Spring Starts Early for Habitat Restoration
Springtime in western Oregon is a festival of colorful wildflowers, from the coast to the mountains and all through the Willamette Valley. But many of those flower species are in decline, especially those that bloom in increasingly rare meadow habitats. The Corvallis-based Institute for Applied Ecology helps to restore Oregon meadow and other wildflower habitat, and this year they will be planting almost 47,000 seedlings of species like Riverbank Lupine, Nelson’s Checkermallow and the endangered Willamette Daisy, which occurs nowhere else on Earth but in our own valley.
In order to get these plants into the ground with the best possible chance of surviving and seeding the next generation of spring color, the Institute and their partners raise the seedlings in greenhouses over the winter. In the case of the checkermallow, staff have to knick the seeds’ shells with sandpaper to get them to grow, mimicking the treatment that seeds in the wild would get from being chewed by animals.
For more information on the Institute’s winter preparation for a busy spring of restoration work, check out their recent blog post.
Two Oscar-Nominated Nature Shorts at Darkside
The Oscars are just a few weeks away, and this week at the Darkside Theater, you can check out the five nominated films for best short-form documentary, two of which are nature themed. “The Elephant Whisperers” by first-time director Kartiki Gonsalves tells the story of an orphaned baby elephant in India and the human family who work to protect and nurture him. “Haulout” by Russian brother and sister duo Maxim and Evgenia Arbugaev follows a scientist studying walruses in the Chukchi Sea and documents the animals’ struggles with declining ice and other impacts of climate change.
All five short films are being shown together at the Darkside, with a total running time of 2 hours, 45 minutes. Check the theater’s website for exact times.
Catch up with Greenbelt Land Trust
This Thursday night, Greenbelt Land Trust will be holding their 34th annual meeting and awards ceremony. The local nonprofit works strategically to protect ecologically, historically and agriculturally significant land in the Willamette Valley. The public is welcome to attend this meeting and hear about the progress made this year on the Trust’s various projects, including Bald Hill Farm, plus plans for the coming year. Light refreshments will be provided. The event runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Thursday, February 23rd at First Presbyterian Church on SW 8th Street. More information is available here.
Ocean Winds Talk
Friday on campus, oceanographer and photographer Dr. Dudley Chelton will give a lecture on 40 years of studying ocean winds. Dr. Chelton is a distinguished emeritus professor at Oregon State, as well as an accomplished wildlife and landscape photographer, so the talk is sure to have a strong visual element as well as being packed with ocean information. The event starts at 4 pm on Friday, February 24th, in room 193 of Burt Hall. For more information click here.
By Ian Rose
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