connection that I made (at the Gathering) got me the job that I’m still doing today.
I’m interested in hearing more about your passion for partnerships.
When I first started working in conservation, I had a very classic non-profit experience. I was doing a little bookkeeping, and administration, and surveying culverts for this grant, and doing data analysis for this other grant—you do a little bit of everything. But I had a chance to work on a restoration project and see what it takes to coordinate everyone: the grantors, the permitters, the Town, and the local community. It was gratifying to see all those people come together and it made the project so much better. It was reallyfun, and I thought, “I want to do this moving forward.”
What is so special about the RCP Network Gathering?
It’s a conference that’s on the leading edge of the conservation movement. I always leave so proud to be part of the conservation community. The Gathering is centered on justice and looking at conservation through that lens. How are we expanding how we think about conservation? It puts us where the conservation movement is going and of course, all that good work happens through collaboration.
Can you tell me more about the networking piece?
The conference has always done a good job at leaving big spaces for people to connect. I’ve been focused on how to build more relationships between municipal government and conservation, and this past year at the conference I saw some inspiring examples of that in other partnerships. Going to these conferences also gives me the opportunity to meet with other RCP coordinators, and that’s what led me to join the RCP Network Steering Committee.
What would you say to RCP members who may be on the fence about attending the Gathering?
The conference gives people the opportunity to understand their work in a broader context. RCPs are all so different in how they’re structured, the types of projects they’re focused on, and who’s a member. You’ve got to come see how all these other groups do it and get new ideas. And it doesn’t have to fall into a strict definition of an RCP; you get to learn about all sorts of collaborative efforts. You’re with a group of people who understand that.
Highstead has a long history of natural surveys on the property dating back to when the Dudley’s first purchased land in Redding in the early 1980s, including a soil survey in 1983, a forest vegetation survey in 1984, and a bird and plant survey in 1985. More recently, there have been repeated woodland vegetation surveys, as well as surveys of deer, turtles, rabbits, birds, lichens, and moths and butterflies. One area that has not been thoroughly surveyed, however, is the grassland meadows.
Meadow surveys are complex because grasses and sedges can be difficult to identify, including European species of forage grass that many botanists are not as familiar with. Meadows can have many layers of vegetation, and plants that are closest to the ground are often hidden by taller species. Further, meadows are managed by mowing which complicates surveying and often leaves botanists with the challenge of trying to identify plants from the stubs that remain after they are cut.
In 2024, consulting botanist Chris Mangles conducted our first comprehensive meadow survey over a five-month period, scouting the meadow in spring, summer, and fall to capture the various plants that are present in each season. We expected to discover many new species we didn’t know were growing on the property, but the results were beyond what we expected.
Mangles identified 240 meadow species and acknowledged there are likely many more that he may have missed due to a hay harvest that took place in late August. This relatively high level of species richness—the total number of species in an area—indicates that it is an old meadow.
One of the most exciting discoveries was a large population of Bush’s sedge (Carex bushiiI), a plant of special concern in Connecticut. Another plant of special concern, purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), also lives in the meadow, and is the largest known population in New England.
Mangles also found two new species of orchids. We have now documented four orchid species in the meadow.
Many of the recorded species were documented with herbarium specimens, providing a record of the plants found on the property and serving as a reference for future surveys. These surveys are critical for identifying plants of special concern and other threatened species and for protecting open space, such as our meadow, which is also managed for bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus).
White-tailed deer are one of New England’s most iconic creatures and a common sight in human-dominated environments, including suburban backyards and gardens. But what effect are deer—and their cousins, moose—having on the region’s forests?
Highstead Senior Ecologist Ed Faison has been studying the impacts of deer and moose on New England’s forests, including deer browsing at Highstead, for nearly two decades. He uses large, fenced plots called exclosures to exclude these ungulates and prevent browsing, and then compares plant growth within the exclosures to the same in an open, or “control” plot. And while his data suggest that both deer and moose can have a big impact, they are not a significant limiting factor over the long-term when it comes to forest regeneration growing in patch cut timber harvests.
“The message people often hear is deer and moose have caused a regeneration failure,” he says. “But when the canopy opens up, these animals can’t control the forest. Forests here in New England regenerate in gaps, and what we see is this forest is perfectly capable of regenerating— even when it is being heavily browsed—if you open up the canopy.”
Highstead’s two deer exclosures occur under a maturing forest without canopy openings. They were surveyed in 2007, 2013, 2018, and 2023. Faison’s research suggests that in addition to deer, light is limiting regeneration and plant abundance and diversity. For example, within the exclosure, almost no light reaches the forest floor in one of the plots due to the dense shrub layer, which is safe from deer browse. In that plot there is no tree regeneration and a low diversity of herbaceous plants.
The full (deer and moose) exclosure at Great Mountain Forest.
“The herb (lowest) layer is more diverse outside the plot where the deer are eating, which is counterintuitive,” he says. “But if you don’t let deer browse for 26 years, you’re going to get an incredibly dense shrub layer which is going to have a huge impact on what’s growing underneath it.”
Deer browse is species-specific. Faison says there is more Japanese barberry and stiltgrass—invasive species that deer dislike—outside the exclosure where populations of spicebush and other natives that deer prefer are suppressed. Interestingly, burning bush—another prominent invasive species that deer favor—is far more abundant inside the enclosure.
Recently, Faison divided this large, one-acre deer exclosure into two, 30-by-30-meter plots with a 60-meter gap in between. It’s a unique opportunity to study what happens when deer return to a forest from which they have been excluded for a quarter century.
This forest is perfectly capable of regenerating— even when it is being heavily browsed—if you open up the canopy.
Faison is also studying the impacts of herbivore browsing at several other sites, including the Quabbin and Ware Reservoir Forests and Harvard Forest in Massachusetts, and Great Mountain Forest, a 6,000-acre parcel located in Norfolk, Conn. In the winter of 2010, Great Mountain conducted a patch harvest of a white pine stand. That spring, he built three experimental treatments in the harvested stand: a full exclosure that excludes both deer and moose; a partial exclosure with a two-foot gap at the bottom that provides access to deer, but not moose; and an open or control plot where both deer and moose can freely browse. Inside each treatment, he designated a 16-by-16-meter plot to eliminate any impacts of the fence on herbivore browse from his study. Every five-to-six years, he surveys each plot and records the impacts deer and moose are having on the forest’s regeneration.
“This site shows that at moderate densities, deer alone, in this type of environment with this amount of light, are having a minimal impact. Moose and deer (together) are having a big impact, but, still, they’re not preventing this forest from growing back,” he says.
Faison at Great Mountain Forest.
Despite being at the edge of their southern range in eastern North America, the area is home to a substantial moose population, and their browsing impacts are equally significant. But, like deer, moose prefer certain plants over others. As a result, some pioneer species, such as paper birch, gray birch, and pin cherry, thrive inside the moose exclosures, but struggle in the control plot where they’re heavily browsed and shaded by white pine, which moose don’t eat. Faison notes that the control plot is about 50% white pine, compared to 12% to15% in the full and partial exclosures.
“The sequence of succession is you get these pioneer trees that succeed to more shade-tolerant trees—white pine, red maple, black birch, and beech,” he says. “But because the browsers are taking out the pin cherries and white birch almost immediately, they’re accelerating the compositional succession. It’s sort of counterintuitive—they’re browsing heavily but speeding up the process.”
Over the past fifteen years, Faison has observed several patterns. Outside the exclosures, moose and deer are reducing the number of different tree species, but promoting greater structural diversity, namely from large white pines. Inside the exclosures, however, there is less structural complexity (more uniform size classes) but greater species diversity. And while deer and moose can decrease the total number of species in some sites and slow down forest regeneration, Faison says forest regeneration is remarkably resilient to early browsing impacts in New England over the long term.”
“Deer at high densities can really clean out the understory; the forest can look like it’s slowly dying with no tree saplings available to replace the canopy ones,” he says. “But the real test is when you open up the canopy, either naturally from insects or wind damage, or from a patch cut harvest. Can the deer, at the same density, prevent that forest from growing back? The answer is almost invariably ‘no.’ All these buried seeds start to germinate, dormant buds start to get released, the forest gets in full gear. The forest has an incredible ability in reserves and resilience when it needs it, even in the face of browsers.”
A recent meeting of conservation partners from across the Northeast galvanized energy and action for the Northeast Bird Habitat Conservation Initiative (NBHCI), which helps achieve longer-term land protection objectives that benefit both birds and people. The meeting was an opportunity for conservationists from Regional Conservation Partnerships (RCPs), Audubon, and other organizations and partner agencies to network and learn about how partners across the Northeast have been working together on bird-focused land conservation and engagement projects.
One thread throughout the day was how partnerships are essential not only to protect ecological resources but also to support local economies and livelihoods, address growing energy demands, grow healthy food, and reinforce people’s sense of community. RCPs can share information and resources about bird conservation, amplify the impacts of community leaders, and bring diverse partners together while also highlighting local concerns. RCPs are responsive and can quickly pool resources to share information or collaborate on a funding opportunity.
Ways to get connected and involved:
Join the conversations with NBHCI partners: contact Katie Blake, Regional Conservationist at Highstead, and Sara Barker, Project Leader at Cornell Labs.
Get connected with your local RCP. Learn more here.
Access resources of NBHCI initiative meetings and events here, including a recent webinar on providing targeted conservation networking for private landowners.
Join our discussion forums to learn about upcoming webinars and training opportunities, including eBird training workshops. Contact Katie Blake, Regional Conservationist at Highstead to get added.
On a chilly November day, a small group of people is exploring the UMass Amherst campus on a meditative walk led by Regan Stacey. She invites them into a closer relationship with their natural surroundings, pointing out birdsong, variations in the hues of the leaves, the woody scent of the trees, the warmth of the sun peeking through the clouds. For most participants, this is their first introduction to a mindfulness practice known as forest bathing. But for Stacey, a forest therapy guide and healer, it is a practice to which she has devoted her life.
Regan Stacey leads a mindfulness walk at the 2024 RCP Network Gathering.
Forest bathing can unlock new perspectives, even for those who may have already thought of themselves as “environmentalists.”
Forest bathing originated in Japan in the 1980s but has been gaining traction in the United States over the past decade as an antidote to our technology-obsessed society. The Japanese term for the practice, “shinrin-yoku,” translates to “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere” in English. Practitioners can modify the experience to fit their own needs, but the primary goal is to be mindful, relaxed, and aware in an outdoor setting. For instance, while walking through the forest may be the most common version of forest bathing, participants are not limited to forests and walking is not required. Stacey does, however, note the importance of practicing forest bathing in a group setting. While she appreciates the value of solo time spent outside, she says, “People who forest bathe on their own tend to stay still within their own headspace. But when you go with a group, it helps people extend beyond themselves more. By sharing, you’re integrating what you experienced, you’re learning from others, you’re deepening your connection to place through that exchange.”
As forest therapy has gained popularity, numerous studies have affirmed the health and wellness benefits of time spent in nature. The evidence is widespread and varied. In one study, cortisol levels, an indicator of stress, were significantly lower among forest bathing participants, and an indication that the practice can significantly reduce stress. In addition, phytoncides, essential oils found in trees, have been shown to possess antimicrobial properties that may help boost our immune systems. Research also suggests that forest therapy may reduce your blood pressure and heart rate, which lowers the risk of pulmonary disease, and help to alleviate anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue.
Stacey experienced the healing power of nature after she was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. During this challenging time, her spiritual journey with the forest began once she finally started “listening” and leaning into the help she knew it was trying to provide her. She was comforted by her time in nature where she was able to disengage from her thoughts, be present in the moment, and see herself as part of something much bigger. In that way, she felt as though the experience of her suffering was somehow eased by the Earth. Her desire to invite others into a similar relationship with the natural world led her to embrace forest therapy as a potential modality to serve both humans and nature. “That’s what brought me to the practice as a way to reconnect humans to nature,” she says, “to fill that void of loneliness that we have an epidemic of in our country.”
As the prevalence of chronic health issues in this country continues to grow, there are opportunities to incorporate forest bathing practices into treatments. Tami Cote, a registered nurse who works in family medicine, attended Stacey’s forest bathing session at the 2024 RCP Network Gathering, an annual conference that supports collaborative landscape conservation. After listening to Stacey’s story and learning more about the practice, she was inspired to implement forest therapy into her healthcare practice. Cote noted how integrative practices, including aromatherapy, reiki, and yoga, are increasingly promoted to support patient healing.
Stacey also sees similarities between forest bathing and yoga, another form of complementary therapy that once was relatively unknown in the West but today is a staple of many wellness routines. Similarly, Cote is hopeful that forest therapy’s integration into healthcare will continue to grow. “I believe the connection between forest bathing and healthcare is that it adds a layer to one’s sense of balance. Being truly in tune with the forest environment can bring about physical, mental, and spiritual benefits,” Cote argues. In fact, many physicians are already prescribing more time spent in nature for their patients.
Stacey argues that beyond its personal health benefits, forest bathing also has the potential to heal the human-nature divide. She describes the practice as a “deep environmental philosophical conversation” that moves beyond a simple breath of fresh air. This conversation often consists of a reciprocal exchange of help in healing, she says. As she began to trust that the forest would help her to heal, her desire to in turn help heal the forest grew. She found that the immersion of one’s senses in the natural world, a crucial component of this experience, can serve as inspiration for people to reconnect with nature, and, in doing so, nurture a drive to protect it.
Stacey’s clients have included environmental professionals from a variety of backgrounds, including science, conservation, and law. One may presume that those working in the environmental field already have a strong bond with the natural world. However, Stacey says that even environmental professionals leave a forest bathing session with a renewed sense of their relationship with nature. “There are people who are very much on the environmental side of things and being proactive, but their relationship is not encompassing with the natural world,” she says. Forest bathing can unlock new perspectives, even for those who may have already thought of themselves as “environmentalists.”
Immersion of one’s senses in the natural world, a crucial component of this experience, can serve as inspiration for people to reconnect with nature.
This mindful practice can help people cultivate an “ecological consciousness,” Stacey suggests. Through contemplation in the forest, folks can begin to realize their interdependence with the Earth and their place within the cosmos. This realization, combined with the positive impact of forest bathing on cortisol levels and its benefits for physical and mental wellbeing, offers an opportunity for people to relax and be comforted. Forest therapy guides like Stacey create safe and meaningful spaces for this to occur, but participants’ own interaction with their natural environment is the true source of their healing.
Stacey hopes forest bathing will continue to gain acceptance in this country as more people begin to realize the numerous benefits it can provide. As Cote says, “There are many ways to heal, and it is often a combination of practices that facilitate the journey.” Forest bathing presents new opportunities for healing, not just for improving one’s own physical and mental wellbeing, but also to restore the intrinsic connections between humans and all life on Earth.
Ecological research has been central to Highstead’s mission since its founding some four decades ago. So, while it’s not unusual to see scientists working in Highstead’s woods, it is unusual when that research is being conducted by a junior in high school. And it’s even more unusual when the subject of the study is—drumroll, please—moths.
That’s right, moths. You know, those little bugs famous for turning sweaters into Swiss cheese.
But to Lukas Keras, moths are fascinating creatures, and surprisingly understudied, especially compared to their more popular butterfly cousins. Only 16 years old and already something of a lepidoptera expert, he spent the better part of last year surveying and documenting the moth species that call Highstead home.
Lukas Keras used several methods to survey moths at Highstead, including this light trap. Photo Credit: Lukas Keras
Scientists have described a staggering number of moth species worldwide—more than 160,000; nine times the number of butterfly species. Keras found 401 moth species at Highstead. Still, there are likely species that have yet to be discovered, and more to learn about the known species.
“There are many moths that nobody knows what the caterpillar looks like or what it feeds on,” he says. “You literally could discover something new in your backyard.”
Keras grew up in an outdoorsy family who cultivated his love of nature from a young age. “I’d spend summers outside catching bugs and eventually I learned how to identify them and which plants they’re associated with,” he says. “It fascinated me that there’s that much out there. Even if you’re not discovering something new to science, it always feels like a discovery when you find something that you’ve never seen before. That has always really attracted me.”
In 2022, Keras discovered the first tearful underwing moth (Catocala lacrymosa) ever recorded in the state of Connecticut. Later that same day, he found the first sad underwing moth (Catocala maestosa) in Fairfield County. The specialization of each species—whether it’s their dependency on a specific caterpillar host plant or distinct behavioral traits—can make it difficult to find and photograph moths, he says.
All photos taken by Lukas Keras.
BLINDED SPHINX MOTH CATERPILLAR (Paonias excaecatus) This caterpillar was found on White Meadowsweet (Spirea alba) at Highstead.
BLINDED SPHINX MOTH (Paonias excaecata) This beautiful species can be difficult to photograph because adults are active very late at night. At Highstead, where they are common, individuals were never attracted to the lights before 2 a.m.
PINK STREAK MOTH (Dargida rubripennis) This is the rarest species Keras found at Highstead. It is listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut.
LUNA MOTH (Actias luna) There is likely a reproducing population of luna moths at Highstead given the abundance of the larval food plant (hickory) and the multiple individuals observed during the survey.
CROWNED SLUG MOTH (Isa textula) This is among Highstead’s most unusual caterpillars. Slug Caterpillars lack prolegs (the many "feet" most caterpillars have) and, as a result, they glide across a leaf on a bed of silk. It is flattened and bears many spines on the edges, giving it the appearance of a crown when viewed from above.
SADDLEBACK CATERPILLAR (Acharia stimuli) This is one of Connecticut's few venomous caterpillars. It is relatively uncommon in the state; only two caterpillars of this species were found at Highstead.
BROWN-HOODED OWLET MOTH (Cucullia convexipennis) Many caterpillars that feed on poisonous plants have bright, flashy aposematic or "warning" coloration. While the Brown-Hooded Owlet is not known to feed on poisonous plants, birds that have learned to avoid the vibrant aposematic toxic caterpillars may avoid eating these brightly colored caterpillars as well.
Keras uses several methods to survey moths, the most common being a simple UV light and bed sheet. Moths see in ultraviolet light, so lamps with a higher UV output, like the mercury vapor lamps Keras uses, work best for attracting moths. He also assembles bucket traps filled with cardboard and egg cartons that he leaves out overnight. Moths, attracted by the UV light, become “trapped” in the bucket and nestle into the cardboard for the night. In the morning, Keras picks up the bucket and photographs the resting moths.
“The good thing about the overnight light traps is it captures stuff you might have otherwise missed, including the moth that’s flying at 4 a.m.,” he says.
“Even if you’re not discovering something new to science, it always feels like a discovery when you find something that you’ve never seen before.” Lukas Keras
Keras also uses fermenting fruit and molasses, which mimics tree sap, to attract moths that are not drawn to light.
Photo Credit: Lukas Keras
“There are a lot of species that can’t be attracted by light but can be attracted by these fermenting fruit baits, and the other way around. Several moths don’t feed as adults at all so you’ll never find them with bait, but you will find them with a light trap survey,” he says. “That’s why it’s important to use both methods when you’re conducting a survey like I did at Highstead.”
Other moths may be found either free-flying or during their larvae stage. “If you walk through the woods in the right season with a UV flashlight, the caterpillars will glow and you can pick them out,” Keras says. “I found a lot of species at Highstead using the UV flashlight.”
Keras sampled the same sites at Highstead several times a month between May and November. “It’s important to do a season-long survey,” he insists. “The more you go to a site, the better you understand what species are there.”
One key to discovering moths is to locate their caterpillar host plants, species-specific plants upon which developing larvae depend. Put simply, without the host plant you will likely never find the moth. The relationship between a particular species and its host plant, or plants as the case may be, can be very specific, say, a host plant that is growing in a wet area, or on a well-drained slope. Take, for example, the huckleberry sphinx moth (Paonias astylus), which feeds almost exclusively on highbush blueberries, a common sight throughout the state.
“The moth is completely restricted to east of the Connecticut River and only in acidic habitats, specifically on sandy soil,” Keras says. “So, unless it’s in that specific habitat, even if there are blueberries, the moth is not going to be there.”
This dependency on specific host plants makes moths particularly susceptible to environmental change, including global warming. “Very few species are able to adapt to feed on a different plant,” Keras says. “Often, if the host plant is gone, the species is gone as well.”
In addition to his research at Highstead, Keras has conducted lepidopteran surveys for the towns of Ridgefield and Colebrook, and is a member of the Connecticut Entomological Society. He’s particularly interested in rare or declining habitats, such as sandplains and ridgetops, and hopes to become a professional scientist someday.
“My dream is to do something with entomology, examining how this interconnected web works, especially on the level of insects and moths,” he says. “There’s more to know, and that’s what I love about them.”
The Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative, Northeast Bird Habitat Conservation Initiative, and Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative are hosting a Conservation Speed Dating Training Webinar. October Greenfield of the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative will walk participants through hosting a Conservation Speed Dating Workshop to help landowners plan their conservation and land management.
Conservation Speed Dating is a fun, creative way to connect landowners with conservation professionals. This accessible forum enables conservationists to share expertise, answer questions, and assist landowners in mapping out conservation plans for their own properties.
This webinar is open to anyone who works with landowners or partners on conservation planning. It will be recorded.
For more information about NBHCI or the webinar, contact co-coordinators Katie Blake (kblake@highstead.net) and Sara Barker (sb65@cornell.edu).
