I want to study bees while I am on team echinacea, specifically how burning the prairie impacts them. I also want to learn to identify native plants!
Statement
I am from Plainfield, IL originally but I spend most of the year in Wooster, OH on my college campus.
In my spare time I like to get on some wheels (skateboarding, biking, rollerblading, roller skating etc.) to take my dogs out, camp, read, binge shows, craft, play games or nap with my cat.
I spent the day searching for echinacea seedlings in our seed addition transects. With the help of Lindsey and advice from other seasoned experts, I have complied a list of tips and tricks that will lead to highly accurate data collection.
DO:
Upon arrival at a segment, announce yourself to the echinacea. Why have you come here and what are you doing?
Consider making an offering. Perhaps an invitation to collaborate in future studies, or the opportunity to review any relevant manuscripts.
Be gentle when combing through their home. Clumsy fingers lead to broken echinacea and broken hearts.
Of course, search actively! Change your angles and consider the topography. But also, let the echinacea find you.
Never stab your toothpick into an echinacea root. I think this needs no explanation.
Before your final sweep, verbally announce that you are done looking. This will most likely lead to the instant detection of one more plant. We can’t explain it, but it happens.
Say your goodbyes before heading off. Offer words of encouragement to the seedlings as they, too, have a long summer ahead.
Slow start this morning drinking water as we waited for rain to pass so we could continue shooting ENRTF GPS points (we forgot it’s raincoat). After lunch we continued with more of the same work and saw some Heliopsis helianthoides conspiring with bees.
We started early today to beat the heat but instead were greeted with a cloudy and cool morning. Right off the bat, I started the morning by continuing to take some GPS points for the ENTRF-funded bee research project. While I was enjoying taking points in a site with minimal hills… other groups did not have the same experience. Public enemy #1 (Geese) showed their true colors by showering El with some “love”.
Taking GPS points!Geese 1 – El 0
After lunch, I learned how to take samples of the amount of light available along some of our transects using a light meter. My biggest trouble was finding all of our nails in the ground!
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.
I want to study all varieties of wild flowers and native grasses. I also wish to learn about how the environment affects them and the impact they have on the ecosystem around them. i am also very exited to be part of a team and learn how a research project like this one works!
Statement
I am from Hoffman, MN
In my spare time I like to hang out with friends, run, listen to music, and go hiking to explore the outdoors.
High School Teacher- Peachtree Ridge HS, Suwanee GA
Pronouns: she/her
Research Interests
I want to learn all I can about prairie grass! I currently teach 9th grade biology. This summer I am focused on project based learning and incorporating Team Echinacea’s work into the classroom. I live far from any prairie but want my students to have the opportunity to learn from engaging and inquiry based lessons about prairie ecology.
Statement
I am from Suwanee GA
In my spare time I like to embroider and go on long walks.
