Main

August 08, 2006

ERC's Last Day

On the last day of ERC the students and I each shared one thing we were curious about, one thing we learned about, one thing we were excited by, and a favorite thing we did in ERC.
-Jessie
________
Brittney
Favorite thing- Shaw Nature Reserve
Curious- About Friday
Learned- So much
________
Eboni
Favorite thing- drawing for creek mapping
Learned- what a watershed is
Curious- what I would learn
________
Whittney
Learned- creeks
Excited- the pizza at the open house
Favorite thing- Shaw Nature Reserve
________
Johann
Learned- creeks, creek mapping, prairies as systems, watersheds & how they connect everthing
Favorite thing- being outdoors all summer
Curious- how much we would learn thoughout the program
________
Jessie
Excited- Being able to return to Shaw
Learned- that the students trust me to not lose them in the woods
Curious- Will the stundents stay in contact?

Posted by erc1 at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

ERC's last week

Thursday August 3, 2006

Today ERC creek mapped for the last time. It was a blast. We had fun on our last day of working at LREC.
-Johann
_________________________
Wednesday August 2, 2006

Today we went down to the creek to creek map. After that we went down to the cabin to work on the Enviroscape model.
-Whittney
_______________________
Tuesday August 1, 2006

Today we learned skills to prepare for creek mapping. We learned how to measure height and length of the creek bank and how to use a compass to find a bearing.
-Eboni
____________________
Moday July 31, 2006

The ERC pulled winter creeper and garlic mustard from the north woods. In the afternoon we enjoyed two movies about watersheds!
-Colleen

Posted by erc1 at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)

July 24, 2006

We're Back (We think)

It has been about 5 days since ERC has posted anything about their daily activities due to the recent storms. So we are posting last week's blogs today.
-Jessie
_____________________________
July 21,2006
We were all pleased to have helped/participated in the effort [at Calvary Cemetery] to restore the little we have of St. Louis prairie. Soon after we started working it started raining, we all headed for the van. Very happy to be soaking wet, we countinued our day at LREC.
-Johann

______________________________
July 20, 2006
Thursday July 20,2006

The ERC was at Shaw Nature Reserve. When we were there we met up with James Trager and we collected seeds. We collected Bee Balm, Ohio Hosremint and Woodland Brome in the morning.
-Colleen

______________________________
July 19,2006

Today we went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens and took a tour of the Herbarium and the Center for Plant Conservation. At the CPC we looked at some of the rare plant species that they have living there [in the Garden]. After all that we took a long van ride to Shaw Nature Reserve. At the reserve we cooked dinner and then the lights went out and we went on a walk in the dark with no flashights and we couldn't see anything but it ws fun.
-Eboni

Posted by erc1 at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2006

Sherman, Herman, Twerly, Lumpy and Wide Seed

Today, everyone in ERC went out into the North Prairie and collected the seeds of sedges. We found 5 different types and named them Sherman, Herman, Twerly, Lumpy and Wide Seed. It was fun, and a learning experience.
-Eboni

Posted by erc1 at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2006

Herbarium

The ERC group went to the prairie to collect plants for the Herbarium. The we went back to press them. We collected many different flowers, plants, and trees.
-Colleen

Posted by erc1 at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)

May 26, 2006

A Big THANK YOU to Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School Students!

The MRH 7th graders planted more than 80 native prairie plants in the "Between Prairie" restoration area on 5/23 and 5/24, including:

Blue flag (Iris virginica)
Wild senna (Senna marilandica)
Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
Blue vervain (Verbena hastata)
Eastern blazing star (Liatris scariosa)
Missouri ironweed (Vernonia missurica)
Golden alexander (Zizea aurea)
Lance-leaved coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Cowbane (Oxypolis rigidior)
Pale Indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolia)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia)
Royal catchfly (Silene regia)
Rose turtlehead (Chelone obliqua)

The MRH 8th graders planted more than 200 native wetland plants in an eroded stream bank of Deer Creek on 5/25 and 5/26, including:

Giant Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)
Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
Blue Star (Amsonia illustris)
Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans)
River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
Wood Reed Grass (Cinna arundinacea)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata)

The 8th graders also removed 20 large bags (several hundred plants) of fruiting Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) from the creek bank.

Posted by ejones at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2006

Bush Honeysuckle Workday

Fred, Donna and Ray

Posted by Malinda Slagle at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2005

Autumn on the Prairie

On September 27, I made a special trip out to the Ecology center with my camera. I wanted to capture the last colors of fall before winter's cold set in. Here are my thoughts and pictures from that day.

Before the Europeans set foot in North America, over half of the state of Missouri was covered in Prairie grasses. The soil was loamy, silty and fertile for the taking. Over time, Missouri's native habitat was transformed into farmland and urban development. Today less than 2% of natural prairie remains but there is a new movement within the Natural Sciences community to rebuild prairie habitat. The Missouri Botanical Garden here in St. Louis is doing a fantastic job of recreating prairie habitat. The MO Botanical Shaw Nature Reserve out in Gray Summit MO has some impressive prairie habitat and the Litszinger Road Ecology Center has a wonderful small piece of prairie land as well.

There is so much life out in the prairie of the Litszinger Road Ecology Center. (LREC) Right now most of the flowers are past their prime and beginning to die off, but some colorful blossoms remain.

Right now the Goldenrod is abundant and a flurry of life surrounds these beautiful prairie flowers.

The prairie is a harsh place and the grasses, flowers and animals that inhabit the land must adapt to a dry, hot climate. Prairie plants have roots that grow deep in the earth, deeper than other plants to be able to reach water. American Goldfinches nest later in the summer, past the time when all the other birds have raised their young. These birds time their nesting activity around the blooming of thistle and coneflowers so that they have a good food source for themselves and their young.

Goldfinches also lose their bright yellow feathers and take on a more drab appearance once Autumn sets in. Here are a few pictures of a female American Goldfinch.

As of September 27 a few hummingbirds were still found lingering around the feeder set at the edge of the prairie. But most of our ruby-throated gems have migrated south now.

This is life on the prairie during Autumn. I look forward to watching the land and its inhabitants change with the seasons. Stay tuned!

Posted by Colleen Crank at 09:46 PM | Comments (2)

June 30, 2005

Sedge seed collected by ERC

This is the sedge seed collected by the ERC with the help of Bill Davit, Hallie, Jenna, and Malinda on June 28th. They collected 22.87 oz of seed in just one morning of work! This seed will be used to add sedges to the rain garden and the pasture prairie.

Posted by Malinda Slagle at 01:24 PM | Comments (2)

April 12, 2005

Volunteers transplant seedlings

Horticulture volunteers, Susan Keating, Sharon Pederson, Jana Southern today transplanted woodland seedlings from flats into "conetainers." These plants will be planted by school children in the next couple months.

Posted by Malinda Slagle at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

Volunteers transplant seedlings

Horticulture volunteers, Susan Keating, Sharon Pederson, Jana Southern today transplanted woodland seedlings from flats into "conetainers." These plants will be planted by school children in the next couple months.

Posted by Malinda Slagle at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

March 22, 2005

Sharon Transplanting Wild Indigo

Today hort volunteer Sharon Pederson helped us transplant hundreds of prairie and woodland seedlings. These seedlings will be planted by students in the busy April and May months.
Thanks Sharon!

Posted by Malinda Slagle at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)