The Post

Join us for our next meeting on Wednesday, March 19, to help plan Earth Day activities, at 12:20 p.m. in CASTL (Vini 107).

To dispel an urban legend, it is not the only day when you can balance an egg on its end, you can do that any day if you are patient. Spring is thought of as a time of renewal and re-birth. So why not use this time to start something new, like coming to meetings of the sustainability committee. This open forum will meet this Wednesday at 12:20 p.m. in the CASTL, 107 in St. Vincent’s Hall, to discuss Earth Day events (April 22) and many other sustainability related agenda items. The committee welcomes any and all to stop by and offer suggestions for projects and proposals for ways to make the Niagara campus a more sustainable place. Read on to find out about the vernal equinox.

As many people are aware, on March 20 (or 21) we will be at the vernal equinox. This means there are equal hours of light and dark (hence the name equinox, from the Latin word for equal). The vernal and autumnal equinoxes are the only two days of the year where the northern and southern hemispheres have the same amount of daylight. It is also the only day when the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. Due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis, on other days it is either north or south of true east and west for sunrise and sunset, respectively.

The vernal equinox is considered the first day of spring. After the winter we have been having it will be quite a relief to hear those words. Signs of spring are already evident. Maple sap has started to run in maple trees. All it takes is a few days above freezing to start the process. Sap can be harvested until budbreak, at which point it is best to let the tree have its precious lifeblood. (It also becomes bitter.) It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.
Other signs of spring are evident. Look at the southern side of most dwellings or buildings. If they have spring flowers like tulips and daffodils planted near them you will note that they are already busy bursting out of the ground. It seems so futile considering how cold it still will become, but they are hardy fellows, able to survive thanks to an adaptive change in their lipids and proteins.

There are plants that are flowering now. Yes, I said flowering. Yes, I do mean outside. Yes, I do mean western New York. The appropriately named Lenten rose is an example of such a plant. There are varieties that begin to bloom around Christmas as well called, you guessed it, Christmas rose. These plants are unrelated to real roses, and their common name, Hellebores, seems an unlikely candidate to be associated to these two most special and sacred Christian times of the year.
Hazelnuts, sometimes referred to as filberts, also bloom in the winter. The female flowers are relatively non-distinct and the male flowers are seen as catkins, pendulous structures that can be several inches long. The nuts are harvested in the fall and my personal favorite use is in Nutella™. – Dr. Mark Gallo