"Come with me into the woods. Where spring is advancing, as it does, no matter what, not being singular or particular, but one of the forever gifts, and certainly visible."
–Mary Oliver
A new spring discovery: A member of the Sarcoscypha mushrooms, known commonly as scarlet cup. Seen in Plainfield, MA.
Spring Starts
Spring is when everything gets busy, so I'm going to dispense with the usual intro and just give you the deets. Read below for more on the following:
Tutorial - Growing Red Osier Dogwood from cuttings (it's easy!)
Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) is very easy to propagate from cuttings, and makes a great first attempt if you'd like to try your hand at this technique.
Here's a quick how-to:
Select young, bright red branches that are about the thickness of a drinking straw.
Make a beveled cut below a leaf bud
Strip any buds off the section you just cut below. This is where the cutting will push out new roots.
Score bottom of the cutting with a knife or razor
Make a clean cut at the top, leaving a total of 3-4 sets of buds on the cutting.
You can place the cuttings in 2-3 inches of clean water and wait for the roots to grow, about 2-3 weeks. Make sure you change the water if it gets dirty.
Alternatively, you can place the cutting in a pot or directly in the ground where you want it to grow.
Online Information Session 4/15
7-8:30pm ET on Zoom
Rendering by Stefan Poost '25
Sign up for our next Admissions Online Information Session on Wednesday, April 15th at 7pm ET. Faculty and staff will be available via Zoom to discuss Conway's program and curriculum in detail and answer any questions you have.
Our alum guest speaker will be Tamsin Flanders '18. She is a Senior Land Use & Natural Resources Planner at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) in Greenfield, where she works on projects covering community climate resilience, municipal energy transition, watershed-based planning, comprehensive planning, and open space, outdoor recreation, and agricultural planning.
Seeing our learning environment in person and talking to faculty and current students can give you a great sense of the Conway experience. Email admissions@csld.edu to set up a time.
Apply
If you've already decided to apply, we encourage you to do it early. Early applicants have the opportunity to apply for several external scholarships whose deadlines fall before our regular application deadline in January.
Let’s face it, it’s been a long, cold, winter here. Now that the dark, ice, and snow are finally letting up, we are ready to get out and about, and invite you to join us for two different mixer events this spring! Plus, we’ve picked some extra fun locations. Read on for details.
To those unfamiliar with it, Tree House Brewing Company is an experience. Make your way down a colorful beer can corridor to an atrium filled with hanging plants, an impressive beer list, equally impressive wood-fired pizza, and plenty of seating. Join Conway staff, faculty, current students, and alums for food, drinks, and conversation about all things ecological design and beyond. Parking is abundant and free.
Portico Brewing boasts excellent beer, an in-house taqueria, legos, games, and good times. All alums, trustees, and friends of the Conway School are welcome! Join staff, faculty, students, and alums for food, drinks, and discussion of all things ecological design and planning. Portico is a ten-minute walk from the Union Square T station on the Green Line. Parking is free.
