This Just in- After a lengthy stint of measuring in P1, Team Echinacea finally completed all rows on the morning of Tuesday, August 8th. Hoots and hollers rang out near Tower Rd. at approximately 11:30 am. “I’m happy to be done,” said Janice Anderson, member of Team Echinacea. “We don’t need to drag on it too much, but I’m ready to put it behind me and move on with my life. I wish P1 the best,” they added. Luke Settles agrees. “Where some see an end, I see a beginning.”
Wyatt Mosiman, who made a valiant effort in measuring and contributed much speed and determination to the project, echoes the general excitement of finishing. However when asked to comment, her only remarks were “Ouch, my knee”.
Team Echinacea would like to thank some P1 regulars that aided in the process, such as the giant field spider, the giant katydid with “face hands” and the tiny frog that found a home on Mosiman’s hat.
Abby Widell, another member of Team Echinacea is excited to be done, but maintains a solemn understanding that there is still work to be done. “We’ll see you soon, P1”.
Friday was our first true day of total demo! After thorough instruction and review, Team Echinacea was off to the races as we PGORY’d our way through our first few sites! Already 6.9% done!
Today was Harrison’s last day with us 🙁 Stuart made a prairie-inspired cake to honor his time with the project. He is returning to teach young minds about ecological research. Farewell, Harrison, and good luck!
The team also conducted floral abundance surveys. Essentially, we want to see how many plants (and what kinds) may be associated with ground-nesting bees. That requires feet on the ground to estimate abundances and identify plants.
Lastly, a battle occurred today. While the crew did demography of echinacea plants- where we record data on this year’s flowering plants- I was stung by two wasps. Luckily, Lindsey was prepared to retaliate, though it wasn’t necessary.
All in all, farewells can sting, but at least there’s cake in the end.
