Middle School STARS : "Glacier Plant Explorers"

Theme:
This STARS field trip takes place at the Fish Creek Campground. The Native Plant Restoration Program supports the National Park Mission of preserving natural resources. Students learn about the restoration cycle- monitoring, collecting and growing seeds, and planting.

Before doing restoration work, we need to gain an understanding of the plant communities we are working with. We can then grow appropriate species from the area. We also need to be able to collect and store seed so that it is viable. Finally, the native plants need to be planted properly to ensure their survival.

Students rotate through 3 stations to learn about these important steps in the restoration cycle: monitoring, seed collecting and planting.

Goals (students will understand):

• GNP’s role in restoring native plant communities.
• That learning about plant communities before planting is needed to gain knowledge critical to successful revegetation.
• That careful observation of identifying traits of plants can help us to identify them.
• The role of seed collection in the restoration cycle.
• Why and how we collect seed for native plant restoration in GNP.
• Their role as stewards of their National Park.

Objectives (students will be able to):

• Define plant community.
• Survey a plant community prior to restoration work.
• Identify weeds vs. native plants
• Point out social trails, compacted soil, and other human impacts in the campground.
• Use a dichotomous key to identify the plants we are collecting seed from.
• List 3 different ways the seeds we collect are dispersed.
• Properly collect different types of fruits and seeds.

Vocabulary:  Transect, community, population, biodiversity, genetic integrity, canopy, under story, herbaceous layer, weed, native, restoration, biotic/abiotic, succession, pioneer plants, limiting factor, seed dispersal, gymnosperm, angiosperm, tree, shrub, grass, forb, fern, dichotomous key.
Subjects: National Park Service, restoration of disturbed lands, plant communities, geography, horticulture, history.
Concepts covered: Native plant restoration & communities, plant ID, plant survey & monitoring techniques, seed collection techniques, seed life cycles, genetic integrity, seed collection protocol, traditional protocols for seed collection.
Curriculum Standards:
Science Standard 1; Design, conduct, evaluate and communicate scientific investigations
Science Standard 3; Students demonstrate knowledge of characteristics, structures and function of living things, the process and diversity of life, and how living organisms interact with each other and their environment.
Location: Fish Creek Campground, Apgar Area of West Glacier
Length: 4 hours

 

NPS PHOTO

Students seed collecting

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Station Overviews

Monitoring Station:

1. Students first learn about the restoration cycle.
2. They then review the native plants that they have learned on the seed collection hike, and definitions of words like Population, Community, and Native Plant Community.
3. Students are shown two ways to sample a plant community, then work in pairs to do a point count along a transect or a random sampling of vegetation with monitoring squares.
4. The group then visits a site that has been restored by past classes. How does this site compare with the site we surveyed today?

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Seed Collecting Station:

1. This program starts with an introductory talk. The diversity of seeds we collect is discussed, and how we have learned a lot about native seed collection from Native Americans.
2. Students are given instructions on how to identify ripe seed, and how to do so without negatively impacting native populations of plants.
3. We discuss why we wear orange vests when seed collecting, and that the park mission of protecting natural resources does not allow seed collection by visitors.
4. Students then head out to the first species to be collected. Dichotomous keys are used to identify the plants we are collecting from.
5. A picture of the plant in bloom is shown, and a student reads a few facts about the plant to the rest of the group before starting to collect that species. The student who reads the card also has the bag that everyone puts this species of seed into.
6. The seed collection hike continues, with each new species being identified, and all students putting seed into one bag. · As we seed collect, stops are also made to look at human impacts in the area.

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Planting Station:

1. This program is held on site at an impacted area in the Fish Creek Campground.
2. Students first take a close look at the site to be worked on. What human impacts do they notice?
3. Students then learn about the specific plants to be planted, including natural history.
4. Staff demonstrate the correct way to plant plants, and discuss safe use of tools.
5. The class ends the day with implementing their revegetation plan by out-planting and watering native plants into the site.

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