In a garden setting, a successful groundcover is a plant that is durable and adaptable, spreads readily, and fills in space thouroughly. The point of planting a groundcover is to cover exposed soil and create a sort of living mulch. In fact, groundcovers provide similar benefits to mulch. They prevent erosion, help retain soil moisture, […]| awkward botany
In case I need a reminder that the horticulture industry has a history of introducing weedy plants to natural areas, I get one each time I bike to work. Riding along the Boise River Greenbelt, a tr…| awkward botany
Box elder is a maple that doesn’t often get credit for being a maple. Moreso, it is a tree that is not thought highly of, and it may not even be welcome in certain discussions around maples. You could even say that box elder is a “rogue maple,” as Arthur Plotnick deems it in The […]| awkward botany
Why has this blog been so quiet lately? There are plenty of excuses for that. It doesn’t really matter either way, but since we’re on the subject, one thing that has kept me occupied recently is being back in school. I’m working on a certificate in GIS, and I’m hoping to make some cool maps. […]| awkward botany
Boise’s summers are decidedly hot and dry. Months can pass without any measurable precipitation, meanwhile temperatures regularly peak in the 90’s. In the heat of the summer, multiple days in a row above 100 degrees Fahrenheit is not unheard of. Under these conditions, irrigation is a must if you intend to keep plants alive, particularly […]| awkward botany
If it isn’t clear by now from my Weeds of Boise series and countless other posts, I happen to be interested in the flora and fauna of urban areas. Urban ecology is a fascinating field of study, and I’m not sure that it gets the attention it deserves. Nature is not some far away place, […]| awkward botany
Sweetgum is a distinctive tree at any time of year. It stands out among most other deciduous trees with its excurrent growth habit, which gives it a narrowly conical or pyramidal shape. Only in its advanced age does it begin to develop a more rounded and irregular form. Its leaves are star-shaped with either five […]| awkward botany
In part one of this two part series, I introduced you to the Boise State University campus, located in the heart of Boise, Idaho. I’ve been spending the past year walking the campus and cataloging the weeds that I find there. Boise has a fairly mild climate compared to the rest of Idaho, so weeds […]| awkward botany
Two councilmembers in the City of Los Angeles recently put forward a resolution that would request that California law be amended so that the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a loca…| Travis Longcore
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Ant Picnic Data Discovery Grades K-5, 6-8 or 9-12 2-3 hours Biology / Math / Statistics Download TEACHER GUIDE Introduction to Ant Picnic Data Analysis https://youtu.be/pIVOTzcmsZo About this activity Scientists always collect and record data when they conduct experiments. In science [...]| Students Discover
Ant Picnic Grade levels K-5 or 6-12 2-3 hours Biology / Ecology Download Teacher Guide Welcome to Ant Picnic About this lesson Are ants always ruining your picnic? Have you ever noticed that some ants are drawn to your potato chips [...]| Students Discover
Bee Germs Project All levels One hour Urban Ecology About this lesson The “Bee Germs” project is focusing on learning more about bees that live underground. We know very little about bees that make their homes underfoot; by learning more about their germs (or pathogens) we [...]| Students Discover
Invasive Mosquito Project All levels 1-2 weeks Urban Ecology About this lesson In order to get a census of invasive mosquito populations, students are asked to collect eggs and send the eggs to the USDA. Doing so will give the USDA a good figure of invasive [...]| Students Discover
Urban Buzz: Citizen Science with Cicadas Any Grade Level Less than 1 Hour Urban Ecology About this lesson At any given moment we’ve got animals living under our feet – some of them for 17 years at a| Students Discover
Reprinted from The Western Tanager 89(4):1-3. A fact that has stuck with me from the research for the Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas in the 1990s is that there was not a single neighborhood in the county that did not have at least ten breeding bird species. Residents can enjoy birds wherever they live. …| Travis Longcore
Conservation Conversation Reprinted from The Western Tanager, 89(3): 9–11 (January/February 2023). Farewell, P-22 P-22’s reign as the biggest cat in Griffith Park has come to an end. The news was front page, not just in Los Angeles but farther afield, to those who found inspiration in a mountain lion living in the midst of the …| Travis Longcore
Sometimes nature outreach opportunities come when you least expect. For those watching the baseball playoffs — I wasn’t — the Dodgers-Padres game got a little nutty when a goose settled in on the field round about the 8th inning Wednesday night. It was no local, bread-fed, domesticated park dweller but a bona fide wild Greater …| Travis Longcore