Howell Woods

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Personal Invitation to WOODSTOCK

Saturday, March 28, 2015

March 2015

Welcome to my photoblog on:

Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center

My name is James. I am a senior at South Johnston High School in Benson, NC.

I love the outdoors and I plan to attend Campbell University and major in Biology starting in the fall. I am hoping to go on to pursue a career in environmental science. We inherited a pristine planet. It is rich in life that amazes us and resources that sustain us. It is our duty to care for this planet, our Earth, that has been caring for us throughout the ages. We need to do our part and give back.

Link to the facebook fanpage:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photoblog-By-James-Howell-Woods/233829593470397

"Have a great day, spend it outdoors!"
James

________________

To learn more about Howell Woods, please see my previous posts for info, photos, and videos. If you've never been to Howell Woods I hope this blog will peak your interest enough that you will visit. It is a treasure located in Johnston County and one of my favorite places.

To visit the Howell Woods website, click on the link below of contact Director, Jordan Astoske.

http://www.johnstoncc.edu/howellwoods/

Jordan Astoske
Director of Howell Woods
jtastoske@johnstoncc.edu
(919) 938-0115 ext. 221

______________________

March 2015

Upcoming event:
Come out to enjoy a day of fun and learning
at Howell Woods'

WOODSTOCK!

See the link and flyers below for schedule of events.
Something for everyone. If you've never been to Howell Woods this is a great opportunity. Bring your friends and family.

http://www.johnstoncc.edu/howellwoods/

_______________________________________________

This month's featured bird is the:

Red Shouldered Hawk

Scientific name- Buteo Lineatus

Below are pictures, a video, and audio recordings of the Red Shouldered Hawk at Howell Woods. Her name is "Nanna."

Check out the video

Here are some links for sound clips of red shouldered hawks.

Listen closely, you might recognize the sounds.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/sounds

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h3390so.mp3

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/sound/red-shouldered-hawk-buteo-lineatus/birds-giving-calls-while-flight

_________________________________________________________________________________

Howell... We're Connected

Howell Woods contains over 2,800 acres of woodland. The forest contains a large ecosystem in which all organisms are connected.

Forest Ecosystem Food Web

_________________________________________________________________________________

It's the season to:

Below are photos of the wildflower garden and native plant area that surrounds the learning center. It's the time of year to cut back the dead vegetation from last year to make way for the fresh foliage of springtime.

Check back in April for photos of Woodstock.

Bring on the Spring!

Friday, February 27, 2015

February 2015

Welcome to my photoblog on:

Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center

My name is James. I am a senior at South Johnston High School in Benson, NC.

I love the outdoors and plan to attend college majoring in environmental science or biotechnology. I'm not positive as to my major as of this moment, but conservation is also high on my list. We inherited a pristine planet. It is my hope that we leave our planet clean, healthy and rich with resources for future generations. Please consider voting for politicians that are environmentally conscious.

I want to take this opportunity thank all of you that have visited my blog throughout the year. I hope you have found at least part of the info I've posted to be helpful. I am always open to suggestions and comments. Thank you to those who have reached out to me with suggestions over this last year. I appreciate it. Keep the suggestions coming.

Thank you as well to everyone that has liked my facebook fan page for Howell Woods. Likes are a good way for me to track if my posts are reaching folks.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photoblog-By-James-Howell-Woods/233829593470397

Thank you most of all to everyone at Howell Woods, for sharing your time, your knowledge and information with me. Jordan, Steve, Mike, Peyton and Brittany, you guys are great. Thank you. This volunteering experience has helped to confirm that I am on the right career path. I hope to continue volunteering as long as you'll have me.

"Have a great day, spend it outdoors!"
James

________________

To learn more about Howell Woods, please see my previous posts for info, photos, and videos. If you've never been to Howell Woods I hope this blog will peak your interest enough that you will visit. It is a treasure located in Johnston County and one of my favorite places.

To visit the Howell Woods website, click on the link below of contact Director, Jordan Astoske.

http://www.johnstoncc.edu/howellwoods/

Jordan Astoske
Director of Howell Woods
jtastoske@johnstoncc.edu
(919) 938-0115 ext. 221

______________________

February 2015

For this month, I am posting about the ecological benefits of prescribed burning.

"A prescribed burn, or an intentional burning of vegetation under strict and specific circumstances, helps restore and maintain wildlife habitat." -NCWildlife

Pine trees are specially adapted to not only survive fires, but to thrive from them.

A pine tree's branches each have a terminal bud on the end which is surrounded by needles.

The needles are present to protect the bud from fire. When there is a burn, the needles take the heat, keeping the bud unharmed and the tree alive.

The burning of the underbrush rids the forest of nuisance weeds and insects. It has been found that tick populations are lower in areas that are burned. The burn also results in nutrient rich ashes that nurture sprouts and the trees that stand among them.

Without periodical burns, vegetation builds up and becomes fuel that can can make a fire very destructive. Burns taking place keep vegetation managed and reduce the risk of damage and pollution to people and property.

Without fire, the growth of vegetation becomes dense and invades other ecosystems, thus destroys habitats for wildlife.

Fire is also very good for controlling invasive species. It preserves species diversity of an ecosystem by driving out organisms that would otherwise out compete native wildlife.

Burns are quicker, less expensive, and less harmful than machines, pesticides, and herbicides that would be used if fires did not happen.

Below are some links for more information about controlled burns.

http://www.ncwildlife.org/News/Blogs/NCWRCBlog/tabid/715/EntryId/135/Prescribed-Burns-Explained.aspx

http://www.ncwildlife.org/News/NewsArticle/tabid/416/indexID/10036/Default.aspx

http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Conserving/documents/ActionPlan/Revisions/PrescribedFireBrochure.pdf

Monday, January 26, 2015

January 2015

Welcome to my photoblog on:

Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center

My name is James. I am a senior at South Johnston High School in Benson, NC.

Thank you as well to everyone that has liked my facebook fan page for Howell Woods. Likes are a good way for me to track if my posts are reaching folks.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photoblog-By-James-Howell-Woods/233829593470397

Thank you most of all to everyone at Howell Woods, for sharing your time, your knowledge and information with me. Jordan, Steve, Mike, Peyton and Brittany, you guys are great. Thank you. This volunteering experience has helped to confirm that I am on the right career path. I hope to continue volunteering as long as you'll have me.

"Have a great day, spend it outdoors!"
James

________________

To learn more about Howell Woods, please see my previous posts for info, photos, and videos. If you've never been to Howell Woods I hope this blog will peak your interest enough that you will visit. It is a treasure located in Johnston County and one of my favorite places.

To visit the Howell Woods website, click on the link below of contact Director, Jordan Astoske.

http://www.johnstoncc.edu/howellwoods/

Jordan Astoske
Director of Howell Woods
jtastoske@johnstoncc.edu
(919) 938-0115 ext. 221

______________________

FIRST POST OF 2015

January 2015

This month I thought I would write about and show some examples of how I plan to use technology to show the wonders of Howell Woods to the public. Many new things are to come in 2015. I would like to make my blog more interactive and more advanced this year. I will do more this year to use the technology as I learn and research to promote Howell Woods. As a new addition to the blog, I will be posting audio sound bites and video clips of the animals found at Howell Woods. I thought a good place to start would be the owls.

Barred Owl
I call her "Strixy" short for her scientific name Strix varia

These are sound clips from this owl and there are many many more because this is one of the most vocal species of owl. All owls have the capacity to make several different vocalizations.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/sounds/Owl_Barred_WhoCooks.mp3

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/sounds/Owl_Barred_Monkey.mp3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5zc-NHIipw

Great Horned Owl
Scientific Name - Bubo virginianus
I call him "Karl" just because that's the name on his feeding log.

http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Bubo-virginianus-1.mp3

http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Bubo-virginianus-9.mp3

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/sounds/Owl_GreatHorned_Duet.mp3

I am helping research the possibility of setting up a live cameras inside the bird enclosures at Howell Woods. If that happens, you could view the birds 24/7 via the Howell Woods website. Below are some links that are examples of how live camera feeds are used. I think it would be a great addition. I will add the link to my blog as well. Crossing my fingers it materializes.

http://www.africam.com/wildlife/

http://www.surfchex.com/

http://www.avonfishingpier.com/pier-cam/

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

December 2014

Welcome to my photoblog on:

Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center

Presentation to Board of Directors Soil and Water Conservation Johnston County November 2014.

My name is James. I am a senior at South Johnston High School in Benson, NC.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!! See you in 2015.

It's hard to believe how quickly 2014 has flown by. It's been a busy but very rewarding year.

I want to take this opportunity thank all of you that have visited my blog throughout the year.
I hope you have found at least part of the info I've posted to be helpful. I am always open to
suggestions and comments. Thank you to those who have reached out to me with suggestions
over this last year. I appreciate it. Keep the suggestions coming.

Thank you as well to everyone that has liked my facebook fan page for Howell Woods.
Likes are a good way for me to track if my posts are reaching folks.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photoblog-By-James-Howell-Woods/233829593470397

Thank you most of all to everyone at Howell Woods, for sharing your time, your knowledge
and information with me. Jordan, Steve, Mike, Peyton and Brittany, you guys are great. Thank you.
This volunteering experience has helped to confirm that I am on the right career path. I hope to
continue volunteering as long as you'll have me.

In the upcoming year I have some format changes and some new features planned for this blog so please check back to see the improvements.

"Have a great day, spend it outdoors!"
James

________________

To learn more about Howell Woods, please see my previous posts for info, photos, and videos. If you've never been to Howell Woods I hope this blog will peak your interest enough that you will visit. It is a treasure located in Johnston County and one of my favorite places.

To visit the Howell Woods website, click on the link below of contact Director, Jordan Astoske.

http://www.johnstoncc.edu/howellwoods

Jordan Astoske
Director of Howell Woods
jtastoske@johnstoncc.edu
(919) 938-0115 ext. 221

_________________________

December 2014

I thought it only fitting to end the year review with a couple of quotes taken from my interview with director of Howell Woods, Jordan Astoske. Jordan says it best.

"...Not many people know what, where, or who we are. The biggest thing that people can do for us is to be advocates for us. Spread the word. Tell your friends and family about us."

In addition, I'd like to share photos from 2014. Click on the side bar to see the entire blog for each month if you've missed one or would just like to revisit. Better still, plan a visit to Howell Woods and bring a friend or family member. Perhaps organize a group trip. You'll be glad you did.

January - The Raptor Center