ENRTF « The Echinacea Project

Beat the Heat!

To counter expected high temperatures, we started earlier in the morning with GPS points for the ENTRF-funded bee research project and found some cool plants. After lunch, some of the team continued to stake and shoot points, while others planted some green comet milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) seedlings in a previously burned site. We also saw a baby Pheobe on the deck after it attempted to fledge.

One of our hard-working employees finding points with our handy dandy GPS units.

Pheobe fledgling (or attemptee).

Alumroot (Heuchera richardsonii) at one of our sites.

Hi milkweed, bye Alex, what’s an emergence trap?

On a hill planting milkweed

We know each plant’s mother.

From every milkweed seed,

Distinct one from one another.

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Chocolate cake and thin mints

For Alex’s last day!

We’ll try to follow in her footprints

And maybe make her stay.

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Experiments in efficiency-

Catching bugs the best way

Practice until proficiency

How do you catch bugs and make them stay…?

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Emergence traps! are tents for bugs

That they can not get out of

So we can see each fuzzy mug

And identify and count them up all up so we know which ones appreciate a post fire environment and which ones do not.

Hulzebos CRP North Unit Burn

Smokey but successful burn today in a prairie restoration! Looks like a nice rain will follow and hopefully jump start some new plant growth.