It's the heat of the summer and the natural world is popping!
Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills
Long Lake Conservation Center in Palisade
This report brought to you by the 4-H campers Reagan and Irene.
Josh from Belwin in Afton
Hi, this is Josh calling in from Belwin (Conservancy) in Afton, Minnesota. The students are gone for the summer, but I return once a week with my two boys to check on our bluebird trail.
We have 44 houses and it's so fun to see what's blooming next to those bird houses. So the bluebirds themselves are now well into their second brood for the summer.
They're the only ones that nest in those boxes that have two broods in the summer. Every once in a while we're lucky and get a third brood. The other birds that nest in there, including the chickadees and the tree swallows and sometimes even a Phoebe, they only have one brood as far as I'm aware.
And as far as the flowers blooming, we had our first big bluestem blooming on Tuesday, July 21st. And we also saw our very first goldenrods blooming, including a gray goldenrod up in our dry prairie, and then the Canada goldenrod down by the deep pool. There are so many different kinds of goldenrods, I get confused and always need to cheat and use iNaturalist. So hopefully iNaturalist algorithm and my foggy memory are correct on those identifications for goldenrod.
Marit and Micah take a nature walk with John in Grand Rapids
Marit spotted the illusive old guy during her phenology walk!
Chad Kaddatz from Little Falls
What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.
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Contributed/Three Rivers Park DistrictFor Minnesota youths, leaders in charge of combating invasive species in lakes said the work can be a career training game changer. -
Contributed/Minnesota DNRThe annual art contest highlights the stamps’ revenue generation, supporting fisheries management, habitat and stocking efforts in Minnesota lakes. -
Emma Krab/KAXEThe University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources Research Institute, or NRRI, launched a new simulator to test innovations in iron refining July 27, 2026, in Coleraine. -
Warm water temperatures across the state go along with an increasing number of fish mortality events, where a large number of fish die at once. -
Lorie Shaull/KAXEPeriods of reduced air quality due to wildfire smoke are expected for the rest of the warm season as fires continue to burn in Northern Minnesota and Canada. -
Contributed/Bridget Bennett / MinnPost / CatchLight Local / Report for AmericaAs wildfires burn, they release a mixture of toxic compounds like heavy metals, mercury and carcinogenic chemicals that form from burning organic matter.
