Katie Koerten, Author at Daily Hampshire Gazette

Be they blue, pink or white, chicory flowers bloom in the morning. On sunny days, they’ve turned white and wilted by noon. But they can remain open into the late afternoon on chilly, cloudy days.

Earth Matters: Blue is the rarest color: An ode to chicory, a perennial wildflower with a storied cultural history

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteSeptember 28, 2023

I’ve written in the Earth Matters column twice before about the magic of the color blue in nature.First, in “It’s not easy being blue in nature,” I wrote about how rare blue is in nature due to its relative costliness to produce. Then I described the…

A child wearing a dandelion crown.

Earth Matters: Five ways to enjoy dandelions this spring

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteMarch 18, 2023

A black and yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia. The author affectionately calls this common spider “Mabel.”

Earth Matters: How I went from arachnophobia to arachnophilia

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteOctober 28, 2022

Slate blue great blue heron eggs are guarded in Ithaca, New York.

Earth Matters: Cracking the mystery of how birds’ eggs are blue

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteApril 29, 2022

A bluejay in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Microscopic air pockets that scatter and reflect blue light, and melanin granules that absorb all other colors, result in a strong true blue reflected back to our eyes.

Earth Matters: It’s not easy being blue in nature

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteNovember 26, 2021

A spicebush in flower. The delicate blossoms emerge before the leaves and are easy to spot in the woods.

Earth Matters: Are spicebush swallowtails the cutest caterpillar?

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteMarch 21, 2021

A pair of loons on a New Hampshire lake.

Earth Matters: An inside look at a loon

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteOctober 31, 2020

“Draped Cocoon” is a midweight jacket inspired by metamorphosis, designed by Anna Gilbert-Duveneck of Framingham.

News

Fibershed: A green and local clothing concept

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteFebruary 22, 2020

A caterpillar of the eastern black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes).

Earth Matters: A living, breathing yard with native plants

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteSeptember 28, 2019

Ariel Ginsberg of Amherst climbs during the Hitchcock Center’s nature play program. Balancing barefoot on logs, climbing trees and hanging upside down from branches all strengthen the body’s vestibular, or balance, system.

Earth Matters: The case for unstructured nature play

by Katie Koerten For the GazetteApril 8, 2019