Radio Talk

Rod Walton, FNA President and Fermilab ecologist, was interviewed by New England Public Radio's Inquiry program earlier this week.  The interview highlights the genesis of the Fermilab prairie as well as the current stewardship efforts.  You can listen to the interview online.

Julie's Summer Report

Julie presented a summer summary at yesterday's ELM meeting.  Here's a synopsis & her beautiful photos!  While she's off to other adventures, including resuming her studies at DePaul, we're hoping to welcome her back next year to more prairie collecting & stewardship.  Thanks for all of your hard work, Julie!

- We collected 90 species from the prairie, woods, and wetland areas. These include everything from our more common species to rare and prized species. Most notably, I collected seed from Turks cap lily and the prairie lily that we pollinated and marked earlier this summer. Of the 100-plus flowering plants we counted of the Turks cap, only 17 had valuable seed pods, an inevitable loss due mostly to deer browsing.

carva laciniosa, kingnut hickory

- I began working on a new plant map to illustrate and provide information, including the GPS locations of plants that we gathered throughout the summer. The map will include a picture and a link to an informative website. So far, this map includes mostly the locations of the lilies, along with 10 other species.

alisma subcordatum, water plantain

 

- Bob Lootens and I attended the Batavia League of Women Voter’s annual volunteer fair at Batavia Library in September. It was a very successful event in general, made up of dozens of volunteer organizations from the area and many interested citizens looking to donate their time. We were one of the only environmental organizations there, and most people were very intrigued by what we do and surprised by our existence. We signed up about 10 new volunteers, and handed out a number of FNA and prairie brochures, as well as numerous Harvest fliers.

lilim philadelphicum, prairie lily

- Lastly, we diligently marked collection sites for the harvest in the Main Ring, with color coded tape and plenty of mowed paths to make it simple for our volunteers.

Tomorrow's (10/31) Harvest Cancelled

from Julie Allen & Bob Lootens:

Unfortunately, the harvest for tomorrow, October 31 is cancelled. It is just too wet and sloppy and would be too much of a mess tomorrow, even if the sun does come out. Thank you very much if you were planning on attending, and please pass the word on that the harvest is cancelled.

Harvest Photos

The rain cleared away for our first harvest on October 3.  About 100 folks came out to help collect cord grass, culver's root, false sunflower, nodding wild onion, obedient plant, prairie sunflower, sweet black-eyed susan, round-headed bush clover, showy tick trefoil, spotted joe-pye weed, wild bergamot, wild quinine.

Junior Prairie Rangers group photo (above)

& seed collecting (below

Lunch under the oaks.

Gathering instructions before heading into the prairie

Collecting seed

Seed bins

In Case of Rain

We're looking forward to seeing folks at the harvests this October.  Trails are mowed and plants are marked for picking.  If it is raining -- or just too wet from lots of rain -- this Saturday's (October 3) harvest may be cancelled.  Please call the Fermilab switchboard at 630-840-3000 for a last minute check before heading out!

Looking for Volunteers

Thanks to all of the volunteers who've been helping with the summer harvests!  Summer may be coming to a close, but we're always looking for volunteers - particularly wtih the fall prairie harvests in October and lots still to do to help FNA get strong organizationally.  Send us an email to let us know what you may be willing to help with! 

Pictured:  Julie Allen at the Volunteer Fair, Batavia Public Library, September 19, 2009

Species of the Prairie Harvest

We're busy getting ready for the first volunteer prairie seed harvest on Saturday, October 3rd (the second harvest is scheduled for October 31).  Here are some of the species that are slated for harvest:

Allium Cernuum, Nodding Wild Onion

Ratibida Pinnata, Yellow Coneflower

Physostegia Virginiana, Obedient Plant

Desmodium Canadens, Showy Tick Trefoil

Echinecea Pallida, Pale Purple Coneflower

Gentiana Flavida, Cream Gentian

Monarda Fisulosa, Wild Bergamot

Petalostemum Purpureum, Purple Prairie Clover

Press Coverage: Baltimore Checkerspot Release

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune featured the release of the Baltimore Checkerspots at Fermilab earlier this month.

Volunteer Fair

Fermilab Natural Areas will host a booth at the Volunteer Fair tomorrow at the Batavia Public Library, hosted by the Batavia League of Women Voters.  Come out & see us!  More information.

Of plants old and new

What a wonderful series of moments it has been of late. Just two weeks ago, world-renowned botanist Dr. Robert Mohlenbrock ( http://perspect.siuc.edu/06_sp/mohlenbrock.html ) was leading a wetland plant ID course here at Fermilab. We were honored to share with him the collaborated efforts of many, led chiefly by the late Dr. Robert Betz to make the natural areas of Fermilab what they are today. This was indeed inspiring to us who are directly involved in the current land management and also who have the vision to progress into future management of this very special green space within the Chicago region. Now, two weeks later, I am back home in Carbondale, IL. This place is also home to Southern Illinois University, my recent alma mater. The department of Plant Biology is where I roamed from 2004-2009 and finished both my Bachelors and Master of Science degrees. These halls and offices were also the place where Dr. Mohlenbrock worked out of from 1957-1990. Before him, the Botany department was founded by the late Dr. George French whom French's shooting star is named after: Dodecatheon frenchii. Dr. French also founded the SIUC Herbarium, from where I am working out of today. Mohlenbrock helped update and curate this herbarium during his tenure and used it extensively as he published his many volumes and papers. Now, as I go about my work for Fermilab from the SIUC Herbarium, I am unexpectedly greeted by the pressed plant samples of these two legendary botanists. Dr. French's samples from the late nineteenth century when the forests of southern Illinois still held the components of an intact ecosystem, of pre-settlement wilderness. Mohlenbrocks handwriting and samples on the plants key me into the details that are shown in his books I use.
I am here working on the notoriously difficult grass-like plants known as the Sedges and Rushes. In the Spring of 2009, Bob Lootens and I visited Dr. Betz' wife. It was in their home that she presented to us two small wooden boxes and proclaimed "I don't know what to do with these". Bob and I looked at each other with curiosity and opened the boxes. The inside revealed Dr. Betz' home collection of Sedges and Rushes, each specimen lightly pressed and dried, glued to a large index card, wrapped gently in a plastic sandwich bag, and, most importantly, labeled with the species name. I was extatic. We surely had a use for these specimens at Fermilab. Sedges and Rushes are an important component of not only wetlands, but also prairies and woodlands and with his collection, we could go leaps and bounds further in identifying what we have on the Fermilab site. Not only that, but we can then determine which ones we can collect seed from and which we might trade for with local forest preserves.
So it is now, in the herbarium, going through each specimen, referencing the books 'Plants of the Chicago Region' by Swink and Wilhelm, 'Kane County Wild Plants and Natural Areas' by Dick Young, 'Illustrated Flora of Illinois, Sedges: Carex' by Dr. Mohlenbrock, 'Distribution of Illinois Vascular Plants' by Mohlenbrock and Ladd, and all the pressed samples from the SIU Herbarium, of which there are many. I am taking notes, taking macro-lens photographs, and beginning to catalog what species are correctly labeled from Betz and which need updating. This information will be used to ID the Sedge samples the FNA Interns collected all summer as a side project. Just like our prairie plants reference catalog, we will put together a nice one for these grass-like plants, complete with photos, samples, and key characters for easy field ID.
All the while, the connections of our common plant interests are so very evident. I have this place to myself, in the quiet depths of time I am going back to samples from the 1800's. I have just taken a dusty book off the shelf. It is the 1st Edition of Floyd Swink's 'Plants of the Chicago Region' circa 1969. It seems frail from age, but moreso from use. As I open the cover, I notice that the owner has signed their name on the upper right hand corner of the first page. It reads: Robert H. Mohlenbrock. I have come across some of Swink's original plant samples too. They are from the mid-1960's and in the end they have found their home in Carbondale. Some of these samples are stamped as used for the 4th Edition of he and Wilhelm's book. Corrections to scientific names are handwritten by Wilhelm in 1992.
So here I am, a 29 year old ecologist and the year is fading to 2010. These names and relicts from the botanical past surround me. The work I do is dependent on them. Even though now I have the internet and photo databases and blogs right here at my fingertips, I still prefer to be in company with those who took the time and made the case for a better world. A better world through plants.

Ryan E. Campbell
Consulting Restoration Ecologist
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
www.fermilabnaturalareas.org
Phone: 618-203-3882
Email: ryancamp@fnal.gov

Baltimore Checkerspot Release

Earlier this week, Fermilab's Tom Peterson hosted Vincent Olivares and Doug Taron of the Notebaert Museum for another butterfly introduction to Fermilab.  They released catepillars of the Baltimore checkerspot, a wetland butterfly, across from the education center along inbound Pine Street.


In 2005, Shawn Wischoeffer planted the caterpillar host plant, turtlehead, in wet areas along Pine Street as part of his Eagle Scout project. The plants have spread and developed well over the past years.

Read a press account of the release online.

Fall Harvest Dates Set

Though the prairie is in its blooming glory, plans for the fall harvest are underway. Volunteer harvests are scheduled for October 3 and October 31. More information.

Butterfly Walk

Tom Peterson will lead a butterfly walk this Thursday afternoon. Beginning at 4:30 p.m., the walk will step off from the Margaret Pearson Interpretive Trail (at outbound Pine Street). Possible butterflies include gray commas, who fly at the woods' edge in the late afternoon; swallowtails who may be nectaring on the bee balm and thistles; skippers could be in the prairie.

Please plan for mosquitos and mud, too!

Upcoming Volunteer Workday

On Monday, August 10 at 9 a.m., volunteers will meet at the Fermilab Science Education Center. Courtney & Julie will coordinate the collection of dark green bulrush (Carex annectens and Carex lanuginosa).

Summer Activities: Plant Maintenance & Enrichment

Courtney & Julie have also been helping fight off reed canary grass:

Prairie Cord Grass plugs were transplanted around 2 different Reed Canary Grass patches to see if Prairie Cord Grass would be a good, natural competitor to minimize the spread of Reed Canary Grass. The perimeter of the patch as well as each Prairie Cord Grass plug location were recorded with the GPS so the patches can be monitored in the future.

Teasel heads were cut off and plants were sprayed with herbicide to prevent their further spread.

Photo: reed canary grass; orange tape represents plantings of cord grass; cord grass pictured below.

Summer Activities: GPS Documentation

Another post from Courtney & Julie:

We pollinated and took GPS locations of Michigan Lilies around the site (on left). We will go back in the fall to collect some seed pods from these plants so they can be spread into new areas.

Turtlehead populations have been counted and GPS coordinates have been recorded so some butterflies that feed on turtleheads can be acquired from the Peggy Notebaert Museum.

GPS locations of blooming species have also been recorded throughout the summer so they can be found and seed collected later in the season. The GPS coordinates will also aid in finding these species in the upcoming years.

Summer Activities: Seed Collecting

(A post from Courtney Gill, 2009 Robert F. Betz Intern, and Julie Allen. Courtney & Julie have been busy all summer with various restoration activities, from seed collection and pollination to GPS documentation of species location.)

Recent species we've been collecting include prairie sundrops, meadow anemone, white wild indigo, belwort, white baneberry, jewelweed, broad-leaved puccoon, white trillium, pale-spike lobelia, marsh vetchling, smooth yellow violets, indian plantain and some sedges.


Thank you to the volunteers who have helped us collect bicknell's sedge, spiderwort and red bulrush this summer!

Pictured, left to right:

Courtney, Mohammad, Nino, Julie, Josh, Judy, Jacques

Butterfly Walk

Tom Peterson will lead a butterfly walk tomorrow, Friday, July 31 at noon, beginning at the Margaret Pearson Interpretive Trail. Plan on a 45-minute walk and the potential for mud and mosquitos.




Some possible butterflies: pearly eyes (photo), little blue spring azures, eastern commas, tiger swallowtails and more!

Sunset Photos

Check out photos from last week's "Sunset on the Prairie" walk! Participant & prairie harvest volunteer Marlene Rosecrans provided the photos.

Sunset on the Prairie

Next week Ryan Campbell, Fermilab's Consulting Restoration Ecologist, will host a prairie wildflower walk and discussion about the ecology and importance of the Fermilab prairie and its contribution to the Chicago Metropolitan landscape. On Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30 pm, the walk will depart from the gravel parking lot at the Margaret Pearson Trail (Interpretive Trail). The walk will progress through a grass trail, please wear appropriate shoes.

Rain date will be Friday, July 24th at the same time.

Prairie Wildflower Walk June 27

Ryan Campbell, Consulting Restoration Ecologist for Fermilab, and long-time groundskeeper Bob Lootens will lead a Prairie Wildflowers walk on Saturday, June 27th at 9 AM. Interested folks can meet at the Margaret Pearson Interpretive Trail parking lot on the Fermilab site. Enter the Laboratory from Kirk Road, on Pine Street. Check for details on the FNA Calendar.

Help Wanted!

If you love Fermilab and our natural areas, and if you would like to help out in a very material and important way, volunteer to help us with our fundraising efforts. The model we want to pursue to raise money for projects is primarily to write grant proposals to fund individual projects that address the three main parts of our mission: restoration, community, and ecology research.

If you have some experience in writing grants or other fundraising, send us an email at fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.

Bird Sightings

At yesterday's Ecological Land Management Committee meeting, Peter Kasper, Fermilab physicist, made a report regarding recent bird sightings. The sightings, and many photos, are maintained in an online diary.

Woodland Wildflower Walks

Last week, Ryan Campbell & Bob Lootens led two woodland wildflower walks in Fermilab's Big Woods. Campbell, who recently received his Master’s degree from Southern Illinois University has been hired as a consultant for restoration ecology at Fermilab. Ryan also has a history of years of work at Fermilab.

More photos!

Regional Recognition

Fermilab's prairie restoration efforts received a nice write-up in the Fall 2008 issue of Chicago Wilderness, of which FNA is a member organization.

T-shirts for Sale!

Fermilab Natural Areas has T-shirts! Order yours by calling Jeanette at 630-840-3303. Short-sleeved shirts are just $15 and long-sleeves are $18. Both sport the FNA logo on the front, and our website on the back.

Membership Renewals

Thanks to all of you who have renewed your FNA memberships! If you haven’t yet renewed, or you would like to change your level, visit the Membership page, or simply contact us by email.

Legal Status

FNA, which is currently a part of Fermi Research Alliance, is actively pursuing our own status as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of Illinois and the Internal Revenue Service. While contributions to FNA are tax-deductible, we will soon be an independent corporation. We recently became a legal not-for-profit corporation in Illinois, and we are actively working on the paperwork to submit to IRS to obtain our legal, “tax deductible” status. We expect to have this soon.