Our Vermont Woods

2018 Vermont Hardy Plant Club Botanical Field Trips!

8/4/18, 9:30-3:00 pm, Paddle the Clyde River with Aaron Marcus (Rain date is 8/5/18)

Come botanize for the day with Aaron Marcus, one of our amazing state botanists, as we paddle and float 5 miles of the Clyde River. Aaron will explain the Significant Natural Communities we'll encounter: Intermediate Fen, Sweet Gale Shoreline Swamp, Sedge Meadow, Dwarf Shrub Bog, River Mud Shore, Deep Broadleaf Marsh, Northern White-cedar Swamp, Black Spruce Swamp (the last two from more of a distance). Herons and bald eagles will likely be present, plus a farm stand with ice cream! This area is part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail from the Adirondacks to Maine. Depending on our paddle route, Aaron reports rare plants we’ll likely see: Hippuris vulgaris, Phragmites americanus, Salix pedicellaris, Rosa nitida, Lonicera oblongifolia, Lonicera villosa, Carex cryptolepis, Sparganium fluctuans, Proserpinaca palustris, Cladium mariscoides, Schoenoplectus subterminalis, Acorus americanus, Persicaria hydropiperoides, etc., not to mention carnivorous plants!

• Bring lunch, snacks, water, insect repellent and sun protection. Boots or water shoes for possible beaver dam crossings. Plan to pee in the bushes along the way and pull off if there's a passing thunder shower.

• We can rent canoes from Clyde River Recreation and use their shuttle service to our trip's start and end points. They can also shuttle our personal boats for a fee. Logistical details to be worked out.

• Reminder: VT Hardy Plant Club carries no liability insurance for these outings so know you join us at your own risk.