What’s happening to animals without their winter cover?

With increasingly warming temperatures in New England throughout the winter and little snow covering the ground, animals’ typical winter movements are beginning to look different. Many animals are forced to surface early from hibernation and others are facing difficulty without being able to camouflage with fresh layers of snow, which used to be a regular occurrence. Snow acts as a […]

How can I hide my own geocache?

I recently got introduced to geocaching through my two AVIS mentors. After taking off on my first adventure and locating a few geocaches, a question popped into my head–what does it take to build your own geocache? I came across the perfect how-to while doing my research at https://www.geocaching.com/play/search.  A good starting step that I found to be most useful […]

A Winter Treasure Hunt Awaits 

Looking for a fun family outdoor activity during winter break? We want to let you in on a little secret. There is a world of hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered by you right here in AVIS reservations. Let me introduce you to geocaching. It is a great activity for all ages and allows you to be part of […]

A Great Holiday Gift Idea for Children of Any Age (Really!)

If you’re on a budget this year and want a gift that will give hours of pleasure, here’s an idea to think about.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has all sorts of great resources that can help you join the most popular hobby in America—birdwatching!  And some, like the wonderful phone app “Merlin”, are available to download free.  Merlin helps […]

Hello AVIS! I’m Ella the new ESIC blogger.

My name is Ella Dougherty and I’m a senior at Andover High school. I’m part of the Environmental Sustainability Internship Class (ESIC) and will be contributing to the AVIS blog during the current school year. I jumped right into this project by joining the Eco Team at the Shawsheen River Reservation for a work party. We worked diligently using our […]

Extraordinary Endeavors of the Eco-team!

As the end of my senior year approaches incredibly quickly, and I prepare to part with my favorite opportunity this year (this AVIS internship), I’ve become increasingly grateful that there are so many ways to get involved in the AVIS community at any point in the future. During my previous post, I wrote about how so much effort goes into […]

Boy Scouts Building Boardwalks!

Recently, during a conversation with my mom about what I’ve learned while writing my blogs, it occurred to me that despite being an avid enjoyer of the trails she knew very little about the tremendous amount of effort that goes into maintaining local reservations. While this makes sense considering everything I know about AVIS trail upkeep I’ve learned over the […]

Promote Pollinators! Minimize Mosquitoes!

As the temperature stretches into the negatives and the commute from inside my house to my car becomes a chilly affair, I’ve recently been reminiscing on the comfortable warmth of early summer. Still, there are two major aspects of winter I’m currently appreciative of; ski season and not having to worry about mosquitoes. That being said, with spraying season right […]

‘Tis the Hiking Season

As the December holidays quickly sneak up on us, and my motivation to make it through school and work starts to sink faster than the New England sun at 4 pm, the anticipation of my favorite family holiday traditions has been helping me push through the past few weeks. Alongside the classics of baking cookies, gift exchanges, and holiday romcoms, […]