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Schedule:
|
CLASS |
DATE |
TIME |
INSTRUCTOR(S) |
TOPIC(S) |
|
1 |
JUN 5 |
1:00-4:00 |
Williams/Carpenter |
Plant Morphology,
Herbarium Techniques, and Using a
Dichotomous Key |
|
2 |
JUN 19 |
1:00-4:00 |
Connelly/Tufts |
PEM/PSS/PFO Wetlands |
|
3 |
JUL 5 |
1:00-4:00 |
Rosner/Browning |
Tidal Wetlands |
|
4 |
JUL 17 |
10:00-4:00 |
Sprenkle/Sprenkle |
Grasses, Sedges and
Rushes |
|
5 |
JUL 31 |
1:00-4:00 |
Wright/Geist |
Oldfield Succession |
|
6 |
AUG 14 |
1:00-4:00 |
Tumer/Van
Houten |
Floodplains |
Quiz Schedule:
There will be two quizzes during the term of classes. These will occur on July 17 and August 14 and will be held during the first 30 minutes of class. The July 17 quiz will include plants learned on June
5, June 19 and July 5. The August 14 quiz will be cumulative.
You will be quizzed on the plant’s scientific name, common name, and Wetland Indicator Status, as listed in the National List of Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands for Region 1. This book will be provided to you, along with other materials you will need, on the first day of class.
Class Materials:
Field guides, as well as a hand lens for looking at tiny plant structures,
will be provided to you on the first day of class. These field guides
include:
- Brown, Lauren. Grasses: An Identification Guide.
New York: Houghton Mifflin Company: 1979
- Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide.
New York: Little, Brown and Company: 1977
- Resource Management Group, Inc. Environmental Planners &
Consultants. National List of Plant Species That Occur in
Wetlands: Region 1 - Northeast. Grand Haven, MI:
Dickenson Press, Inc.: 1999 (A field reference guide prepared by
Resource Management Group, Inc. based on the National List of Plant
Species That Occur in Wetlands: Northeast (Region 1), U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, F.H. Collins, CO: 1988)
Please be aware; this class is a field class. It will be hot
outside; you will likely get muddy and wet; and there will be ticks,
mosquitoes, and other bugs. Please dress appropriately and bring
the supplies you will need for field work (i.e., bug spray, plenty of
water, EpiPen if you are allergic to bee stings, etc.).
Announcements: Announcement 3 - June 22,
2006
This announcement is a long one; we have a lot of things to go
over:
First, I
hope everyone enjoyed Monday’s plant class at Cedar Run. It sounds like
everyone saw a lot of plants and we lucked out by just missing the rain!
PLANTS OBSERVED DURING THE JUNE 19TH CLASS
**Please
note: I took two of the sedges (Carex vulpinoidea and C.
intumescens) off of your list. I keyed out some of the samples
that were
brought back for your plant collection and the sedges did not match
some of the character descriptions in the keys. To prevent confusion, I
decided we would not include them on the list for Monday’s class. But don’t
worry; I am sure we will see C. vulpinoidea and C. intumescens
again and we will add them to your list at that time.
**Reminder: Some of the common or scientific names may not be the same as
what you may have learned elsewhere. On the quiz, I will accept any
reasonable common or scientific name.
I spoke
with a couple people after Monday’s class and I know some of you are feeling a
little overwhelmed by the number of plants we saw. Please don’t become
discouraged! We always learn a lot of plants during the first couple of
classes; but as you will see, there will be a lot of repetition during the
following classes. As your list of plants becomes longer, the number of new
plants added will be fewer.
The next
plant class will meet on Wednesday, July 5, 2006, at 1:00 PM, in the
parking area at the Julie J. Metz Wetlands Mitigation Bank:
DIRECTIONS TO JULIE J. METZ WETLANDS MITIGATION BANK
I cannot stress enough how important it is
for everyone to bring their field supplies. It is a requirement for all of
the plant classes. Please bring your field guides, hand lens, a notebook, a
writing implement, and any other supplies you will need for field work.
The
class will be lead by Ben Rosner and Jeff Browning. The topic of discussion
will be Freshwater Tidal Wetlands.
**You
will be going into the tidal marsh, so plan on getting wet!
**As I
stated during our first class, I don’t recommend that anyone wear shorts to
any of the plant classes. The tidal wetland class is definitely a class
where you will want to follow this advice. You will be walking through rice
cut grass and tear-thumb. They were given these names for a reason! Trust me; you will be grateful for wearing long
pants. Not having the appropriate field gear is not an excuse for not
going into the wetland.
Your
plant collection is due on Thursday, July 13th. You are required
to have samples of all of the plants seen during the June 19 and July 5
plant classes. If you are missing a sample of one of these plants, you will
need to go out on your own time to collect one.
The
plant collection is to help you study for the quizzes. Feel free to turn
the plants in before the due date. The sooner I receive them, the sooner I can
confirm that you have correctly identified and labeled the plants. (That’s
important because I don’t want you studying an incorrectly identified plant
for your quiz.)
**Please
remember, this is a class plant collection and all of the interns are
required to participate. I need full
participation from everyone.
Quiz Review:
At our first class, we talked about having a review for the plant quiz.
During the review, we will go over the plants and I will give any hints I can think of to help
make it easier for you to identify the plants. This review is not
mandatory, but I always try to make sure that the quiz leans heavier toward
the plants that we see in review. So there is an incentive to attend the
review. I am tentatively thinking about holding a review on Thursday, July
13, at 5:00 PM. That date is still flexible; so please send me an email and
let me know if that works or not. I need to know if you can’t make it or
are planning to attend. If I don’t receive any responses, I will assume no one
needs a review.
Whew!
That’s a lot of information for one announcement, but I think I covered
everything. Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, feel free
to contact me or any of the other scientists at WSSI if you need help or are
having trouble keeping up with all of the plants. We know it’s a lot to
learn, and we all want you to do well. We are all willing to help with
whatever we can.
Announcement 2 - June 13,
2006
The next plant class will meet on Monday, June 19, 2006, at 1:00
PM, in the parking area at Phase 2 of the Cedar Run Wetlands Bank:
DIRECTIONS
TO CEDAR RUN 2 & 2a WETLANDS BANK
Please bring your field guides, hand lens, a notebook, a writing implement, and
any other supplies you will need for field work. The class will be led by
Amy Connelly and Jean Tufts. Topics of discussion will be: - Palustrine Forested (PFO) Wetlands;
- Palustrine Scrub-Shrub (PSS) Wetlands; and
- Palustrine Emergent (PEM) Wetlands.
**Reminder: Samples of each of the plants taught during
this class are required in your class plant collection. I highly
recommend you collect the plant specimens during the class when the plants
are shown to you, rather than having to go back out later to find the plants
on your own. **Another Tip: Label each specimen when
you collect it. (You can wrap flagging tape around it and write its
name on the tape with a Sharpie Pen.) You will be collecting a lot of
plants during each class, and labeling the plants while you are in the field
will cut down on the amount of time you need to spend sorting and
re-identifying the plants when you return to the office.
Announcement 1 - June 1,
2006
This section of the Summer 2006 Plant Classes' Web page will be updated frequently with pertinent information related to each class. So, please check back often for new information. Each new announcement will be added above the old one. That way, students can easily find any new announcements and be able to look back at the previous week's information if needed.
As noted in the schedule above, our first class will meet on Monday, June 5, 2006, at 1:00
PM, in WSSI's
Training Room.
Address: 5300 Wellington Branch Drive, Suite 100
Gainesville,
Virginia 20155
CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS
Please bring a notebook and a writing implement. The topics of discussion will be:
- Plant Morphology (including the parts of a plant, leaf shape, and arrangement, simple vs. compound leaves, floral parts, inflorescence types, and fruit types);
- How to Use a Dichotomous Key;
- Introduction to an Herbarium; and
- How to Make a Plant Collection.
Please contact Carrie Williams if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing all of you there!
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