Nicodemus Wilderness Project
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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Morrisville, Vermont, USA

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Morrisville, Vermont, USA
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lolo2480



Registered: December 2011
City/Town/Province: Morrisiville
Posts: 1
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I have always been captivated by science, nature was my playground as a child. I became fascinated by my favorite field of science: ecology, when I was a 10th grader and got involved in a stream sampling program with my high school in connection with the University of Vermont. Ever since then I have been performing ecology related project because I fell in love with it. I did a stream health project related to a local hydro plant, which produced a 20 page report. This past year I dedicated my time to planting endangered native plants.
I researched and discovered that blue lupines (Lupinus perennis) have been dying out due to mowing, weed control, fire suppression (fire provides open fields for lupines to grow) and being shaded out. They are now endangered in the state of Vermont according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This shocked me as I remember playing in these flowers as a child. I decided to plant them whenever I was given the chance (much like Miss Rumphius also known as the lupine lady). The 16,000 seeds where planted in the state of Vermont. Most of the seeds, however, where planted in my neighborhood, and a field that I often pass near a substation for the local hydro plant. This field is next to the roadway which is near a creek so the lupines will increase the health of the riparian zone and the fixated nitrogen will promote other plants to grow near the lupines. The lupines have a taproot. These are thick long roots, therefore the lupines will act as a soil anchor and prevent erosion.
The project included the planting of 16,000 seeds. Roughly half of these were packaged into what is called a seed bomb. To make a seed bomb you flatten out a ball of clay and place two seeds inside and some fertilizer, you then encase the seeds and form a ball. Allow these to dry. The two seeds where used instead of one. This is because cross pollinating lupines plants produce more seeds than those who self pollinate. The fertilizer used was made from natural plant products, because it doesn’t raise nitrogen levels if washed into a water way. The seed bombs allow more areas to be accesses via planting because seed bombs can be thrown farther than seeds. When planted in fall they also protect the seed until spring when the melting snow breaks up the clay. The fertilizer increases the amount of seeds that will mature into adults as it insures that the seeds will have available nutrients. The other 8,000 seeds where planted 2 inches in the ground 2 feet apart.
It is important to take care of the area where my project was done for several reasons. The first is that the blue lupine fixates nitrogen into a useable form. This in turn increases the soil quality. The second is the areas where most of the planting was done was in riparian zones which are important because they prevent erosion, improve water quality, provide animal habitat, and increasing land value. Lastly native plants in general are beneficial because they are extremely tolerant of the environment, cost nothing to maintain, provide food and shelter, and prevent erosion. The community benefits from my project because blue lupines and the Karner butterfly both provide a stunting blue color. The Karner butterfly is a highly endangered butterfly whose young only feed on the leafs of the blue lupine. The community land value will also increase, as with biodiversity. This will hopefully attract tourists, which then increases state income. Lupines also feed such native wildlife as deer, birds, hummingbirds and small mammals.
My apprentice ecologist project has showed me how I can be empowered to save endangered species. My project will greatly increase the local population of lupines and Karner butterflies. In the spring I will be able to visibly see my impact. Everyone always talks about doing so, however it is not clear on how to do so, really the message is clear that you must jump in and take action whenever possible, if everyone did so then our planet wouldn’t be in the state it is today.
· Date: December 30, 2011 · Views: 4685 · File size: 14.6kb, 46.8kb · : 480 x 307 ·
Hours Volunteered: 103
Volunteers: 2
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 6
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