Thoughts on Restoration Ecology

Thoughts on Restoration Ecology

Throughout my high school career, I have participated in numerous outdoor service projects that have shown me first-hand what happens when the rapid spreading of invasive plants is not controlled. When I was much younger, I went off to summer camp once school let out to spend time with friends and enjoy the rare views nature had to offer. Unfortunately, I returned just recently to the same camp only to find it overrun run Buckthorn and Rosebush. The forest was infected to the point where you could not walk through simple brush without pants, and those without eye protection were considered brave.

This is where we employ the concept of Restoration Ecology, or, work done with the purpose of accelerating an ecosystem's recovery to its ideal state. In a field trip last week, I went out to Glacial Park with my peers to explore three methods for helping a given area revive the lost native plant species, while eradicating the uncanny invasive ones. To put things simply, a native species is one that belongs to the habitat in which it is found. The invasive species are those that have adapted to compete and destroy the organisms that were present before it, and if native organisms cannot fight back, the ecosystem is essentially taken over.

My group's first job was brush removal and path clearing. We used loppers and hand saws to knock down rosebush and spiny bushes, and then carried these rugged behemoths to a pile, so that they may be burned the following spring. I project that our efforts by the end of the day resulted in 20 square feet clear of anything that could hurt flesh. Not bad work, as shown below.

The first rotation took me to the seed spreading area, where group members walked a given distance and covered any bare spots in the earth with the seed of native species that we'd like to see covering Glacial Park in five years. I made sure to mash the seeds into the soil to ensure that most of them could take root. That's me in the brown flannel if you look closely below.

Finally, I spent the last of my time at Glacial Park making the seeds, as they must be refined from a special dust released on the wind to accelerate reproduction. We took this dust in a cup, and then by rubbing it diligently in our fingers for several minutes, created a fine powder at the cup's base. This product is incredibly valuable, and can sell for hundreds of dollars an ounce. Nevertheless, it shall soon go to the fields, and not into my back pocket.

It is without question that restoration ecology is essential for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems so that the organisms within it can live peacefully and without excessive hardship from human affairs. The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth. And so it is necessary and proper for us to take action and preserve that which is constantly threatened by the daily activity of humanity.