Wilderness State Park Exploration and the Running Ecologist

Horse Shoe Falls Niagara Falls

Hard to imagine I’ve been in Michigan almost three weeks.  Since leaving NH on June 22 I traveled just about 1000 miles to the Au Sable Institute, have learned much about our new oil pad team, become reacquainted with our oil pad sites, had some rest, and this weekend enjoyed a ½ Marathon with some MI friends.  To say the least it has been a full three weeks.

Bridge to Port Huron
and Michigan!

Friendly Red Wing Blackbird

Crossing into Vermont

Lake Michigan and Piping Plover
protection area

This Weekend I enjoyed a camping trip to Wilderness State Park to take part in the Waugoshance 1/2 marathon. Wilderness State Park is located just west of the city of Mackinaw along the northern most part of lower Michigan.  The park consists of about 26 miles of shoreline and 1000 acres of land.  Parts of the shorelines are protected for Piping Plover nesting.  We also saw two endangered plant species here the Pitchers Thistle and Port Huron Tansy. 

Breakfast Time on
race day!

From the area near our camp site we could look across and see the UP (Upper Peninsula).  The Strait of Mackinac is 5 miles and connects Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. The Mackinaw bridge spans this area is one of the largest suspension bridges in the world (currently 5^th – you can learn more about this bridge: http://www.mackinacbridge.org/history/facts-figures/).

Lovely Sunset 

Waugoshance was a peaceful run through Wilderness State Park including a variety of different habitats.  The race started at Goose Pond just a short walk from our camp site along the shore of Lake Michigan. It began through some mainly flat pine forests which transitioned into a cedar dominated wet area.  After five or so miles, the trail transitioned to rolling hills along French Lake. The last few miles of the trail were challenging with many narrow, wet board walks to navigate.  I was rather concerned of what would happen if I stepped off the boardwalk into dark abyss of mud! 

Honestly, after this trail run,  I’m not sure I’ll be able to return to road running.  There is nothing quite as fun and peaceful as running through the woods and identifying species along the way.  From the large trees to grasses (thanks to the oil pad work), wild flowers, and birds at every turn there was something new to notice and help make the time go by fast. 

 

The sight of the day came just two miles from the finish when a Black burnian warbler who flew right in front of me and landed in a nearby bush.  I’m rather sure this was my first ever sighting other than when studying my bird identification book!

July Update

View heading into one of our sites

Our July data collecting experience showed us a small bit about the harsh environment of abandoned oil pads. To get a head of the warmth of each day, our team set out at 6am.  Working in the cool of the day was great ~ By about 10 am the dew evaporated and the sites began to warm up quite quickly.  As my science students might remember, sand has a relatively low specific heat, meaning it will warm up quickly!




















This go around the grass and weeds are steadily growing, while the trees are bound to their slow growth making it more of a challenge to find and record their height and health.  Part of our work this month was pulling Spotted knapweed from the areas were our daubenmire frames fell along each transect.  Compared with last year it really is amazing the robustness of this noxious weed. At one site, the plant is 3 feet tall!



Three out of four sampling days topped out with temperatures in the 90's with the final day have a maximum temperature of 60 F!  What a difference a day makes. Not only was it 60F, but there was a heavy midst most of the day ~ there was no complaining though, as we were thankful for the coolness after a very warm week of work.  The biggest challenge was keeping the data sheets dry!

This past week our team has been dedicated to data entry and starting to look for patterns.  Yes, algebra II students, learning to see patterns in numbers is used by many people not just mathematicians.  Now the team will begin to write the story of what the data is revealing.

The past two weeks has also included a fun cherry picking outing, an integration day exploring local food and organic farming, a trip to a local pottery studio, and several evenings of sports (Soccer, frisbee, and volleyball).  There is never a dull moment!

Created and Dominion ~ the great balancing act

"God blessed them and said to them, "be fruitful and increase in number: fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground"" 

Gen 1: 28

Budding Field Ecologists 

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to work it and take care of it" 

Gen 2:15 

Before the manifestations of self-centeredness man was charged to subdue, rule, work and care for the created order.  In the beginning all things created were classified "good".  Man and all of creation were given their being by a "Good" creator.  As stated in Gen 1:26, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground".  In this context, mankind was formed, to be the stewards of all creation.  Stewardship is a "careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care"(Merriam Dictionary).  Management is part of faithful dominion, bringing something under control.  With a proper understanding of position as being created along the rest of creation man can faithfully execute the call to ruling over creation. Before the fall, man was called to work and care for creation.  

Working and caring requires knowledge and understanding of creation.  When is something ready for harvest? How can something be improved or pruned to thus allow for better growth and health.  However, with the introduction of Self-Centeredness the human condition lost focus of being God-Centered. Thus began the daily battle of understanding "to subdue" and "Rule over". The temptation to exploit for personal gain has become the battle ground. 

The creation was made to be fruitful to provide sustenance for all created.  Therefore, learning how ecosystems function should be important to faithful stewardship.  For if knowledge can be gained about the workings of a system, then understanding can be applied to allow creation to experience restoration while still fulfilling its intended purpose.   

Re-generating Jack Pine Stand 

That is part of why working in restoration ecology is so exciting and challenging. Why is part of the creation experiencing less than it's intended purpose? What can be done to assist in the process of restoring this part of creation?  At the core, this is the work of Restoration.  If the implications of sin impact all of creation, why would we doubt the work of Restoration to include all the created order? Stay tuned for more..... 

Highlights from the week:

Turkey Nest - with 12 eggs 

This week it has been all hands on deck assisting the Warbler team with their vegetation work.  It was interesting to not the lack of invasive species such as spotted knapweed and leafy spurge on their sites.  Unlike the oil pad sites, these regenerating Jack Pine stands were forested and not subjected to oil extraction.  They are interesting and at times difficult to navigate with numerous small trees and shrubs.  Additionally, there are aggressive ants that are rather a pain if you step to close to their hills.

The dense brush can also provide habitat for nesting turkey's.  Let's just say getting close to a turkey is an adrenaline producing event ~ especially after seeing many badger holes on the site!   

This weekend marks the migration of a new wave of students and faculty for Summer Session 2 ~ A time of Transition.

Reflection: Excitement and Wonder

With the June Oil Pad data collected it is time for reflection.

On Tuesday our team was blessed with the additional assistance of the Warbler team: Erin and Cory.  They came to learn about how to collect vegetation data and in the process made finding our saplings easier.  They will be utilizing similar techniques on their transects learning about the vegetation in areas near Kirtland Warbler Nesting areas.

Given the rain Monday night and the cloudy start to the day we were rather wet upon laying out our transects (the white tape you see to the left).  However, we quickly had a source of joy in the form of finding our tallest tree thus far! It is a 53 cm tall Jack Pine~ more than half one meter).  Jack Pines are a very common tree in Northern Michigan, as they do not require much in terms of nutrients and they love sandy soils!

As Erin and I walked the transects to collect tree and shrub data we also came upon a rather large Gardner Snake.  Joseph was quick to jump in and pick up the creature for a photo and "rescue" us from the reptile.  As the photo shows we also learned that Rhino Rulers are great for assisting with snake capture and observations. We were thankful he moved the snake out of our plot area.  Notice the animated expressions!

The afternoon was very pleasant. After enjoying our lunch it was back to work to complete our last The photo site of the day.  This is the only location where we might have human caused damage ~ The field is a very enticing spot for snowmobiles accessing other trails.  With the minimal snow cover this winter, there were some broken stakes and saplings. However, several are re-sprouting.

Cookout down by the Lake 

The rest of the week has been dedicated to data analysis and trying to find trends. Underneath this work is a desire to understand how we can help bring restoration to these areas.  Each of us has a part in the reality of the degradation of these sites. Daily choices, whether we realize it or not has a cost on creation.  The balance between dominion and stewardship is a life long journey of understanding ~ There shall be more on this topic... Stay tuned!

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager exceptional for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God" Romans 8:18-21

The Return and Start of the 2016 Oil Pad Research

Orchard Grass

What a blessing it is to be back at AuSable for another summer of Research.  Upon arriving, Wednesday afternoon I was introduced to the 2016 Oil Pad Research and Kirtland's Warbler Team.  What a dedicated group of students.  They have been work very hard to establish the Kirkland's project, and therefore the Oil team began their work Thursday morning.  We left campus at 6AM and were to our site in Ostego County by 645AM ~ here we laid out our transects and quickly got to work collecting survivorship data in the cool of the day.

Back when I was in graduate school I remember fearing that the study would reveal no results.  Likewise heading into Thursday I was a bit concerned the trees would all be dead.  To no great surprise this was not so. Many of the trees are doing quite well in the non fertilized treatments.   What a joy it was to see that they had not all died.

Growing Tree - Surrounded by Poa grass species

After a year away it was wonderful and a great relief how the plant and grass species names flooded back to memory.  The students are very proficient in their identification skills.  We worked steadily finding trees and determining plant coverage.  There is a real sense of community in the work!

At our second site (Shell Oil Road) we found a vesper sparrow nesting right in the midst of a study plot.  She flew off her nest and we were able to mark the nest to ensure we would not step on her eggs.  We worked carefully and she returned to her nest.  As the afternoon wore on we also spotted a Black Billed Cuckoo and Baltimore Oriole.

Badger Hole

Upon finishing our second site, we celebrated with a snickers bar and drove onto our last site of the day(Sand Lake).  Here we ate a quick dinner, and with a little sugar in our system we efficiently set out to complete the site.  This site had a new badger hole and we were surprised to find one of our trees buried in the newly dug dirt ~ We were thankful for our metal detector.  This is a new record of completing three sites in one day! The team arrived home right at 9PM.  Off to bed it was for the tired team.

Goat's Beard

Friday was another early morning ~ this time we headed for the Crooked Lake site.  This one requires a lovely walk from the road through a rolling landscape of bracken ferns, popular stand, and final a northern hardwood forest before being dump into the sandy site.  Here the greatest challenge was finding trees which were alive.  In a survivorship study, things will die, however, this site seems to be struggling the most.

After finishing up two sites near Campus, we headed back in time for dinner and preparing for Monday's work in the Boardman River area.

Lessons in 26.2 Miles

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the thrown of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" Hebrews 12:1-3

Running a marathon provides a great insight to the journey of life described by the writer of Hebrews.  The beginning of a race is full of palpable energy, as each runner is eager to start off.  So much so that many runners start out to fast and sooner or later start to fall back.  If you're blessed to have a running partner, you can help each other pace and protect one another from future turmoil and pain.  Isn't that similar to life?

If you are a runner and have been part of a race maybe you know what it is like to go by a crowd of people making tons of noise.  Cow bells ringing, people cheering, signs.... so forth... you cannot help but pick up your pace.  Maybe it is the idea that someone out there wants you to do well, to be encouraged.  Isn't that what the writer of Hebrews is saying?  There are people who have gone before us in the heavenly realm cheering for us to be strong, to live lives of integrity, to honor the Lord.  The hard part is we don't necessarily see or sense this cheering.  What if we lived like we were being cheered on? Would it change our mentality and the way we spend our time?

Running with perseverance requires planning, discipline, purpose, and joy.  Without these traits, one would easily give up when the pain or aches begin. Last week, a group of students asked "what would motivate you to run a marathon".  The answer was "you, and others like you".  They were a bit perplexed and at first thought I was afraid of them.  Quickly, I assured them that was not what I meant, but from an eternal perspective running for the Jesse Remington scholarship fund was a way to impact the Kingdom of God.  That reason alone, provides great motivation to run and to run strong.  

Compared to life lived in one direction focused on things above, a single marathon is but a small picture of the long term endurance needed.  Consider, when running 26.2 miles, you must keep track of: am I taking in enough carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, water, electrolytes, what muscles are hurting and how can I alleviate the stress?  Over the long haul of life, we have to ask similar questions: Am I taking in the word of God? Am I responding to the challenges the Lord is placing in front of me through His Word and Godly mentors/teachers? What about worship? Motivation? Purpose? When we lose sight of the Goal we easily forget to focus on the will help us finish strong.  Sometimes, no most of the time we need brothers and sisters to come along side us and encourage is in Love.

May we each live today and each day with the end in mind ~ To God be the Glory

"This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ ~ to the glory and praise of God!" Philippians 1:9-11

Scholarship Run - Will you Partner with us?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith” Hebrews 12:1-2

October 20, 2015

Family and Friends,

Recently, while attending the Association of Christian School International Nexus conference we were challenged to consider if the school we serve is meeting our mission statement.  The speaker suggested we should look at how our graduates of 15, 10, and even just 5 years are doing. Are they the product you claim to be producing?

Jesse Remington High School is a Christian Community of Students and Faculty pursuing wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and is committed to raising this generation to be effective leaders for Jesus Christ.

I am thankful to be starting my 11^th year of teaching at JRHS.  Over the years it has been a joy to watch students grow, mature, graduate, move onto higher education and vocations, and many start families. They are involved in local churches, working hard, living lives of integrity in a broken world.  Vocationally they are working in a wide variety of fields from forestry, nursing, to culinary arts, military service, veterinary science, to engineering bringing the hope of Christ.   

Why am I willing to train and run 26.2 miles to help fundraise for the JRHS scholarship fund? Simply, I believe the Lord is using JRHS to raise up a generation of youth who will be effective leaders for Jesus Christ.  Not only will they be leaders, but they are critical thinkers, people who can consider the facts and make a choice weighing the pros and cons.  These are the ones who will help pass the mantle of truth and Biblical faith to the next generation!  

Will you help us reach our goal of raising $8,000 for our scholarship fund? All funds will go directly to help support students who other wise could not attend our school.  This is an opportunity to sow into the lives of desiring students. 

If you are able to support us financially you can do so online through our secure giving resource: http://www.jrhs.org/support-jrhs/support-gifts/ and use the Scholarship Fund option. 

Blessings,

Susan Wilderman

Ps. This years Training Runs included: 500 miles of training in Three States (New Hampshire, Maine, and Michigan).  The most exciting Run was through Grafton Notch State Park in the fine state of Maine. Thank-you to all who have encouragement to keep pushing for the goal!

Photo from a Michigan Training Run