Category: Nature Reserves

Winter in the Forest: Boulder Park in Chester-Blandford State Park, MA, USA

Boulder Park is located in the Chester-Blandford State Forest, in the scenic Berkshire Hills of New England, USA. I stumbled upon this hidden treasure, an early twentieth century recreational park, a day after one of the first snowy days of the winter in Eastern Massachusetts. In this beautiful forested landscape the mystical Boulder Park offers glacial history together …

Genius of Place: The National Parks, Olmsted & Landscape Urbanism (Lecture Report)

As part of The Friends of Fairsted Lecture Series for 2015-16 Ethan Carr (University of Massachusetts Amherst) presented a talk on ‘Our National Parks and the “Fairsted School”: An Enduring Legacy’. The 2015-16 Lecture Series is organised in Recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service. Tom Woodward (President, The Friends of Fairsted) gave …

Hiking & climbing amongst sandstone rocks in Berdorf, Luxembourg

For some beautiful Summer hiking and tranquil nature in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the small town of Berdorf is a great spot. Berdorf (Bäerdref in Luxembourgish) is located on a plateau that overlooks the valleys of the Black Ernz, the Sure and the Aesbach. On the plateau areas much farmland is located, while the valleys are densely forested. Berdorf is …

Busking at Iguazu Falls, Argentina (Music Video)

My favourite chant at the Iguazu Falls, on the Argentine side, by a troupe of local buskers. They were jolly, but visibly tired at the end of a warm day. Visiting the Iguazu Falls, experiencing the scale of the falls and cataracts and the thundering sounds, together with the natural setting of the subtropical Alto Paraná Atlantic forest, is …

Island Hopping on the Shinan Islands, South Korea

The Shinan Islands – or the ‘1,004 Islands’ – are located in the southwest of South Korea, in Sinan County (Sinan-gun), which is a part of the South Jeolla Province. In the fall, as tourism slows down on the islands, the harvest season sets in. It becomes a wonderful contemplative environment during that time, with a …

De Maten, Belgium – From Historic Fish Ponds to Nature Reserve

De Maten in the Province of Limburg in Belgium is a nature reserve of about 5 sq. km (536.00 ha), and man-made cultural landscape. De Maten is a protected and listed landscape since 1975 and is located within the boundaries of the towns of Genk and Diepenbeek. Centuries ago over 35 fish ponds were created by damming the local burns, including the ‘Stiemersbeek’ …