A new ice cream store just opened in Morris! Understandably, Mia, Lindsey, and I had to check out its grand opening. Just Chillin’ serves Bridgeman’s ice cream, and we tried the Wolf Tracks, Carmelicious, and Banana Buttercup. The first two flavors passed our rigorous ice cream evaluations, but Mia described the Banana Buttercup as “interesting” in true Minnesotan fashion, which means it wasn’t very good.
The ice cream gang
Since Lindsey had never been to Morris, I had to give a full tour of town. We checked out the creepy, derelict florist shop and drove through the University of Minnesota-Morris campus. We did not spot any horses on campus, unfortunately.
Just chillin’ on the porch swing
Next, we visited the West Central Research and Outreach Center. We wandered through the horticulture garden and found some suspicious ornamental orange Echinacea, which Mia identified as Echinacea purpurea. We also discovered a porch swing and a croquet game. The most challenging obstacle required us to hit the ball up an incline and through a hollow log. Lindsey was a pro croquet player, but Mia and I struggled, and it took us more tries than we would like to admit. If anyone challenges us to a croquet tournament, I’m placing my bets on Lindsey.
Hole in one!Mia struggles with the hollow logAn exhausting ordealThe croquet champion
This morning at roughly 9:30 am, a team of people were sent out to flag flowering plants at the prairie remnant known as LCE. A second team went out to P1 and finished flagging it (Woo-hoo!). Emma got to flag the last Echinacea.
Biology and Environmental Studies, Lake Forest College 2023
Research Interests
I am interested in learning whatever grabs my curiosity! This includes, biology(from molecular biology to conservation ecology), neuroscience, philosophy, statistics… I live to understand how the world around us works and hope to discover its secrets.
Statement
I come from the Chicagoland area and have mostly lived in big cities. I am excited to experience summer in rural Minnesota. My goals for the summer are to identify native plants, forage for food and be vegan!
Lastly, here is a photo of me in a forest preserve in Peoria IL.
First day of the field season! Today we visited Landfill East and West for the first day directed observation! Our first obstacle was entering the landfill gate and attempting to pass a truck leaving the site. Once we were inside the gates, we soon realized why the sites were named Landfill when we were met with a putrid smell. To get to the prairie remnants, we walked (with big strides) through tall grass filled with damselflies along the tree line.
Johanna and Sophia traversing the site.
First, we worked on using our visors (tiny personal computers from the 90s) to document our observations.
Me (Lindsey) extremely focused on using the visor.
Next, we drew out a basic map of the site! We included the two sites, the fence line, the tree line, the many rocks, and more. We also noted examples of cool-season grasses (like brome and poa), legumes (like leadplant), and forbs (like milkweed). We also tried to look for some warm-season grasses, but found it difficult at this point in the season.
Johanna and Sophia hard at work!Johanna’s incredible cartography skills shown here.
We compared both sites and noted the differences between Landfill East and West. One notable difference is that Landfill West was recently burned! Johanna also demonstrated proper walking technique through the prairie.
Here you can see the burn line between the two sites!
On our way out, we stopped to say hi to some cow friends! Then, we returned to the Hjelm house to write our flog post to conclude our first day on Team Echinacea. Woo!
My research interests are in how plants interact with their surrounding organisms and environment. And in this pollination biology perfectly is nesseled quite nicely. I am particularly interested in studying how disturbance affects plant pollinator interactions. I have enjoyed using molecular work to follow where pollen is moving in populations of plants.
Statement
I have been working as a research intern with the Echinacea Project since the summer of 2020! Wow how time flies when you are having fun! I will only be on the team for part of the summer this year as I am moving on to a new position at Michigan State! I am very excited to be around for the next month, planning on getting into some good trouble! In my spare time I like to knit, embroider, bake and practice yoga.
Jared, Alex, Lindsey, and I have now been in Douglas county, MN, for around a week give or take getting things ready for the start of the field season tomorrow. This includes a big supply run. Today Alex and I had some fun visiting five different stores in Alexandria (hereafter Alec (I know it is spelled Alex but that gets confusing once Alex (the person) is involved)). The least fruitful of these stops based on items crossed of lists was Fleet Farm. Fleet Farm was the most fruitful in fun! We had some good fun with their “big hat” selection. Lindsey is the only one in the Elk Lake house who didn’t have a “big hat” so Alex and I picked one up for her. But we wouldn’t dare choose for her so I modeled the different “big hats” and Alex sent photos to Lindsey and she chose which of the big hats she wanted. Now all members of the Elk Lake House have big hats and we all can be protected from the sun in style.
“this one has mesh at the top” (later determined this is jareds big hat)“mesh at the top in beige”“lookin’ hat”“the biggin” aka my new hatBig sun hats all dermatologist approvedLindsey the newest member of the big hat club in the beige “lookin’ hat”
THEN when we were leaving in the parking lot we ran into Sophia! (not literally everyone is ok) What a funny coincidence I guess Alec isn’t that big but still hilarious!
Moral of the story: let your big hat be a personality trait, and post silly things on the Flog
Attached is a csv containing the coordinates for parasitic plantings in exPt01. ID is a unique ID to a Row x Position combination, Row is the row in exPt01 (starts at row 13 and increases by 5), Position is the position in exPt01 (starts at 861.85 and increases by 5), Treatment is what was placed there (seeds, Comandra, Pedicularis, or C + P which is Comandra and Pedicularis), siteOne is where the first plant planted came from and siteTwo is where Pedicularis came from if Comandra and Pedicularis were both planted.
Biology and Geography with GIS Major, Gustavus Adolphus College Class of 2022
Research Interests
My interests are broadly within conservation, plant ecology and entomology, but I am most fascinated with questions about pollination and plant-insect interactions! I am excited to learn more about the impacts of fire on different plant species and to spend time out in the prairie this summer!
Statement
I am from Minneapolis, Minnesota though I’ve spent the last four years in the small town of St. Peter, Minnesota. In my spare time I like to run long distances, read, paint (mostly watercolors!), bake cookies, spend time with friends, and do just about any activity outdoors!
Here’s a photo of me with a nasty sunburn in front of the blooming crab apple trees on graduation day!
Biochemistry Major, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Class of 2025
Research Interests
I am interested in studying all sorts of science, especially biology! I like to see how things work together to create a larger network which is able to accomplish amazing things. Being outside and walking through the fields, I love seeing how much is going on between all of the living and nonliving parts of the prairie.
Statement
I am originally from Alexandria, MN, about 20 minutes from most of the field sites. This will be my second year as a part of Team Echinacea and I am thrilled to be coming back! In my spare time I enjoy being active, I am a part of the Gopher Nordic Ski Team at my college and love racing as a part of the team. I also am a distance runner. In my down time, I enjoy reading, being on the lakes (in my opinion, the best part of living in Alex!), baking/cooking, and playing music.
Kennedy Porter and I after a rainy day in P1 last year (John Van Kempen walks in the background)
Biology and Geography, Gustavus Adolphus College 2023
Research Interests
I am interested in studying anything related to the interactions between plants and insects, as well as humans. Ecosystem studies and trophic interactions are fascinating to me, and I’m particularly interested in how humans fit into this and shape these interactions. The study of pollinators in altered habitats combines all of my interests quite nicely, from plant communities to nearby habitat to insect diversity!
Statement
I am from Forest Lake, Minnesota. In my spare time I like to read (particularly nonfiction, but I’ve been trying to read more fiction as of late) and listen to music – I love new music, and listening to recommendations from friends is one of my favorite things to do. I also like to be active, whether that’s lifting, walking my dog Jupiter, or hiking. I also enjoy knitting and cooking – I love to try out new recipes!
