Category: Woodlands | Accent on Natural Landscaping

NASA GLOBE Observer App

August 19, 2019

NASA would like your help in measuring the Earth’s trees using the NASA GLOBE Observer app on your smart phone.

In September 2018, NASA launched an instrument, via the ICESat-2 satellite, called ATLAS which measures many ecological surfaces to determine the health of the world’s resources. This laser-like device measures the satellite’s position, the angle and how long it takes the laser beam to bounce back from the surface it is measuring. They’ve been measuring the elevation of the Earth’s ice, land, water, clouds, and now trees. Here’s where citizen scientists come in.

NASA would like citizen scientists to help validate the tree measurements they are taking from space. By knowing the height of trees, researchers can estimate the health of the Earth’s forests and calculate the amount of carbon dioxide they store.

NASA GLOBE Observer App

The NASA GLOBE Observer app is user-friendly. Besides measuring trees, among other things, it also measures the landscape around you and mosquito habitats. It has a tutorial and helpful hints.

Once you’ve selected your straight tree and staked out a spot about 25 to 75 feet away, you hold the phone in front of your face and angle it to measure the base and then to the tree’s top. Then you take a picture, count your steps to the tree, log your position at its base and the app will calculate the tree’s height. (Verge)

Thanks to the Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) for making me aware of this great app.

A First Sign of Spring – Bloodroot

April 26, 2019

At last I’m seeing some blooming plants in our yard. Thank goodness for Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and bless its determination to grow in competition with the invasive Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria). At least there is some forage material available to some of our insects.

Bloodroot (*Sanguinaria canadensis*) determined to grow in competition with the invasive Goutweed (*Aegopodium podagraria*).

Women’s History Month 2019 – Aroline Schmitt

March 18, 2019

March is Women’s History Month. Women have been celebrated nationally since 1981 when Congress passed a law creating “Women’s History Week.” That week was celebrated in March annually until 1987 when Congress began passing “Women’s History Month.” And then finally in 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama issued annual proclamations designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

Aroline Schmitt. Photo by Maxine Schmitt Roberts

Aroline Schmitt (1904-1995)

So I thought it would be fitting to mention this year the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame will be inducting on May 13, 2019, a woman infamous for her stand on sustainable forestry. Her name was Aroline Schmitt. [Read more…]

Running out of Time to “Tidy Up” Your Woodlands

March 11, 2019

A winter sunrise in a backyard filled with snow.

As we all know, winter is the only time to prune some of our most beloved trees, namely, the oaks and elms.

But winter is also the best time to remove unwanted trees and brush — native or non-native — to “tidy up” our woodlands. This is the time when plants are dormant so there is less disturbance to the soil.

I think we all know why we need to remove invasive non-native trees and shrubs, but why should we remove non-invasive trees and brush? Reference my recent post on Daylighting. It’s important to get light through the canopy down to the ground where the flowers and other groundcover live. The only way to do that is to remove unwanted trees and brush and their seedlings.

You’ll be amazed by how quickly wildflowers will return once dense shade is removed. Or how struggling saplings will thrive from the increase in sunlight. As we’ve learned from the “circle of life,” sunlight powers the plants, plants feed the pollinators, pollinators feed the bird babies, and on and on.

Removing Unwanted Trees and Shrubs

Before setting about haphazardly pulling or cutting and painting (with herbicide) unwanted trees and brush, consider the ecology of the woodland. Then begin thinning to enhance the remaining vegetation and create the biodiversified community you hope to achieve.

See also Can Your Woods be Too Tidy? It’s a great little article on woodscaping.