Friday, July 26, 2013

The Completion of Digitization!


It’s been a long haul, but the day has finally come: digitization of the CMC Herbarium is fully complete! I am glad that I was here to see the end of this massive project, but there were many who came before me who made this possible. Thanks must go out to Dr. Monfils, Michael Giddens of SilverImage technology, Adriane, Emilie, Sascha, David, Heather, and everyone else who has worked tirelessly so that we could reach this point. It feels good to be done, albeit surreal, and it will feel even better once all of the high-resolution photos are pushed onto the online database for everyone to enjoy and use. I hope that the CMC Herbarium’s efforts will in turn aid the research and learning at other Universities and Herbaria, big and small.

It’s been too long since I blogged, so beyond the epic completion of digitization, much has happened. A few weeks ago myself, Heather, David, and some of CMU’s BUMP students volunteered to help the Chippewa Nature Center with their annual Chippewa River cleanup. It was fun racing each other in our canoes to see who could spot and pick up the most garbage—and it was shocking not only how many tires we found (about six!), but also how many tires one canoe can hold without missing a beat. In addition to the river cleanup, I found this epically cool Boxelder (now Acer negundo var. negundo L.) from 1878. Look at that beautiful handwriting!



 "Sapindaceae, Soapberry Family. Negundo aceroides. Ash-leaved Maple, or Box Elder."

"By Father Pierce's side gate. 1878 Ypsilanti Mich."

I also created a “Master List of Species” spreadsheet based on our pre-organization databases. Now we have a (mostly) accurate estimate of how many of each species are in our collection. In addition, there were four shelves of “Ask Anna” specimens to contend with. These were specimens that had strange problems, and so had been pulled during the organization process to be dealt with at a later date. They had such maladies as multiple accession numbers, no collection data, or sometimes no specimen attached to the mounting at all. There was also what was clearly a mullein but had been identified as a skunk cabbage. I still haven’t figured that one out. One by one I figured out how to fix what I could on my own, and consulted with Anna concerning the rest. I then accessioned, name verified, annotated, databased, barcoded, digitized, organized, and filed them with their brother and sister specimens. I have also finished writing and compiling a detailed binder of CMC Herbarium protocols, which Sascha had begun before leaving for her adventures in England.

Hillary and Rachel trying to get work done amongst the carnage of "Ask Anna" specimens

Finally, I have been working mostly on aesthetics. I myself am not trained in mounting, so I have begun making the Herbarium look pretty and organized. This includes proper cabinet labels (goodbye sticky notes…you have served us well!), detailed cabinet contents sheets, and most importantly, replacing the old, scribbly specimen folders with dual-layered, properly labeled genus and species folders. I will also be double-checking organization as I go. Hopefully soon we will be getting fancy internal shelf labels. For now, the faithful sticky notes and the outer cabinet content sheets will have to do.

 My attempts to neaten up the Herbarium labels. Unfortunately I'm still working on devising a way to prevent wrinkling. They also start out perfectly flat when I put them up and somehow attempt contortions over time...



Until next we rendezvous through words,
Abigail H.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Bringing AmeriCorps into the Field

Hillary and I have been working long, hot days in the field for seven weeks, but we weren’t always alone this season. For several days we had an AmeriCorps member join us in the prairie fens, learning about plants and wetlands.

Pictured from left to right: Hillary Karbowski, Patrick Bower, Rachel Hackett, Alan Richardson, and Molly Gorman. 

AmeriCorps is a national service program founded in 1994. AmeriCorps members volunteer their time to prove a service to a local community in exchange for training, networking, an education award for further education and student loans, and the feeling of impact and accomplishment that stays with you for a lifetime. I was an AmeriCorps member from 2006 to 2008 in a State program sponsored by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

These AmeriCorps members were from an AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team. AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, team-based program where members from across the country commit one year to travel to 4 different locations, meeting a different service need in each community. Hillary and I met the team at The Nature Conservancy’s Nancy E. Hand Field Station. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was their second service commitment. Their main duty was to manage invasive species, but they also joined eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) surveys, TNC community service days, local habitat for humanity, and the local humane society among other organizations.

When Hillary and I arrived, we explained our project to the team and three members were interested in joining us when we were sampling on TNC managed properties. They were able to put down their backpack sprayers and brush cutters and donned their rain gear. We shared with them the basics of plant identification, major plant families of prairie fens, and the ins and outs of specimen collection. We even set them down with a few flowering plants and a dichotomous key.

Larix larcina: correctly identified using a dichotomous key by AmeriCorps member Molly  Gorman. 

We did have a few adventures. With Patrick Bower we finished up surveying the diverse Ives Road Fen in Tecumseh, MI. This was one of the properties the AmeriCorps had been managing for glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundacea)

A panoramic view of Ives Road Fen in Tecumseh, Michigan. 

With Molly Gorman we got an up and close look at a recent burn on a privately owned prairie fen, and flowering pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea), and valerian (Valeriana uliginosa).

The aftermath of a previously burned prairie fen.

A closer look at a flowering  Sarracenia purpurea (pitcher plant). 

An up close view of a flowering Valeriana uliginosa (valerian). 

And with Alan Richardson we set our transect next to a 6 -7 year old eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Sphagnum spp. mounds covered in round-leaf sundews (Drosera rotundifolia), and bladderworts on deer trails (Utricularia spp.).

An eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Photo credit to:  Joseph Sage.

Spagnum spp. mounds with a population of Drosera rotundifolia (round-leaved sundews)  atop of it. 

Utricularia spp. (bladderworts)  found on a deer trail.

It was a great to have extra enthusiastic minds with us in the field. Hillary and I wish all of our new AmeriCorps friends the best at their new assignment at a youth camp in Minnesota.


-Rachel