The Problem
To better support a variety of wildlife in the face of urban development, and balancing the needs of a community garden and farm while aiding the wildlife that rely on the same property for shelter, food, and other basic needs.
Our Plan
Supporting students in completing real habitat assessments, water quality & wildlife monitoring, and wildlife management plans. Data gathered will be used to determine how to better the property to support a variety of wildlife. Plus using the information we've gathered to educate others in our community on local conservation issues and the wildlife that this neighborhood harbors.
Themes Addressed
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Education
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Invasive Species
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Water Pollution & Conservation
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Wildlife
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The Benefit
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People
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Animals
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Environment
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Here is how the project went:
This project is going well, and although we've completed the initial assessments and surveys, this will be an on-going project for us. We anticipate another 6 months minimum to really round this project out, and potentially another off-shoot project that may stem from this one.
Through this project I/we learned:
We learned a variety of ways to monitor the health of an ecosystem, and track wildlife. We also learned that WAY more species than we expected utilize the property we are surveying.
What I/we might change:
This was a huge undertaking, and although we will continue this project for the next 6 months, the official "Roots & Shoots timeline" was simply not enough time to complete it in that timeframe. One area we're lacking data in is nighttime flying visitors- bats and owls. We will attempt some nighttime surveys at a later time to include these.
My/our favorite part of this project was:
Sorting through trail camera photos to see our nighttime visitors on the property. We found some fun surprises!
Some tips, tricks or fun facts about the project:
To date, we have 168 confirmed wild species via our surveys! The break down includes- Flora, Fungi & Alga: 73, Fauna: 95, Plants: 50, Trees: 8, Fungi & Alga: 15, Reptiles: 10, Amphibians: 17, Birds: 13, Mammals: 7, Invertebrates (insects, etc.): 48.