TAKE A BREAK
The American Beech tree is one of the most prominent and beautiful trees that decorate New England’s landscape in backyards, parks, golf courses, and acreages. With a wide- spreading canopy, these trees provide protective shade in summer and produce gorgeous gold leaves in autumn. Beech tree canopies can grow about 70 to 80 feet tall and 90 feet wide! American Beech trees have survived well for generations in certain lowland sections of New England and have been traditionally immune from decades of foreign disease invasions that have killed other species. Still found in high density in wooded areas behind the elementary schools of Bugbee and Wolcott and other lowlands around town, they are tragically facing a new killer: Beech leaf disease (BLD). It affects all types of Beech trees, both European and American, and weakens them, making them susceptible to secondary infections that can kill them. Beech leaf disease is caused by a nematode (a microscopic worm) primarily transported on the feet or droppings of birds and insects. (A transporter of a disease is called a vector.) It causes darkening and curling of Beech leaves and inhibits leaf and bud production. Because Beech trees are vital components of our ecosystem and provide food for many species, the loss of Beech trees is a massive concern. BEECH LEAF DISEASE’S IMPACT ON WEST HARTFORD’S CANOPY
JALAPEÑO POPPER MAC AND CHEESE Inspired by TheModernProper.com
Ingredients
The Beech/Sugar Maple “climax community” was the most common mature forest type in the entire Northeastern U.S. before the arrival of Europeans. A climax forest community is a late-stage, steady-state forest that develops or “succeeds” from a grassland state to a mature forest over hundreds of years. The process of forest succession to Beech/Maple happens slowly while the Beech saplings bide their time, growing in complete
• 2 sticks butter, divided • 1/3 cup flour • 5 cups milk • 8 oz cream cheese • 3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese, divided • 4 cups shredded pepper jack cheese, divided • 2 tsp salt Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
• 2 tsp garlic powder • 1/2 tsp pepper • 1 lb bacon, chopped and cooked • 8 jalapeños, seeded and chopped • 1 lb macaroni, cooked • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1 stick butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until fully absorbed in butter. Whisk in milk slowly. 3. Once sauce thickens, stir in cream cheese and shredded cheese until melted, reserving 1 cup of each shredded cheese. Add seasonings, bacon, and jalapeños before removing from heat, then combine pasta and sauce. 4. In a small skillet, melt remaining butter and stir in panko. 5. In a greased baking dish or skillet, add macaroni and top with panko and remaining cheese. Bake for 30–40 minutes and serve warm.
shade. It would be tragic to lose the precious few mature American Beech/Maple forests we have left in Connecticut. Today, researchers are working overtime to understand and manage this disease, but in the meantime, little can be done to prevent its spread. Here are three things you can do to help today. • Avoid transporting Beech firewood from one site to another. • Choose other species to plant near a forested area where BLD is found. • Educate others to spread awareness about the disease.
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