Peter Alden Wild Life

My final summary report on the groupings of organisms and the people who found them during Walden Biodiversity Days in 2009 and 1998 is finished and can be downloaded here (5.7 MB). These events wouldn’t have been possible without hundreds of experts and helpers of all sorts deserve our gratitude for their time in the [...]

In the run-up to Thanksgiving this week Shannon Mullen of National Public Radio interviewed me and Martha Stewart about Oriental Bittersweet, one of the most aggressively destructive invasive plants in the North East US and a staple of holiday decorations. Not surprisingly we come to different conclusions about it’s place at the table.

Here’s a clip of my recent appearance on WCVB-TV’s Chronicle, once again trying to spread the word about the problem of invasive alien species. When I say that, I know most people think of UFOs and little green men. Producer Ernie Sarro even leavened this story with some great stock footage of those kinds of [...]

On July 3rd and 4th I’ll be leading the second Walden Biodiversity Day, a gathering of top naturalists and field biologists — many of whom participated in the first Biodiversity Day in 1998 — who will fan out to find, identify and photograph over a thousand species of mushrooms, plants and animals in a day. [...]

Here are some excerpts from “Nature Sense with Peter Alden” produced by Ernie Sarro. Invasive alien plants are a major threat to America’s native plants and trees. Look for my regular segment on The Expert Series which airs on many community access TV stations in Boston and beyond.

I was recently interviewed by Karen Nugent of the Worcester Telegram about a topic near and dear to my heart – invasive alien plants, specifically, a state-banned non-native vine called Oriental bittersweet that is popular this time of year. Karen wrote: “On a visit to Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary in Worcester, [...]

Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress Niki Tsongas invited me to provide color commentary on environmental issues during her “Rolling Down the River” campaign on the Sudbury River in July. Along the way I pointed out birds, turtles, and native and invasive trees, shrubs, vines and wildflowers, particulary the invasive plant (and animal) challenges affecting us [...]

The Smithsonian Magazine has a an excellent article this month, Teaming Up With Thoreau by Michelle Nijhuis, that does a beautiful job of conveying what’s so special — and what’s changing too fast — in my small part of the woods. An excerpt follows or you can read the whole article on Smithsonian.com. “Even in [...]

A rash of new trees, shrubs, vines, creepers, wild flowers, grasses and fresh water aquatic plants are in the process of taking over vast areas of our remaining wild lands. These “new” plants evolved thousands of miles away across oceans and continents, but in a corner of its continent with a climate similar to ours. [...]