Picking up Trash . . . and a Snake (3/24/3012)

This week, cleanup focused on the length of the Oak Leaf Trail that runs behind the center.  Except for one UWM student, this week’s volunteers were completely different from the previous group.  The Park Ranger clean up events give every volunteer the opportunity to give back to the community, and it’s motivating to see new faces.  We cleared out trash that had accumulated around the community garden plots.  The UEC has thirty-seven community garden plots it rents to those who wish to tend a garden for the summer, but might not have available space.  Garden space is a rare find in a neighborhood dominated by apartment buildings.

One of the volunteers found a brown snake (DeKay’s snake) attempting to sun itself on a rock.  We thought the snake was dead at first, but it began moving as it absorbed heat from the volunteer’s hand.  Temperatures were in the upper 30’s that morning, which is a little cold for a poikilotherm to be very active.  The team leader asked the center if they wanted to keep the snake for its animal exhibit, but the UEC has found brown snakes difficult to feed in captivity.  Our brown snake was released near the compost pile where it might take advantage from the heat generated by the microorganisms decomposing the organic matter.  Brown snakes are at home on the ground in dense vegetation and debris.  The snake was about eight inches long, so it was most likely an adult.  Brown snakes will grow up to 9-13 inches long.

The UEC has a Native Wisconsin Animal Room, showcasing creatures native to southeastern Wisconsin’s fields, forests, rivers and ponds.  Residents include Marbles the mink frog and Hobbes the tiger salamander, among other fish, turtles and snakes.  This room is used as a classroom to bring visitors face to face with local wildlife. 

  

Favorite Find: A bicycle seat on the bike trail.

Burdock Brigade: Battling the Invaders (3/17/2012)

Volunteering with the Burdock Brigade at the UEC focuses on land management issues, such as the removal of invasive species and planting of native species.  Since the founding of Milwaukee, industrial and residential development has re-shaped the Milwaukee River Valley.  Much of this area has been remediated in the past two decades, but many areas are still a work in progress.

The area we worked in today is the site of the former North Avenue dam.  The dam was built in 1835 with the initial purpose of providing water for a canal that would link the Milwaukee and Rock Rivers.  That canal was never completed, so the dam was used to generate hydroelectric power for industry and ice harvesting in the winter.  The dammed water was also a year-round recreation destination for the city's residents

As time went on, the water and sediments behind the dam became more and more polluted.  In 1992 the Wisconsin DNR and several local and regional governmental groups began a study to determine what to do with the situation at the North Avenue dam.  They recommended its removal alongside measures to control polluted sediments at the location.  This project was completed in 1997.

Restoring the course of the river left the banks of the old reservoir high and dry.  These banks are a continuing erosion concern.  The project also created flat acreage along the new banks.  This newly disturbed land was ripe for r-strategists to move in and colonize.

Former banks upstream of the North Avenue dam

Reed canary grass is one of the invasive species that has taken over the river flats.  It reproduces by sending out rhizomes.  The rhizomes travel underground and re-emerge as a new ramet, genetically identical to the parent grass.  Reed canary grass was brought over from Europe and Asia for use as cattle feed.  However, the cattle preferred other grasses and grains and didn't graze extensively on the reed canary grass.

The land stewardship team at the UEC is in the process of restoring a wet-mesic prairie on the riverbank.  A wet-mesic prairie is a grassland found on moist soils that are occasionally flooded, like a river floodplain.  This restoration involves removal of the invasive species and replanting of native species.  Many staff and hundreds of volunteers have been involved in this process.

Covered area with reed canary grass growing at the edges

In order to kill off the reed canary grass, it is being smothered by black plastic sheeting, which blocks sunlight.  Today, we fastened down sheeting that had been pulled up in recent high winds.  The river flats will be covered all year, then native species will be planted in late fall.  The goal is for the native plants to establish themselves and out-compete the reed canary grass.  When native plants re-colonize an area, native insects, birds and animals follow.
 
After the plastic sheeting had been secured, the group spent the rest of the time spent digging out garlic mustard.  I suspect I will have many future encounters with garlic mustard, so I'll save this discussion for a later post.

Success! (3/10/2012)

This morning, I made my second attempt at volunteering with the Park Ranger program, and was successful this time.  The snow from two weeks ago had melted, exposing our prey – heaps of garbage and recyclables!  Along with the UEC leader coordinating the program, two other volunteers and I filled two bags of trash and two bags of recyclables.  As this was one of the first clean up events of the spring, there was a significant amount of trash in the park.  (As I noted from my previous attempt to join the Park Ranger crew, trash is covered by snow over the winter.)  At the bottom of a hill near Riverside High School, it seemed like someone simply dumped over a trash can.

I feel like I sound older than my thirty-three years when I write this, but I’m going to write it anyway.  When I grew up, littering was considered a cardinal sin.  Dropping a gum wrapper on the street was an act of willful malice.  This was a belief instilled in me by parents, school, and peers with similar upbringing.  I suppose today’s urban schools face bigger issues than littering.  When a child is worrying about where their next meal will come from, where the empty potato chip bag from their last meal goes is a lesser concern.

This volunteer experience is about more than simply picking up trash.  A clean park has a ripple effect on the community.  The park becomes a welcoming place; people feel safe, and parents want to bring their children here.  Creating a clean park was the starting point for the community group who planted the seeds of the Urban Ecology Center.  They observed that the dirty, neglected park space was ideal for criminals, and began cleaning up the area.  As a community is active in caring about its public spaces, crime diminishes.  The founding members cleaned up Riverside Park and began to use it to teach students in the area about science and nature.  Getting children re-engaged with their natural environments forms a foundation for environmental stewardship throughout their lives.

Crossed Signals (2/25/2012)

I had a phone call with a volunteer coordinator on Thursday, February 23^rd, answering final questions, providing a better idea of my interests, and getting direction on where I could get involved as soon as possible.  The coordinator told me that I could come in this Saturday morning for park cleanup with the Park Ranger team.  The event began at 9:30; just show up, and all materials would be provided.

Thursday was one of those unseasonably warm days that marked late winter and early spring.  By Friday night, snow began falling (it was February after all).  Saturday morning dawned clear, bright and cold, with about four inches of snow on the ground and drifts twice that high.  I should have turned over and gone back to sleep, but the voice of Duty instructed me to “Get out there and clean up that park!”

With an eager smile, I announced to the woman at the reception desk that I was here for Park Ranger duty.  She smiled apologetically.  “That started at 9:00, and no one showed up because of the snow.  Everything’s pretty much covered over.”  I explained that the volunteer coordinator I spoke with this week had given me the start time, and had not mentioned any weather restrictions.  Turns out, the coordinator I spoke with was very new and not familiar with the schedules.  I thanked her, turned around, and walked home, feeling kind of stupid.  Right, Melissa.  If snow covers the trash, it’s hard to find, collect, and dispose of it.  I took the long way home, walking to Lake Park to enjoy the snow-covered landscape, most likely the last of its kind for the winter.

Lesson learned – every organization gets its signals crossed, and new employees with the best intentions make mistakes.  I’ve been there, too, so I can empathize.  Oh, well.  There’s always next week.

Volunteer Orientation at the UEC (1/23/2012)

Volunteer orientation and evaluation is something the UEC takes seriously. Interested volunteers begin by attending a one and a half our orientation session in which they learn about the history and current activities at the center.  The morning ended with a top-to-bottom tour of the center.

After the orientation, prospective volunteers must fill out an extensive application, including two character references who are neither family nor friends.  When the completed application is returned to the UEC, they conduct a background check.  Most of the center’s activities involve children, so they need to carefully ensure their volunteers will not be potentially dangerous to the children

I turned in my application and waited.  A couple of weeks later, my manager mentioned that he received a call from the UEC.  The volunteer coordinator asked about my work ethic, timeliness, and whether or not I was easy to work with.  This seemed very similar to any reference call I’ve received regarding an employment inquiry.  This impressed me; the Urban Ecology Center takes as much care in vetting their volunteers as most companies do their paid employees.  After this, I would just need to have a final call with a volunteer coordinator, and then I could get to work.  A little more waiting. . .