Students restore urban landscapes and learn about natural communities

Today we are hearing from Denise Clay and Catherine Gatenby from the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office about their versatile pollinator garden and what it means to Silo City! 

For two years, biologists with the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office have been working with urban school children, girl scouts and volunteers from the Buffalo, NY area to restore habitat at a historic site called Silo City  – home to our nation’s longest standing grain elevators, located along the Buffalo River Area of Concern. The site had been invaded by nuisance plant species and was suffering from decades of environmental contamination and habitat degradation.

Silo City, Buffalo NY

Together with many partners, we planted a native garden and restored a steep slope along the riverfront after invasive Japanese knotweed was cleared away, and we created a pollinator garden in an upland area. Local students and girl scouts grew seedlings of milkweed, and then planted them in June with other native flowering plants. Project partners include Silo City and Rigidized Metals Corporation, People United for Sustainable Housing Buffalo, Landscape and Urban Design Department of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Great Lakes Experience Friends group, McKinley High School, Tapestry Charter School, Elmwood Village Charter School and Girls Scouts from Daisy Troop #31055 and Cadet Troop #31313.

Riparian garden planted with native species along the Buffalo River with help from McKinley High School and Tapestry Charter School students.

Part of this steep riverbank is stabilized with hardy native plants.

Local Daisy Girl Scouts and Biologist, Betsy Trometer help pollinators by restoring habitat at Silo City in Buffalo, New York.

These projects not only restore habitat for migrating fish, birds and butterflies, they also are living outdoor classrooms for environment-based curriculums in schools, and serve as public demonstration models for restoring urban habitat for the thousands of Silo City visitors each year.

Pollinator garden is lush with plants and flowers after one month.

A Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed plant at Silo City in August, 2015.

Students and scouts returned to the project site several times to see first-hand how their actions created healthy habitat for plants and animals. After one month, the area was lush with plants and flowers. In August, students observed monarch caterpillars on milkweed plants growing in the garden. Then in October, we harvested milkweed seeds from the plants and dispersed them to expand the garden for next year.

Additional restoration plans include encouraging native grasslands, improving riverbank habitat, and creating natural drainage pools for collecting run-off from the area before entering the river – all of which will offer public education on how and why restoring habitat is good for people and nature.

We also bring students from the Buffalo and Rochester area out to visit us on the Iroquois NWR. Our goal is to help them follow the through line of natural communities from the Great Lakes through the city to the open big woods and wetlands on the refuge, so they can see how where they live is connected to and part of the natural world.

Elementary schoolchildren from northern Buffalo area enjoy a day in the woods, exploring nature through the lens of photography. Pathways Intern and Biologist, Kwamina Otseidu leads the group.

Students enjoy a day of learning, exploring and photographing nature, followed by writing about their experiences. Students then receive a framed print of one of their photographs with their personal reflection captioned below, to share with friends and family – and as a keepsake from us which we hope will inspire them to keep exploring.

Woods in Black and White. “This is my favorite picture because I like how the forest looks in black and white. I also like how all the light makes the forest stand out. It gives a different view of the plants and trees.” Credit: Kareema Wallace, McKinley High School, Buffalo NY

Through all of our outreach programs, we aim to cultivate environmental awareness, develop connections to outdoor spaces, and foster future land stewards.

 

Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture turns 10!

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture recently held its 10-year anniversary recognition meeting in West Virginia. Today, fisheries biologist Catherine Gatenby shares her story about the partnership’s conservation journey, and highlights many of the natural resource accomplishments achieved during the past decade.

The Eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are an American symbol of pristine wilderness. Photo credit: Robert S. Michelson of Photography By Michelson, Inc.Brook trout

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV) is celebrating its 10th year this fall.  This National Fish Habitat partnership is going strong – protecting water quality and restoring healthy populations of wild native brook trout in the Eastern United States.

The partnership is made up of more than 370 agencies, organizations and citizens from Maine to Georgia. During the past decade, EBTJV projects have opened and restored more than 400 miles of river to wild brook trout. That distance equates to 7,392 football fields lined up end zone to end zone! The work has also restored nearly 500 acres of brook trout habitat (imagine 245 soccer fields).  That’s a lot of space to fish, play or swim.

Lynn Camp Prong is now home to the greatest brook trout population in the Great Smoky National Park. Photo credit: National Park Service

Anglers benefit from the work of the Joint Venture when brook trout habitat is restored to its natural state. Photo credit: U.S. Forest Service

Why all the attention on brook trout? In past centuries, brook trout reigned in eastern rivers and streams. Today, less than 9 percent of their historic habitat is intact. Most brook trout can be found only in headwater streams, where forest cover helps maintain the cool temperatures they need, river water is clean and well-oxygenated, and there is plenty of food.

“The eastern brook trout really is an American symbol of pristine wilderness and our national fishing heritage,” says Callie McMunigal, who leads brook trout projects for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “They also are excellent indicators of clean water and a healthy environment, and their disappearance indicates environmental decline. Through the EBJTV and the Service, we are improving water quality in streams and rivers by reducing sedimentation caused from erosion, reducing runoff of contaminants and increasing natural filtration around rivers.”

Before photo: This culvert in Long Mountain Brook, Coos County, NH impeded access to eastern brook trout’s native habitat. Photo credit: EBTJV

After photo: This culvert replacement project in Long Mountain Brook, Coos County, NH (part of the Nash Stream watershed) has greatly improved habitat for the eastern brook trout. Read more on the Nash Stream Restoration Effort in the 2014 list of Ten Waters to Watch; Photo Credit: EBTJV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Perry is Coordinator for the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture  and retired Inland Fisheries Division Chief for New Hampshire Fish and Game (he’s also a master angler!). Steve says he got hooked on the idea of forming the partnership in 2004, when he was part of a group of people with phenomenal passion and commitment for conserving brook trout.

“The enthusiasm generated during that initial meeting has propelled us to making this partnership into reality,” he says, adding that the common vision of the group and a “big picture” assessment of the brook trout’s rangewide status provided the scientific foundation for the partnership’s success.

“The assessment really showed us how things looked and what needed to be done,” Steve says. “It paved the way for the adoption of a series of conservation priorities that could be addressed at regional, state, and local levels, giving everyone a seat at our partnership’s table.”

Since the partnership formed a decade ago, it has grown from 50 to more than 300 partners today.

Steve predicts “the best is yet to come.”

Next steps? The EBTJV will continue to play an active role in landscape-scale conservation efforts, coordinating with other partnerships, such as the Appalachian and North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. These science-based cooperatives are producing models and other tools to help resource managers do the right work in the right places to achieve the best results.

Our restoration success stories have created $232 million in economic benefits and other impressive milestones as illustrated in the colorful infographic. Credit: USFWS

Learn more about National Fish Habitat Partnerships
Learn more about Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture.

Read more about the Joint Venture’s ten year success story.

Read other blogs on celebrating the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture

Fishing program teaches youth confidence and life skills

Alexa reels in a big catch at the Northeast Fishery Center Youth Fishing Derby. Credit: Catherine Gatenby/USFWS

Fisheries biologist Catherine Gatenby writes about her visit with students at a fishing derby.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. I was fortunate to witness this simple, yet profound proverb at an annual Youth Fishing Derby held at the Northeast Fishery Center in Lamar, Pennsylvania, with help from the Lloyd Wilson Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

The eager anglers were children who require a little extra help with daily routines, including, school, moving around, getting outdoors and sometimes communicating with others. What they don’t require, however, is extra help having fun, enjoying the outdoors, and being inspired by nature. These spirited children unknowingly taught me about the joy of fishing, the joy of being in a community supporting each other, and the joy of being an educator witnessing ah-ha moments and happiness. I saw everything from hugs and high-fives to netting fish out of the pond and helping each other hold the fishing pole while reeling in the big catch.

It takes a team, as Kaleb nets Kenny’s fish. Credit:
Catherine Gatenby/USFWS

I asked one little girl, who was patiently watching her bobber and fishing line, what she wanted to be when she grew up. “A biologist,” she replied. Encouragingly, I told her she seems to have what it takes because biologists spend lots of time observing nature, waiting for fish and other wildlife to reveal themselves. “I can wait,” she said, which nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Kenny, Zoe and Kaleb show off their catch. Credit: Catherine Gatenby/USFWS

I asked a little boy named Kaleb if he was enjoying the day and what he thought about fishing. He smiled and proudly said, “fresh, healthy waters.” He continued to tell me that “fishing was a great time, being outdoors, the sun is out, it’s almost summer.” The derby was his favorite part of the day. And his wish for all kids around the world was “ a big batch of fish.”

All these children attend public schools and participate in a life skills support program. The program helps build confidence, knowledge and skills which will allow the children to enjoy independence as they grow. Learning how to fish, and visiting a federal fish hatchery research center, is part of their curriculum.

I asked one teacher from the Central Mountain High School – are kids more focused after spending time outdoors? He chuckled, “Well I’m not sure about being more focused – what I will say is that they are incredibly proud, they feel more empowered and show more confidence. They want more opportunities to explore outdoors. And when I see them outside of school with their parents, I see them behaving with more confidence, and I see parents feeling more at ease, giving their children more independence.”

I am grateful to these teachers, the children, the Lloyd Wilson Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Northeast Fishery Center, for reminding me that EVERYONE is a potential ambassador of conservation, and a potential partner in our mission to conserve and protect our natural resources. These children tell their stories to their parents, to their school administrators, and along the way to the outside community. We all benefit from conversations on conserving healthy fish and healthy waters. And as Kaleb suggested, maybe even enjoy a grilled trout once in a while.