Northern white cedar, or arborvitae, is a quiet but essential tree of our region’s wetlands and seepage forests. Known as the “Tree of Life,” it has a long history of medicinal use, remarkable longevity, and ecological importance. Though often overlooked, this resilient conifer thrives where others cannot, shaping both habitat and landscape across northern New England.

From deep purple to pale yellow, wild violets create a living tapestry across fields and forests each spring. Hardy, adaptable, and beloved by pollinators, these humble wildflowers offer both beauty and ecological richness—thriving quietly beneath our feet while supporting a vibrant web of life.

Discover how bloodroot, a native Maine wildflower, adapts to pollination challenges, drought, and climate shifts through self-pollination and ant seed dispersal.

From the windswept summit of Old Spec Mountain to the shaded cacao farms of the Dominican Republic, the Bicknell’s Thrush connects people, places, and purpose. This rare migratory bird reveals how conservation depends not only on science, but on partnerships that support both ecosystems and the communities who depend on them.

Neither fully evergreen nor entirely bare, the eastern larch defies expectations. Known as tamarack, this unique Northwoods tree sheds its needles each fall, only to return in spring with a soft, luminous green—thriving in swamps, enduring extreme cold, and quietly shaping the forests of Maine.

White and black spruce may be less common than red spruce in the Mahoosuc Region, but each plays a distinct role in shaping the northern forest. From windswept ridgelines to quiet bogs, these hardy species reveal their identities through scent, structure, and survival strategies. Learning to distinguish them offers a deeper understanding of the boreal landscape at its southern edge.

Explore Maine’s most abundant tree—balsam fir — its habitat, identification, wildlife value, and traditional uses.

Early spring bulbs are an underutilized superpower in your garden. They are hardy and resilient, tolerating cold temperatures and dry conditions, and disappear a few weeks later providing space for summer flowers to bloom.

By Sara Wright Iterating rosettes created intricate patterns as they wound themselves around the maple bark along with about five other...

By Sara Wright During the early autumn I search for the first native wild winterberry’s bittersweet orange to scarlet fruits....

The way they live, migrating out of seasonal necessity, returning home twice a year, celebrating through community and song...

These little wildflowers depend completely upon the beech tree for survival; they even need beech trees to germinate.

Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of a fungus, much as apples are to apple trees. Some are incredibly beautiful as well.