The 3D lab

Keep an eye out for the butterflies!

Posted on August 2, 2014 by lembrechtsjonas

This weekend nature-lovers all around Belgium (and the Netherlands) get outside to count butterflies. Natuurpunt, the nature conservation organization, asks everybody to spend at least half an hour of this sunny weekend in the garden, preferably when the sun is shining, and write down all species of butterflies that you can spot.

The campaign to count butterflies for one weekend a year already exists since 2007 and provides a fantastic opportunity to combine ecological research with the broader public (oh, and that is exactly what we on this blog want!). It brings people in contact with the nature in their garden ànd with the science of nature conservation.

So, the task is simple, you do not have to do anything different than planned: just put yourself in a relaxed chair in the garden and look at all the beauty around you. We have a warm summer, so the butterflies might be plentiful. Every counted butterfly provides information on their distribution and how to conserve them. So, please, help us to count them all, and sent your information from this weekend to Natuurpunt.

More information and species names can be found here on the website of Natuurpunt! Everything on how it works!

By the way, it might be nice to post a comment here if you participate, I would be happy to hear it from you!

Posted in General | 7 Comments

The beauty of the north

Posted on July 25, 2014 by lembrechtsjonas

The Scandinavian mountains have photo opportunities around every corner. Click here to see a photo gallery, where I celebrate the amazing beauty of the north.

You should pay it a visit to enjoy angry lemmings, stunning lakes, beautiful flowers, endless sunsets or breath-taking mountain hikes.

It will show you a summer as you have never seen one before.

You might recognize some of the pictures from my previous posts, but all together, they summarize the atmosphere even better.

Posted in Sweden | Tagged Europe, Hike, Holiday, Mountains, Nature, Norway, Photography, Photos, Scandinavia, Subarctic, Sweden, Travel, Wild | 4 Comments

Sweet summer child

Posted on July 24, 2014 by lembrechtsjonas

I am a true summer child. I love the sun, the flowers, the birds and all nature’s activity in summer. I brighten up under a warm blue sky.

I do not know a thing about the Scandinavian winters, with their eternal nights, mountains of snow and freezing temperatures. When the first northern light hits the sky, I flee to the south.

Torneträsk lake with rowing boat

The only Scandinavian snow I know is from the stubborn little patches that resist the changes of the seasons and do not want to melt before the end of July.

Hiking in the Swedish mountains

I only experienced the Scandinavia with its abundant flowers, seeking cooling underneath waterfalls and dipping toes in the lake.

Waterfall in Swedish mountains

I must admit I also know those summers from endless rains and late snow storms that bite your fingers off on top of the mountains, but those harsh feelings are soon forgotten as soon as the shiny sun is back.

Orchid flowers in subarctic forest

I have to repeat it to myself every sunny day again and again: northern Scandinavia is a hostile place. It is not always like this. The seedlings in your experiments might soon die from the cold. Never forget this while you gaze at the blue sky and cool your burning skin with fresh melting water from a stream.

Posted in Sweden | Tagged Abisko, Fieldwork, Hiking, Holiday, Lake, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Scandinavia, Summer, Sweden, Travel | 2 Comments

Fjord and fjäll

Posted on July 22, 2014 by lembrechtsjonas

We ended our Scandinavian fieldwork trip with two days at the other sides of the mountains. We had to find back the Norwegian plots of the roadside research of two years ago to install temperature sensors in the soil.

This little trip brought us the highlights of the Norwegian summer in a peaceful valley called Sjkomdal, in this season a true example of a Scandinavian paradise.

We traveled up and down between the softness of the grasslands in the valley and the breathtaking views from the mountain tops.

The ultimate goal was to find back the sticks that had been waiting for two years in the immense eternal forests and tundra to mark the location of all plots. For the next year, they will guard the temperature sensors until I come back to pick them up.

Luckily, we had gps-coordinates, pictures of the locations and some marks in the field to help us on this true treasure hunt. This facilitated the search drastically, although some sticks still managed to disappear untraceably over the years.

It was nice to be reunited with my plots after two years; coming back there felt like revisiting a childhood playground. With the help of two days of fantastic summer weather, I now finally realized the full beauty of the area and the luck we had to do science up there.

After a long and hot day of climbing the mountains, we set up our tent close to a lovely and cute ‘Fjällbuhytta’, right above a river perfectly suited for an evening swim. We took our time to swim away the dust of the working day and watched the alpenglow on the mountains at midnight.

Mission accomplished in the best of circumstances, that is one thing that makes ecology so amazing!

Posted in General, Sweden | Tagged camping, Ecology, Fjords, Hiking, Holiday, Mountains, Narvik, Norway, Photography, Scandinavia, Science, Skjomdal, Summer, Travel | Leave a comment

Use the light you have

Posted on July 16, 2014 by lembrechtsjonas

When time is short and work takes long, the midnight sun truly is a blessing.

We had been climbing for a whole day to find a nice location to install our new experiment at one thousand meters, when it turned out the chosen mountain would mean a massive logistical challenge the next years. The climb was long and steep, the nearest road was at least half a day walking and all plots would be long hikes away from each other.

Moreover, the vegetation did not look as promising for the experiment as it did elsewhere. The tough decision had to be made that this whole day of climbing under a baking sun would not result in the completion of another successful experiment. We had to let the plan go, a decision made lighter by the chance to enjoy the beauty of the Arctic summer. We watched down on the valleys and tops and worked out a promising plan B.

In order to finish all the work in time, we had to be sure we would have plots with ideal conditions on the last day of the fieldwork. Luckily, circumstances in the north turned out in our advantage. As the sun would never set during the night, we could spend a whole night working and searching the mountains for good locations for the next day.

Luckily, we could make use of the chairlift, which brought tourists around midnight to 900 meters of elevation to admire the magnificent view on the sun. It allowed us to experience two successes that night: a satisfying hunt for ideal experimental locations, and a fairytale experience on top of the world.