E31: Straining to See the Appalachian Forest for the Trees

The journey to create more wild beauty on our property and help conserve Appalachia is full of twists and turns: learning the Latin names, absorbing the The Nature Conservancy's evaluation of Appalachia, “alongside the Amazon Rainforest and the Kenyan grasslands as one of the most globally important landscapes for tackling climate change and conserving biodiversity,” remembering the abundant landscape enjoyed by First Nations peoples, working with the NRCS to try to understand the ecology on our property, the Natural Communities Classification of Ecological Groups and Community Types, The Nature Conservancy's resilient landscapes mapping tool, removing invasives (including Asian bittersweet, stiltgrass, and fescue grass), the monarch butterfly's addition to the Endangered Species List, planting to support the monarch and other native pollinators, and the dedication to keep looking out at the long view while I dig in the soil at my feet.

READ POST/TRANSCRIPT: https://www.katymorikawa.com/straining-to-see-the-appalachian-forest-for-the-trees/

See my Pollinator Plants for Virginia and Appalachia https://www.katymorikawa.com/native-pollinator-trees-shrubs-and-flowers-for-virginia-and-appalachia

LINKS (See post for for all links):

The Nature Conservancy: “Priority Landscapes: Conserving the Appalachians.” https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/appalachians/.

Virginia Native Plant Society’s list of Native Plant Nurseries: https://vnps.org/native-plant-nursery-list/.

The Natural Communities of Virginia Classification of Ecological Groups and Community Types https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/.

TNC's “Natural Highways and Neighborhoods: Conserving a Network of Climate-Resilient Lands.” https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/protect-water-and-land/land-and-water-stories/climate-resilient-network/.

TNC's Resilient Lands Mapping Tool: https://maps.tnc.org/resilientland/.

Virginia Department of Forestry Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Program: https://dof.virginia.gov/wildland-prescribed-fire/prescribed-burning/certified-burn-managers-program/

Quality native seeds: ErnstSeed.com, Roundstoneseed.com, PrairieMoon.com.

Xerces Society. (2018). Monarch Butterfly Nectar Plant Lists for Conservation Plantings https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-003_02_Monarch-Nectar-Plant-Lists-FS_web%20-%20Jessa%20Kay%20Cruz.pdf.