Spring is just around the corner. Really!

I write that about spring even though as I type it is snowing outside my window. Forecasts tell us we are in for about 6 inches of snow this afternoon and evening. I still think spring is close at hand...why? Well field season has started again!

On Sunday, March 20, I joined Jim VanGyzen, Rey Center Research Assistant and Plymouth State University graduate student, on Mount Starr King in Jefferson, New Hampshire. We were lucky to be in the field on such a beautiful Sunday.

Mount Starr King is one of two mountains Jim is working on for his graduate research as an Environmental Science and Policy student. Jim is monitoring vegetation phenology and climate on Mount Tecumseh as well as Mt. Starr King. On his first trip in the field this season he was learning how to select and tag buds on trees that will be monitored twice a week to measure the rate of development of spring buds.

Jim is continuing the work started on Mount Tecumseh almost three years ago and is extending it to Mount Starr King. Though the Rey Center’s environmental monitoring is still focused on Mount Tecumseh we were happy to provide technical support in an effort to expand this important study that will help resource managers better understand the influence of climate change on northeastern forests.

Below is a picture (right to left) of Jim, Kim, and Kim’s husband, Ken Vallery, atop Mount Starr King. Wonderful views of the northern presidential mountains are more easily appreciated in winter when the top of this peak still holds several feet of snow pack. It is a snowshoe hike worth taking!

(Submitted by Kim Votta, Rey Center Research Coordinator)

Broadway 101: A Musical Retrospective with Maureen Brennan and Catherine Stornetta

The Rey Center would like to thank all of those that made our February fundraising dinner, “Broadway 101: A Musical Retrospective with Maureen Brennan” such a success! Thanks to the generosity of our hosts, Kevin and Leslie Saba, our performers, Maureen Brennan and Catherine Stornetta, our sponsors, and all those who attended, we were able to raise $10,000 to support Rey Center programs! Attendees enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared jointly by Chef Sean Stout of the Coyote Grill and Chef Franz Dubach, a phenomenal performance by Tony nominated actress and singer Maureen Brennan accompanied by Catherine Stornetta, and a lively auction led by Tom Gross, Jr. We were so appreciative of all the support we received for this event, which, much to our surprise and delight, sold-out within one-week! We are already planning for next year's dinner. We hope you will plan to join us!