Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 6
By Emily Ptaszek
It’s sad to think we are already over half way done with our time in TLC’s CLIP, but there is still so much to look forward to in the coming weeks. At week six, we are gaining some confidence in the field as we practice plant identification and invasive management. We are also deepening our connection to the environment as we get to know our local landscapes and nurture them.
This week was short and sweet given the holiday, but we were still able to get a lot done. On Monday, we targeted multiflora rose, buckthorn and oriental bittersweet at Yonder Prairie. The entire site is 73 acres, but we were able to transverse about 4000m² as a team. We spent the day spraying triclopyr, being mindful of the wind and the height of the plants. The weather was beautiful, and so was the prairie. As I get to know more native plants and see them thriving at TLC’s sites, I am able to appreciate the beauty of the land more and more.
Tuesday, we were supposed to herbicide again, but it was another rainy day. Instead, we mainly stayed back at Hennen. Kim took us back to Yonder Prairie to collect some grasses, and when we got back, we mounted them in our growing binders. We identified their unique characteristics so that we would be able to recognize them in the field. There is so much vocabulary to learn in terms of grass anatomy, and we have recently been trying to acquaint ourselves more with those terms. Then, we worked on cleaning and organizing materials in the barn. Our main goal was to have all of the prescribed fire equipment in their designated places, and I think we did an alright job! We also used our GIS skills to find patches of parsnip at Hennen so that we could eradicate it for the year, being sure to collect the seed heads so that it doesn’t show up worse in the future. We noticed that the neighbors also had some parsnip patches, though, so sadly it may creep back. In our bits of free time, we worked on note-taking and journaling. A very productive, yet chill, day.
Wednesday was our field trip to Midewin National Grasslands in Wilmington! It was made of many different prairies, both wet and dry. It was a very diverse site. We learned a lot on our car ride there about the history of Midewin as a dolomite prairie, and what that means for plant life. The eroded topsoil in some areas exposes ancient bedrock, which is very dry and emits heat. The conditions are very rare, and it takes some special plants to thrive in areas like that. We helped them collect data on biodiversity for their first day of the season. This was a great way to practice using technology in the field as well as learning scientific names. During lunch, we got some souvenir stickers which went on our water bottles to commemorate the adventure. Our second half of the day was spent visiting different prairies, where we each appreciated the expanse of beauty around us.
Although we have learned so much in our six weeks in CLIP, we still have only scratched the surface of ecological knowledge. I hope in the coming weeks, we can continue to become enlightened by our experiences and continue learning. It has been so exciting so far!