New York Master Naturalist Program

09/24/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DjX9o5aRK/

💦 Help State University of New York, Environmental School of Forestry (SUNY ESF) researchers learn more about water quality across Central New York!

On Saturday, 10/3/26, SUNY ESF is hosting a community-wide water sampling event through SHARCS (Sampling for Healthy Aquatic Resources with Community Support). Volunteers can collect a water sample from any lake, river, stream, or other body of water in Central New York and contribute to research being conducted by ESF students and faculty.

No previous experience is required—just bring your curiosity! Volunteers must be 18 or older.

🔬 What will the samples help researchers understand? The project is designed to give ESF students hands-on training in water quality analysis, data visualization, and statistics while contributing to research questions about our region's water resources.

💧 How to participate:
1) Sign up directly through the ESF SHARCS program at this link: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/1a7449364acc4750831e3ac5be9b8410/page/Get-Involved
2) Pick up a sample container from CSI beginning Monday, September 28 through Saturday, October 3.
3) On October 3, collect a sample from a waterbody of your choice and complete the accompanying survey.
4) Return your sample to CSI's after-hours sample shed by 8 AM on Sunday, October 4.

📍Questions about the sampling or research project? Please contact Aaron Ninokawa ([email protected])

Help researchers build a more detailed picture of water quality across Central New York—one sample at a time. 💧

The Central New York Land Trust SUNY ESF Chemistry

09/21/2026

A new tree grows in Brooklyn – but is it in the right place to optimize shade that protects residents from dangerous summer heat?

Announced Aug. 5 at Cornell Tech, a research partnership will help neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx identify where new trees are needed most to improve public health.

09/15/2026

When a team of researchers recorded a low thundering underneath the surface of the Hudson River, they thought they were hearing the muffled rumble of trains.

The finding gives New York state another tool to locate and understand the behavior of the endangered Atlantic sturgeon, an iconic species decimated by overfishing.

09/07/2026

The lives that slither and scurry beneath the soil’s surface are vital for ecological health: now we can listen in to them

08/31/2026

Meet the mysterious Eastern Whip-poor-will! This quick 2-minute introduction presents all the basic information you need to know about this North American night bird, from identification to diet, nesting behavior, range, and more.

Description: Explore the Eastern Whip-poor-will and 750+ more bird ...

08/25/2026

In response to increasing human pressures on biodiversity, conservation targets have been set to reduce these pressures and halt biodiversity decline. However, consequences of these objectives on common species are rarely studied. We analyse the effect of a range of drivers related to climate, land use and land-use intensity on 265 common bird and 144 common butterfly species from more than 20,000 sites between 2000 and 2021 across 27 European countries.

Projections for 265 common bird and 144 common butterfly species across Europe under multiple sustainability scenarios, including those of existing conservation objectives, find no scenario in which the average decline in abundance stops or reverses.

08/17/2026

Deep in West Papua’s rainforests, the Northern Cassowary serves as an “unknowing architect,” dispersing seeds that sustain these vital ecosystems. Yet this massive, flightless bird remains largely undocumented and misunderstood.

This film follows wildlife photographer Tim Laman and conservationist Yoki Hadiprakarsa as they collaborate with local forest guides, using camera traps to capture rare footage of this secretive species. The project reveals the cassowary’s unique behaviors while showcasing the transformation of local communities from hunters to guardians.

Learn more: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/conservation-media/the-fo...

08/11/2026

Trees hold stories: they are witnesses of time and history. Of course, we can read a tree’s age and local climate from its rings, but in recent years we’ve discovered so much more. Deep inside a tree’s trunk is an archive waiting to be found: tales of planetary shifts, cosmic events, and even turning points in human history. And the oldest trees have seen it all.

Trees contain an archive – tales of planetary shifts, cosmic events, historical pivots – that we’re only just unlocking

08/04/2026

The Hudson River came alive Saturday as families, nature enthusiasts, and volunteers gathered at sites from the Capital Region to New York City, including here in the Hudson Valley, for the 15th Annual Great Hudson River Fish Count.

HUDSON VALLEY- The Hudson River came alive Saturday as families, nature enthusiasts, and volunteers gathered at sites from the Capital Region to New York City,

07/28/2026

In this video, the biologist Adrian Smith provides close-ups of a diverse array of caterpillars all found within 20 miles of Raleigh, North Carolina, where he heads the Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Caterpillar biodiversity is one of the most important aspects of a ...