Trying something new

Establishing uncommon trees and shrubs in restored areas can be difficult.   We often collect the seed of species such as hazelnut (Corylus americana), wild plums (Prunus americanus) or kingnut hickory (Carya laciniosa), and either spread the seed in new places hoping nature will take its course, or give the seed to organizations who have greenhouse facilities.  This fall we are assembling a small cold frame to start tree and shrub seedlings to see if we have better luck with them.  Other species we are going to plant include wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata) and blue-fruited dogwood (Cornus obliqua). 

Pictured:  Jessica Meyers building the cold frame.



October Desktop Calendar

Enjoy scenes of Fermilab's natural areas on your computer desktop! Here are instructions for downloading & installing the October 2011 calendar pictured below onto your computer:

1. Click the image above to open in a new browser window (or tab).

2. Right-click (or ctrl-click for some Mac users) on the image, and chose the option that says, "Set Picture as", (or similar words; the exact wording will depend on your internet browser) and save to your desktop. On your desktop, right click “Properties” and select the “Desktop” tab. Click “Browse” and navigate to the saved image on your desktop. Select it & click “Open.” On the “Display Properties” dialogue box, click “OK.”

3. If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference screen (on a Mac: System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop; or on Windows: Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose "Fit to screen" as the display mode of your background image.

FNA will make a new desktop calendar available each month. If you'd like to share photographs for future calendars or the FNA newsletter, send us a note at fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.