These 90 second Nature Moments are fascinating

Nat Wheelwright has started a fascinating series of 90 second videos titled “Nature Moments.” Nat is a Natural Science Professor at Bowdoin College and a Maine Audubon Trustee. His videos are posted on Maine Audubon’s website.

I was particularly intrigued by his video of the amazing and beautiful plants that took root after he stopped mowing his lawn. Yup, no more lawn mowing!

Here’s how they described this: “Mowing lawns costs time, burns fossil fuels, and produces a biological desert. When Nat let his grass grow, three dozen flower species appeared, attracting a diversity of insects that fed birds in this backyard.”

Linda and I are avid birders, but I’m not sure she’s going to like the idea of not mowing the lawn!

Nat has also written a book, in partnership with Bernd Heinrich, titled The Naturalist’s Notebook. It’s an observation guide and 5-year calendar-journal for tracking changes in the natural world around you. I hope to get a copy soon to read and write about.

You can access Nat’s 90 second Nature Moments here.

Pam Wells photo of foxes.

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.