A safe return....

Yes, that is snow in May. Hurricane Ridge Olympic National Park.

I recently returned from a seven day trip to Washington State with the S.C.C. Outdoors Crew Club. The students involved will surely remember this trip for the rest of their lives, as will I. I got to experience some of the most beautiful forests, full of towering trees covered with moss and lichens. I also got to experience beautiful ocean bays full of starfish and bald eagles aplenty. Then in elevation we watched the lush green fade into snowy mountain tops.

S.C.C. Outdoors Crew: Left to right.

Bottom Row: Amber Schroeder, Briana Jennings, Bill Mitchell

Top Row: Samantha Seamon, Kate Dorsey, Nick Labbath, Amy White, Becky Skates, Ryan Buenemann, Dan Porter.

Some of the experiences we had together on this trip are priceless. We learned so much and met some of the nicest people we could have ever hoped for. The things we learned will be used in our everyday lives as much as our academic and scientific careers. I believe we all made friends for life, and will forever cherish the memories we made. Thank you to all of you and I believe you are all special and will be successful and make great contributions to the world. Good luck to you all.

Appreciation

I was at a meeting last week where a colleague made this point. Whenever you do something to improve your home, such as a new deck or porch, maybe a new driveway, or anything that is new for that matter, depreciates from day one... except trees! Trees continue to appreciate value as they mature and become beautiful additions to the landscape!

Trees can save us money by shading our house in the hot summers, and when the leaves fall, solar heat our house in the winter! Trees add to property values, and of course filter our air and water! Trees are so important, yet we treat them like poodles.

"Poodles" you say? No I have not gone off the deep end. At least not entirely, but I have to ask: why oh why, do we do this to our trees?

Education is important for communities in tree care. Planting trees in the right place is the first step (Notice in the photo nearby power lines.) Planting a large growing tree under power lines is dangerous and unfair to the trees and the community in the event of a storm.

Next is be sure to have a trained professional prune your trees, such as a certified arborist. "Topping" is a practice where trees are severely cut, such as in the above photo, and do nothing but harm the tree, and make the tree even more hazardous as it sprouts out weak branches.

Finally, learn to love your trees! Get involved with local arbor day events, pick up a discount gardening book, or utilize the web and start your adventure with trees!

http://www.treesaregood.com/

Please, get out and enjoy the campus!

P.S. I am going on an adventure this week to visit some beautiful trees of the pacific northwest! I will return with photos and a story early next week! See you then!

Fungi vs. Lichens!

Lichens and Shelf Fungi photo Dan Porter

As an arborist, there are a few things that make me wince when discussing trees. Fungi is one. Whenever someone says to me "Hey I got these mushrooms on my tree..." I get a chill down my spine, and I usually break the bad news, if your tree has fruiting fungi bodies, and generally fungi feed on decaying matter, then there is likely decay in your tree, and it could be too late.

Yet often when I inspect the tree in question I can not find any fruiting bodies, but I do see lichens. This is usually great news because lichens, unlike mushrooms, often signal a healthy tree, and a healthy environment! So whats the difference?

Lichens are made up of symbiotic fungal tissue, they generally pair up with an algae and they supply each other with nutrients. In most cases the lichen only uses trees and rocks as support or a location that is free from animal traffic and other disturbances. Generally, no harm comes to the tree from lichens.Lichens are also very important in nitrogen cycles, oxygen cycles, and sometime used to signal environmental concerns. I failed to mention they are beautiful additions to a garden or landscape!

Lichens photos Dan Porter

Fruiting mushrooms on your tree is a whole different story. Especially polypores, which we will discuss in light of the fact they are very common, and there are too many species to discuss in my humble blog. Polypores are sometimes known as shelf fungi, since they have a shelf like appearance. These are usually a decomposing mushroom or a parasite, or sometimes both! It is important to have these organisms in forests, but not on a tree near your home or a building, as this could be a sign of a disaster on the brink.

Polypore Closeup photo Dan Porter

I know we have been in spring rain mode this week, but we have some great examples of these organisms on campus. Below is a map of some examples, Lichens are indicated by a blue dot, and this particular area I call "Lichen Alley" considering it is just full of beautiful colored lichens. The polypore tree, unfortunately for it, is indicated by the red dot. You will notice the trees condition is in decay, thus the fruiting bodies.

So get out and enjoy the campus, and enjoy this "soft" Irish weather! ;)

Science Everyday!

So what makes my position here at the college so fun? Not only am I surrounded by encouraging colleagues, inspiring people, and a great learning environment... but I am surrounded by science in its true raw form. I get to witness some of the most beautiful, and sometimes devastating, animals, insects, diseases, and other lifeforms at work everyday.

I often get the "What tree is that?" or the "What kind of flower is that?" as I walk through campus. This is a dangerous question to ask someone who loves to talk about these things! So the other day I was asked "What is wrong with that tree?" I immediately thought, why not do something with my blog to answer some of these great questions, and have examples right on campus!

This particular tree is a Pin Oak. (Quercus palistrus) It has been infested with numerous spherical shaped blisters that are just slightly larger than a golf ball. This is called a gall. These galls can infect many species of trees, and are caused by various reasons, but this particular gall is the Horned Oak Gall.

Photos: Dan Porter

Horned oak galls are comprised of actual swollen plant tissues. This occurs after a wasp lays its eggs in the tree twig. The eggs hatch and the larvae of the cynipidae wasp stay within the gall up to three years.

These galls typically are not harmful to the tree, other than looking funny. Sometimes the tree is heavily infested by overlapping generations, such as this particular tree, and can stress a tree.

There is very little that can be done once a tree has oak galls. The best way to deal with these is to prevent it with good tree pruning and a healthy root zone. Overall good health of a tree will be less susceptible to pests in general.

If you wish to know the location of some of these infested trees, I included a map below (Infected trees are indicated by yellow dots). If you visit in mid-summer when these wasps emerge, fear not, these are a non-stinging species. Now get out and enjoy the campus!

Beautiful Friday!

The weather is perfect! Blue sky with passing clouds, and mild temperatures! This is the weather that makes me love Missouri. I was going to post a photo of campus on this beautiful day, but I won't in hopes that you get outside today and enjoy it yourselves!

Yet there are some photos I would like to share with you today. Some members of the S.C.C. Outdoors Crew Club and the S.C.C. Grounds Department teamed up today. What a great example of team work on campus! They worked hard loading up over one hundred pounds of black plastic potting material so it can be taken to the Missouri Botanical Gardens recycling center where they recycle the materials into landscape timbers. See this link for more information...

Another example as to why I feel I have the most rewarding position in the business! I am always inspired by people who want to join forces and do something good for the campus, the community, and the environment!

In this photo Left to right: Don Hirschfeld, Dan Porter, Amy White

Kate Dorsey, Samantha Seamon, Ryan Buenemann.

An Introduction

I have been at SCC for nearly six years. I have been in the green industry for nearly 15 years, and the only thing I have learned is that there is so much more to learn. Faced with the challenge, what better place to wind up than at an educational facility.

My dream was to become a herpetologist. When I learned there were only two herpetologist jobs in the whole state, I quickly turned to trees. I got my arborist certification and got into tree climbing and landscaping. I was always a busy body type and the thought of being cooped up in an office was a fate worse than death.

Another dream of mine was to being the first in my family to go to college, so when I saw the opportunity to work at a college, I pounced! Since then the academic atmosphere has sucked me in. Not only am I an employee, but also a student, a continuing education instructor, a co-advisor for the outdoors crew club, and I take part and sometimes volunteer for many activities on campus. This has become my home away from home.

I am one of the rare people that wake up every morning and can’t wait to get to work. Everyday is an adventure and having so much interest in science and nature, I get to be in contact with nature every day. I get to measure insect tolerances that feed on our trees, turf, and ornamentals. I get to partake in helping rescue an injured bird, a lost snake, or a scared opossum. I get to enjoy the resident hawks and coyotes on campus. I get to secretly protect killdeer nests and mallard nests that insist on using our trashcans as shelter. Everyday I get to look in my field guide and learn a new insect, new fungi, new lifeform that I may never see again, or may become companions with. I also enjoy being an environmental steward. I get rewarded making the college a beautiful place for students, staff and visitors to enjoy. It is scientifically proven that a serene environment and an environment with plants and good air quality can enhance brain activity, calming and learning.

And most important of all is the environment provided by the special people here at the college. What a rare treat to be able to rub elbows with some of the greatest teachers, staff and colleagues in the business! Every day I see smiling faces, encouraging attitudes and inspiring people!

Before I use up all my blog material, I would like to say hello to you, and hope I get to meet you face-to-face so we can share a smile together. I hope this blog will connect me and my great staff with the students, the faculty and the community. Welcome to some of the ground’s adventures!