A Slime Mold is a Thing of Beauty

Land Steward's Hobby Reveals Miniature Worlds on the Forest Floor

Carrie Deegan | December 14, 2015

Tags:: Land Stewards

Michelle Hansen became a volunteer land steward for the Porter-Rogerson Forest in Tamworth, where she lives, last spring. Around the same time, her obsession with tiny worlds hidden on the forest floor began. It started when the snow was beginning to melt and leave some bare patches in the forest. “I noticed some lichens first,” Michelle said, “those tiny green ones with bright red tops that are called “British soldiers”… I got down close to take some photographs, and it just sort of grew from there.”

Chocolate tube slime mold, Stemonitis, spp.

Her obsession grew, that is. The elfin worlds captured Michelle’s imagination, and her camera began capturing images of lichens, mosses, liverworts, slime molds, and all the miniature organisms growing on rocks and rotting logs. Michelle’s images are beautiful - and bizarre: glassy lollipops in bright red and yellow, fuzzy brush-like structures, and even sticky looking globules that seem to be erupting a primordial ooze. It’s a version of New Hampshire’s forests that most people don’t see, but only because they’re not looking. Browsing through Michelle’s photos, it’s easy to imagine being an ant or a pill-bug, or even a tiny imaginary fairy, navigating through these other-worldly landscapes.

“I just use a very basic setup to take the photos,” says Michelle. “I like telling people about it because many assume you have to have really expensive equipment, but that’s just not the case.” Her equipment includes a basic digital SLR camera with an inexpensive lens extension that fits between the camera body and the lens to provide her with additional magnification. Basically, you don’t have to be wealthy, but you do have to be patient and very observant to take photos like these. “When I’m hiking,” says Michelle, “I stop at every single rotting tree. It kind of drives my partner Keith crazy. But you have to take the time to really look for these organisms. Sometimes I’ll look all along a dead tree one way and see nothing, but then on the second pass I’ll find six cool little slime molds.”

Slime molds are arguably Michelle’s favorite micro-subjects. These curious organisms are not found in the animal, plant, or fungi kingdoms- they’re classified as protists (Kingdom Protista) along with many other single-celled organisms and some multi-celled ones like algae that don’t fit neatly into any other kingdom. Slime molds can live independently as single cells, but the cells can also aggregate to form reproductive “fruiting bodies” when food gets scarce and they need to disperse spores to new areas. It’s these fruiting bodies that you’ll often find Michelle photographing. When asked how she identifies individual slime mold species, Michelle is quick to point out that there is no guidebook for slime molds. She uses a variety of online resources and discussion boards, which have put her in touch with some experts who can help confirm identifications. “I did see a Kickstarter campaign for a slime mold field guide once,” she says, “but I guess it wasn’t that popular with funders.” That’s too bad. Maybe if the next appeal is accompanied by some of Michelle Hansen’s cool images of slime molds, it just might attract more attention.

News

Welcome to the Newly Trained Volunteer Land Steward Class of 2024

Laurel Swope-Brush | April 15, 2024

Forty new land steward volunteers completed their training at a field day on April 14.

Service With a Smile: Celebrating Those Who Make Conservation Happen

February 8, 2020

For the last 27 years, the Forest Society has leaned on the assistance of community volunteers to monitor our conserved lands and help with special projects. Land Stewards form the backbone of our volunteer programs and are integral in meeting our mission. With the goal of recognizing their efforts, planning for the year to come, and gaining valuable feedback, each year Land Stewards and Forest Society staff meet at the Conservation Center to share a meal and a few stories, and to bask in the glow of service with a smile.

On January 30, more than 50 Land Stewards, guests, and prospective volunteers met for the annual meeting and brought along a home-cooked meal to share. The President of the Forest Society, Jack Savage, gave an address and took time to answer questions from our volunteers about where the organization is headed and where we currently stand. Before the talk went too far down the rabbit-hole of conservation issues in New Hampshire, someone from the group hollered out in a timely fashion, "Let's Eat!" It was a welcome reminder of why we were all present.

This annual event is part business and record-keeping, but also a great forum for one-on-one discussions and passing down stories and lessons from one generation to the next. Some of the Land Stewards have been volunteering for over 20 years. Others are new to the progam and excited to work with the Forest Society on conservation projects in this new millenium. There is something very New England about loading up your Crock-Pot for a meeting with your neighbors and sharing a meal together. The community that the Land Steward Program has established over the years is the reason I am passionate about the work we do. Sure, I love forests and outdoor recreation as much as the next guy, but what puts a smile on my face is introducing people to a forest for the first time and providing an opportunity for people give back and empowering them to take action to protect the resources within their own community.

Of the many great things I want to expand upon in 2020 and years to follow, is continuing to find and capitalize on our volunteers' unique skills. All we require of volunteer Land Stewards is to monitor an assigned forest reservation 4 times per year, but they keep asking to do more and more. These passionate individuals bring their enthusiasm and skills to volunteer trail-crew workdays, our citizen science initiatives, and assist Forest Society Staff and partner organizations on a number of conservation projects all over the state of New Hampshire.

This year, as a way to recognize one special volunteer, our staff presented Dave Heuss with a "golden hammer award" in recognition of his unique skills and commitment to the mission of the Forest Society through volunteerism. It's volunteers like Dave, and all who came out to the Annual Meeting & Potluck, that make the Land Steward Program more than just a sleepy monitoring obligation. It truly is a community of conservationists ready to offer their service with a smile.

Forest Society Land Stewards – Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities

May 3, 2019

Since its early beginnings in 1993, the Forest Society Land Steward Program has been the volunteer backbone of our forest reservations. Each spring the Forest Society aims to recruit and train 25 new volunteers to join the program. This year in mid-April the Reservation Stewardship and Outreach and Education staff once again collaborated to host the annual Land Steward Training. Over the course of two 8-hour days, volunteer land stewards receive the training needed to assist in monitoring and caring for our 185 forest reservations.

&nbps;“We try to select people who will be a good fit for the program, are committed to conservation, and are likely to stick with us for a few years” says program coordinator Andy Crowley of the recruitment process. Through offering continued training, unique experiences, and access to the Forest Society staff, volunteers are empowered to care for their adopted forests and build a strong sense of accomplishment in helping a part of their local community.

&nbps;On day two of the training, volunteers learn map & compass skills and how to use a land survey to identify property boundaries. “We try to make the lessons fun and engaging which makes the content more memorable for our volunteers” says staff forester Gabe Roxby. The new skills were then applied to a boundary walk on the nearby Everett & Wilton Forests. The training weekend was wrapped up with a tour of the recently completed timber harvest at the Heald Tract in Wilton, led by Managing Forester Wendy Weisiger.

&nbps;Land Stewards are unpaid volunteers, but they receive compensation in other ways. When asked why he signed up, Jim Whitlock refers to education. “I love the woods; they teach me so much the more time I spend in them” says Whitlock – Steward of the Strathlorne Tract in Stratham.

For other volunteers it’s about peace of mind. “I’m not the slightest bit handy, but I do LOVE to walk in the woods as it always makes me happy” recounts Wenny-Baker Land Steward Cynthia Van Hazinga.

&nbps;For people who feel refreshed after a walk in the forest this may not be hard to believe. According to a 2007 study from the Corporation for National and Community Service on the health benefits of volunteering, there is a significant relationship between volunteering and good health; when individuals volunteer, they not only help their community but also experience better health in later years, whether in terms of greater longevity, higher functional ability, or lower rates of depression.

As 5th grade teacher and Foster Conservancy Land Steward puts it, “I find the forest to be a very healing place where I can de-stress from being with 10 year olds 5 days a week”. The Land Steward Program not only enhances the forest for public recreation, wildlife habitat, and drinking-water quality, it also provides indirect health benefits for those who do the conservation work onsite.