Science teacher Alan Fiero says the work must go on to protect the Karner blue

Thursday, July 27, 2017 - 17:14

 


 

 

GUILDERLAND — Last Thursday, local, state, and federal agencies held a press conference to announce that, at the Pine Bush Preserve, the endangered Karner blue butterfly had exceeded the federal recovery threshold.

There were fewer than 1,000 of the quarter-sized butterflies at the preserve in 2007; last year, there were 15,000. The local preserve is one of 13 federal recovery units for the butterfly that was first identified in the 1940s by novelist Vladimr Nabokov in Karner, New York.

Alan Fiero, who retired this year from teaching science at Farnsworth Middle School, has spent decades working with his students to girdle aspen trees and build fences to protect the lupine Karner blues rely on, and even to breed the now-rare butterflies.

This week, Fiero shared his philosophy on teaching science and spoke about the importance of continuing such efforts in this week's podcast.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer

Subscribe to The Enterprise on your podcast app, like iTunes(Apple), Stitcher, Google(Android), etc.

 

Tags:

More News

  • Knox fire claims couple

    First responders arrived at 1545 Thompsons Lake Road in Knox early Tuesday morning to find the home there completely engulfed in flames. Two bodies were recovered. 

  • Guilderland residents will have new water meters and increased fees

    The town board agreed to hire Core & Main to install about 10,000 water meters in homes across town for just under $5 million and also agreed to a table of updated fees, requiring building permits for the first time for projects like replacing windows, roofs, and siding.

  • Guilderland Food Mart set to expand

    Consulting engineer Bill Hennessy told the board that the current building is approximately 1,775 square feet and an additional 550 feet will be added.

The Altamont Enterprise is focused on hyper-local, high-quality journalism. We produce free election guides, curate readers' opinion pieces, and engage with important local issues. Subscriptions open full access to our work and make it possible.