Near perfect conditions have contributed to what is being hailed as perhaps New Brunswick’s most vibrant fall season in recent memory.
Research scientist Dr. Joanne MacDonald says warm and sunny days this time of year help to encourage red pigments in leaves — and the province has had plenty of those days this fall.
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“Temperature effects the pink, red, purple and orange colours in autumn leaves,” explained MacDonald.”We’ve had nearly perfect conditions for the last few weeks.”
“This is the most spectacular autumn I have seen in my career as a tree physiologist,” she said.
While a picturesque fall season is nothing new to the Maritimes, tourism officials say those who aren’t fortunate enough to see the leaves change in their neck of the woods are coming to New Brunswick to experience its beauty.
“We do hear it quite often, especially now with social media playing such a large role,” explained Stacey Russell, assistant manager at Fredericton Tourism.
“We’re getting posts from visitors who have either been here or planning on coming, complimenting us on all of our colours and wanting to be able to come and see.”
“It’s a beautiful landscape this year,” said Russell.
Russell says some photos they’ve shared online have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times throughout the world.
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“The colours are just so vibrant,” she said. “The public has been sending us a lot of amazing photos of the fall foliage in Fredericton and the St. John River valley, so we’re quite fortunate.
“It’s probably one of the best years we’ve seen in quite some time.”