Best Nature E-Newsletters

Plant press in the field. Photo by Olga Nayda on Unsplash.

Newsletters have waxed and waned in popularity over the past couple of decades. Last fall the NY Times asked if paid newsletters have peaked. Maybe so. The newsletters I tend to read, written by naturalists and nonprofits have been less vulnerable to the whims of capitalist bubbles. The newsletters in my inbox range from big data to urban nature. This is a list of my favorite nature newsletters. If your must-read is not on this list, tell me about it in the comments.

1. NYC Microseasons

As a student of seasonal change especially in trees and birds, I took great pleasure in reading the phenological missives published by Erin Chapman and Allison C. Meier. The project has ended but you can read the entire collection here.

2. Grow Like Wild

Ecological horticulturist Rebecca MacMackin launched her newsletter in 2021. MacMackin’s mission is “to share studies, stories, and talking points with people engaged in this work so that we can be better practitioners and advocates.” You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

3. Nature’s Notebook

I administer a phenology monitoring project in Washington Square Park. I work with volunteers to collect data and make observations myself. Many thousands of naturalists collect seasonal change data using the Nature’s Notebook app. We receive a biweekly newsletter chock full of research findings, seasonal highlights, and resources.

4. Solar One for Stuy Cove Park newsletter

Park manager Candace Thompson writes phenomenal prose about this 1.9 acre public park on the East River. Thompson “collaborates with soil, plants, microbes, fungi, animals, food, land, digital media and other human beings” so the newsletter is multi-species and features natures in places around the city. The park was demolished last year as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency project. You could follow the city website for Stuy Cove updates but the park's newsletter is better for the soul. Read them here.

5. Taking Root

If you are an urban forester in New York, then you probably subscribe to this NYS Urban Forestry Council newsletter. Written by Michelle Sutton, it spotlights trees, people, funding, and all things city trees in the state. Subscribe to Taking Root here.

6. Plant of the Week by Eric Larson

The earliest Plant of the Week newsletter in my inbox is dated March 5, 2015 and the plant was the Tulip Poplar! This species is my absolute favorite tree. I have been a happy subscriber since then. Larson profiles a different plant in each newsletter. The last plant featured in 2022 was the New England Aster. To subscribe to Plant of the Week, email the author at eric.linda.larson at gmail dot com.

By the way, you can subscribe to this blog to get posts in your inbox. I also write the Washington Square Park Eco Projects newsletter.