Natural Resources Trust Of Easton
  • Home
    • About >
      • Sheep Pasture Property Use Information
      • Publications & Brochures
      • NRT's Elise Ames Parker Award >
        • Elise Ames Parker Award 2018
        • Elise Ames Parker Award 2019
        • Elise Ames Parker Award 2020
      • A Life Well Lived: Lyn White
      • A Champion of Conservation: Ginny Reusch
      • NRT's Sheep Pasture >
        • Seasonal Visitor Updates and Information
        • Sheep Pasture Trail Map
      • NRT Land Stewardship
      • Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Directions
      • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Education
    • NRT School Programs >
      • On-Site Programs
      • In-School Programs
      • Programs for Young Children
      • Virtual School Programs
    • Private Group Programs >
      • Adult Programs
      • Pre-K Programs
    • Summer Camp & Leadership Youth Programs >
      • SPNC Extended Day Program
    • Sheep Pasture Vacation Programs
    • Birthday Party Programs
  • Events
    • Sheep Pasture After Dark
    • Harvest & Craft Fair
    • Sheep Pasture SPOOKTACULAR
    • Spring Farm Festival
    • SP Volunteer Days
  • Resources
    • Current Weather at Sheep Pasture
    • Photographer Info
    • Partners & Community Contacts
    • Animal Resources
    • Conservation Resources
    • Gold Award Scavenger Hunts
  • Giving to NRT
  • NRT Store
    • Sheep Pasture Nature Camp
    • Leadership Youth
    • April Vacation Registration
    • Sheep Pasture Family Programs
    • NRT Memberships
    • Specialty Donations to NRT: Simba Memorial
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Community Gardens
    • Property Rentals
    • Sheep Pasture Eggs
    • Support NRT >
      • Membership
      • Volunteer/Internships
      • Wish List
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Website Inquiries

NATURETALK

NRT'S FUN BLOG ABOUT ALL THINGS NATURE.
READ ON TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NATURE IN YOUR WORLD.

Nature Journal Notes

6/10/2020

3 Comments

 
Picture
​Not only are many of us overwhelmed by sensing pollen in the air this time of year, but it’s also all over the place! There seems to be a layer of yellow pollen caked onto everything as soon as we step out the door. Is all of this pollen coming from the same plant? Why am I just noticing it right now? What even is pollen?!

​We often credit pollinators for moving pollen, but there is another source of transportation for plants that don’t have bright, beautiful flowers to attract other animals: wind! Wind helps move pollen from evergreens, oaks, ragweed and a multitude of different grasses. Because of the uncertainty of leaving the wind to determine whether or not the pollen from a “male” tree will find its way to a “female” tree, trees produce a huge amount of pollen to increase the chances of creating new seeds. Most plants will produce much more pollen than necessary to ensure successful fertilization of another plant. One corn plant can produce up to 5 million pollen grains, but one ear of corn only has a few hundred seeds! All the pollen we see covering the ground are unsuccessful pollen particles that didn’t make to another tree or grass.

Check out the video below of what happens when a digger bumps into a pine tree during pollen season!



​Just like flowers, trees have specific time slots throughout the Spring when they bloom and in turn create pollen. Unlike flowers, these cyclical blooms are not nearly as noticeable, so it seems to be a surprise when all of a sudden our world becomes trapped in a yellow haze of pollen.

​Not all pollen is yellow and, in fact, we can often figure out what plant pollen comes from based on its color and size. The yellow pollen we see right now is coming from pine trees! Surprisingly, after doing a little digging on the internet, this pine pollen is not a significant source of seasonal allergies – just a nuisance and an eyesore. A lot of the pollen that causes seasonal allergies is invisible to the naked eye.

​The nature journaling challenge this week is to find sources of pollen outside. You can take a closer look at local trees to see if they are producing pollen, or if they are beyond that stage and starting to seed! Take note of what kind of tree you are looking at and what is going on among the branches besides the leaves. Are there buds, or perhaps the remnants of flowers? Do the pine trees have pine cones on them, or is there something else?

Picture
Maple tree blossom
Picture
Pine tree flower
Another activity you can do in your journal is set up your very own flower dissection! Use your nature journal as a place to take notes and sketch what you are seeing. Larger flowers with distinct flower parts will work best. The process is pretty simple once you’ve found a flower that will work, just carefully cut it in half! You can make a scientific illustration of your dissection as well as label the various parts of the flower.
​
Picture

Flowers are completely designed to promote pollination and successfully cross-pollinate with other flowers. See if you can find the parts of the flower during your dissection that are labeled in Clare Walker-Leslie’s illustration from The Nature Connection (also the inspiration for this entire post) pictured below.

Picture

Happy journaling and as always if you would like to share your journal entries, or have any questions, send us an email at education.nrt@gmail.com.
3 Comments
Eva link
7/17/2021 04:05:58 am

I enjoyed reading yoour post

Reply
Kiyepu link
5/13/2022 08:14:05 pm

Home it happen?why,

Reply
Bella Wiley link
7/23/2022 04:10:40 am

I liked that you mentioned that most plants would have much better pollen than required to ensure the successful fertilization of another plant.

We are looking for a pine pollen supplier that we can hire for anti aging product to launch the next week and want to ensure we find the best one to help us.

I will show this to my partner to see how this can help us decide what to consider when looking for a pine pollen company to choose from.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    NRT's dedicated staff are responsible for the content of the NatureTalk blog. Questions? For more information on any blog post, please contact us at any time.

    Archives

    December 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    April 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All
    Budget
    Carbon
    Christmas
    Christmas Trees
    Dogs
    Earth Day
    Emissions
    Energy
    Family Science Outing
    Holiday
    Household
    Kilowatts
    Nature
    Nature Activity
    Nature Journaling
    Pets
    Recycling
    Trees
    Winter
    Wintertime

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2021-2023 NRT of Easton
All Rights Reserved


Natural Resources Trust of Easton 
PO Box 188
307 Main Street
 N.Easton, MA 02356
Info@nrtofeaston.org
508-238-6049

Picture
Office Hours:
Monday-Friday by appointment
Closed weekends & holidays

Sheep Pasture Property Hours:
Monday-Sunday 
Dawn to dusk
Gates are closed at dusk.
​Times vary seasonally.
  • Home
    • About >
      • Sheep Pasture Property Use Information
      • Publications & Brochures
      • NRT's Elise Ames Parker Award >
        • Elise Ames Parker Award 2018
        • Elise Ames Parker Award 2019
        • Elise Ames Parker Award 2020
      • A Life Well Lived: Lyn White
      • A Champion of Conservation: Ginny Reusch
      • NRT's Sheep Pasture >
        • Seasonal Visitor Updates and Information
        • Sheep Pasture Trail Map
      • NRT Land Stewardship
      • Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Directions
      • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Education
    • NRT School Programs >
      • On-Site Programs
      • In-School Programs
      • Programs for Young Children
      • Virtual School Programs
    • Private Group Programs >
      • Adult Programs
      • Pre-K Programs
    • Summer Camp & Leadership Youth Programs >
      • SPNC Extended Day Program
    • Sheep Pasture Vacation Programs
    • Birthday Party Programs
  • Events
    • Sheep Pasture After Dark
    • Harvest & Craft Fair
    • Sheep Pasture SPOOKTACULAR
    • Spring Farm Festival
    • SP Volunteer Days
  • Resources
    • Current Weather at Sheep Pasture
    • Photographer Info
    • Partners & Community Contacts
    • Animal Resources
    • Conservation Resources
    • Gold Award Scavenger Hunts
  • Giving to NRT
  • NRT Store
    • Sheep Pasture Nature Camp
    • Leadership Youth
    • April Vacation Registration
    • Sheep Pasture Family Programs
    • NRT Memberships
    • Specialty Donations to NRT: Simba Memorial
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Community Gardens
    • Property Rentals
    • Sheep Pasture Eggs
    • Support NRT >
      • Membership
      • Volunteer/Internships
      • Wish List
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Website Inquiries