Archive for April 2021

Welcome to Prairie Appreciation Days on iNaturalist!

Welcome to Prairie Appreciation Days on iNaturalist!, Post and Images by Deborah Naslund

You can follow Deb Naslund in iNaturalist under the user name deborah_naslund.  She will be curating the Prairie Appreciation Days project.”

Welcome to Prairie Appreciation Days on iNaturalist!

We invite you to join the Prairie Appreciation Days community on iNaturalist as we document the biodiversity and phenology of the South Sound prairies and oak woodlands. We want to track which flowers are blooming, what insects are visiting them, when birds are arriving, and capture the wild variety of organisms that are inhabiting our prairies and oak woodlands.

Luzula_comosa, Pacific woodrush, Glacial Heritage Preserve, photo by Deb Naslund

Luzula_comosa, Pacific woodrush, Glacial Heritage Preserve, photo by Deb Naslund

Our focus is on South Puget Sound prairies, primarily Glacial Heritage Preserve, but also includes Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve, Scatter Creek Wildlife Area, West Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area, and all the other scattered remnants of the once widespread prairie/oak woodland plant communities of the southern Puget Trough region. Our geographic range is Thurston and Pierce Counties in Washington State.

Lomatium utriculatum, Spring Gold from Glacial Heritage Preserve, photo by Deb Naslund

We intend to track observations over the course of the next several years to watch for changes in species composition and life stage timing. While our primary interest is in native species, we are also interested in distribution, abundance and status of invasive species, especially any new invasive that may be gaining a foothold in our prairies and oak woodlands.

Your observations will help us generate a running record of the progress of the wildflower bloom on the prairie. Keep an eye out for “What’s Blooming on the Prairie” in the PAD Blog.

Dodecatheon_hendersonii, Shooting Star, Glacial heritage Preserve, photo by Deb Naslund

Dodecatheon_hendersonii, Shooting Star, Glacial heritage Preserve, photo by Deb Naslund

Check it out! Click here to see what we have so far: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/prairie-appreciation-days

What’s next? We need your participation to make this work! Here’s how:

  1. Download the iNaturalist app from iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your apps. Register to use iNaturalist and join the “Prairie Appreciation Days” project! Do this from home or wherever you find your solid internet access. Connections on the prairies are spotty at best.
  2. Capture a digital photo of the plants, insects, birds, and other organisms you encounter on the South Sound prairies and oak woodlands. Be sure to enable the location feature in your digital camera or make a note of your location on a map.
  3. Upload your photo or video to iNaturalist, along with the location and date of your observation. If Connections are spotty on the prairies; you may have to wait until you are back within Wi-Fi range. But, no problem, just upload your photos once you are back home. You can upload observations from either your smart phone or computer.
  4. Be sure to add your observations to the “Prairie Appreciation Days” project. Share your observations, ideas, and discoveries with other South Sound prairie fans in the comments and discussion. We may share your observations, comments, and even your photos here on the Prairie Appreciation Day website!

For more information on iNaturalist, visit their webpage at iNaturalist.org.

For help with iNaturalist, see: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help

Carex inops, long-stolon sedge, Glacial Heritage Preserve, photo by Deb Naslund

Carex inops, long-stolon sedge, Glacial Heritage Preserve, photo by Deb Naslund

Let’s Celebrate Washington’s Native Flora and South Sound Prairies

Let’s Celebrate Washington’s Native Flora and South Sound Prairies, Post by Deborah Naslund, photos as attributed.

In addition to her volunteer activities on our South Sound prairies, Deb Naslund is currently Chair of the South Sound Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society.  You can reach her at chair@southsoundchapterwnps.org.

Let’s Celebrate Washington’s Native Flora and South Sound Prairies

2021 NPAM poster 2_24_21 final for print no crop mark

April is National Native Plant Appreciation Month! And the Washington Native Plant Society is hosting a month-long celebration of Washington’s native flora. The theme this year is Native Pollinators need Native Plants. There are 28 webinars scheduled, hosted by chapters from across the state, along with a number of native plant walks and native plant sales. All WNPS Native Plant Appreciation Month events are free and open to the public.

Of special interest to South Sound prairies are several talks by our renowned scientists who have devoted their research to this unique ecosystem.

Coming up on Monday, April 12th is a webinar presented by Lauren “Ivy” Clark, “Bee-crossed Paintbrushes”. Ivy will take us through a look at the complex connections between our native prairie paintbrush plants (Castilleja spp.) and the various pollinators that interact with them either as pollinators or as predators. This talk will feature her Masters research on Castilleja species and how the pollinators move among them on two South Sound Prairie sites. This webinar is sponsored by the South Sound Chapter of WNPS. Follow this link to register: https://www.wnps.org/ss-events/calendar/978.

Bee on Harsh Paintbrush, Photo by Ivy Clark

Bee on Harsh Paintbrush, Photo by Ivy Clark

 

On April 22, Sarah Hamman will present “Restoration from the Ground Up: Incorporating Soils Knowledge into Native Plant Restoration Efforts”. Sarah will discuss ways that soils knowledge can be used to improve the success of restoration of native plant communities, including South Sound Prairies, in Washington. Find more information and registration details here: https://www.wnps.org/calendar/982

Taylor's Checkerspot Release area on Glacial Heritage Natural Area, Photo by Sarah Hamman.

Taylor’s Checkerspot Release area on Glacial Heritage Natural Area, Photo by Sarah Hamman.

 

If talk of oak galls has triggered your curiosity, you may want to catch “The Wonderful World of Galls”, with Christine Heycke, sponsored by the Olympia Peninsula Chapter of WNPS. Find out more and register for this webinar here: https://www.wnps.org/op-events/calendar/975

Two fabulous webinars have already happened.

On April 6th, Dr. Susan Waters presented Plants, Pollinators, Native Prairies, and Conservation. Susan described her fascinating research using plant-pollinator networks to examine the effects of restoration on pollinating insect communities and the interactions that feed back to affect rare plant and insect species. The focus of her work is the Cascadia prairie ecosystems.

On April 1st, Dr. Lalita Calabria presented The Biodiversity and Conservation of Puget Sound Prairie Bryophytes and Lichens. This presentation described the biodiversity and conservation status of Puget Sound prairie bryophyte and lichen communities including potential impacts from prescribed burning practices on rare lichens. Dr. Calabria also highlighted the spatial and temporal variability of N2-fixing moss-cyanobacteria associations in Puget Sound prairies.

But not to worry, both webinars were recorded and you can find them here: https://www.wnps.org/wnps-annual-events/virtual-events

Don’t miss another of these fabulous talks. Sign up for as many of the webinars as you would like to watch! You can find the full schedule of activities at https://www.wnps.org/wnps-annual-events/npam.