How have glaciers and climate and human activity all affected the land we live on, the flora that grow here, and the wildlife that either thrives or disappears from our hills? The Historical Society often hosts lectures on these topics. Just since 2022, we have held lectures on the glacial history of our hills and lakes, how that geological change affected the soils, and how logging and hunting changed the numbers and types of wild animals in our forests. When possible, we will post writings, slide decks and videos from these lectures.
April 29, 2023: After the Ice Age: The Return of Plant Life to the Bristol Hills
PDF of the presenter’s slide deck
Dr. Bruce Gilman’s third lecture in a natural-history series builds on his previous talks on the glacier’s shaping of our geology and soils (see below) to describe the development of plant life since the glacier receded 12,000 years ago. Then he leads a virtual tour of today’s woodlands, showing the many native wildflowers blooming in the spring.
February 18, 2023: The Wildlife of the Bristol Hills
YouTube video of the full presentation
PDF of the presenter’s slide deck
DEC wildlife biologist Michael Palermo gave a talk sponsored by the Historical Society and hosted at United Church of Bristol’s Center on the Hill on how logging and hunting have affected wildlife populations. Palermo describes how clearing of the forests, from up to 90 percent forested when European-Americans began settling the area in the late 1700s, to 25 percent forested in the 1880s, and unregulated hunting led to the disappearance from our region of many species, such as elk, wolves and mountain lions. Reforestation picked up momentum in the 1930s, and forest cover currently is above 60 percent, with many species thriving, from black bear and deer to bobcat, coyote, fisher and many others.
September 14, 2022: The History of Bristol Hills Soil
PDF of the presenter’s slide deck
Dr. Bruce Gilman presents his second lecture in a series on our region’s Great Ice Age and its aftermath. This talk focused on how the retreat of the glaciers changed the composition of our soils.
April 13, 2022: Glacial History of the Bristol Valley
PDF of the presenter’s slide deck
Dr. Bruce Gilman, professor emeritus in the conservation department of Finger Lakes Community College and curator of the Finger Lakes Herbarium, presents his first in a series on our region’s Great Ice Age. This talk focused on the location and extent of the region’s glaciers and how they are responsible for the landscape features we see today in our lakes, hills, gullies and valleys.