#hudsonia

Mountain goldenheather (Hudsonia montana) in North Carolina, USA

During the course of these summer months spent in the North Bay of the Tivoli Bays exploring the narrow channels and deep mudflats of this ecologically rich and complex system in order to better understand our impact on the population densities of painted turtles, I have come to encounter and take part in the well-meaning ethos of environmental work, yet have seen and been somewhat disillusioned by the pursuit of finding explanations and solutions for our impact in this small fraction of the ecosystem. Faced with problems of communication, organization, access to needed resources, and expectations during this internship I have come to some conclusions on the effectiveness and responsibility of students assuming the roles of researchers. Although I am quite sure that students practicing in their fields of scientific work during the summers is an amazing opportunity to learn more and gain experience in their chosen paths, from my own experience with Hudsonia, I have seen that groups such as Hudsonia are providing an opportunity for these students but are also capitalizing and taking advantage of their willingness to be part of such an effort. Quite unreal expectations and demands where put on those I worked with, demands apart from what was laid out and explained before the commitment to this internship, such as that of transportation, time in the field versus time in the lab, and involvement of supervisors.

I was expected to have my own form of transportation, which I assumed would be needed as I did not live in the field station during the summer, but instead in a neighboring town to campus. I was asked if aforementioned transportation would be capable of carrying a canoe and I assumed, wrongly so, that this was for the days when Hudsonia would be unable to provide their own form of transportation for the participants and the canoes to the research sites. It was never made clear to me, or mentioned, that transportation of the other participants and the materials needed for this study rested solely on my aging car and my wallet. As a matter of course, I believe that an organization that conducts itself outside of walking distance from the headquarters and employs many different students for its studies, and relies on those students and their ability to reach the research sites, should have the means to get its workers to and from those sites, and if they couldn’t provide alternatives or compensation to alleviate the costs of gas and mechanical ware due to the conditions of reaching the research sites, provide a transparent and clear list of expectations.

When discussing the scheduling and format of this study, it was explained to me that half of them time spent would be in the field, while the other half would be spent in the lab conducting and producing graphical representations of the findings, writing field reports, and statistical analysis. I was very much excited for the time and experience gained from the lab work, as I felt learning to translate experience and collected data from the Bays into graphical and statistical representations and then to write field reports that would serve to broaden and analyze the implications and findings from would strengthen my understanding and ability to move from the micro to the macro in my own work as a Written Arts Major. However, the time spent in the field was enriching as an opportunity to spend time engaged in some form scientific work in a beautiful environment, and I am thankful for the opportunity to do so. But without the involvement of someone with knowledge of the complex ecology, plant and animal species, and natural history of the Tivoli Bays, many of my questions have gone unanswered as I have worked exclusively with a student who had just as much understanding as I do and also very little exposure to the supervisor.

Mountain Golden Heather (Hudsonia montana) with flowers

Botanists with the Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service recently visited the Linville Gorge area of Pisgah National Forest to monitor the threatened mountain golden heather and it’s response to recent fire. The plant is adapted to fire, which biologists believe helps control the plant’s competitors. A significant threat at heavily-visited sites is simple trampling by hikers and rock climbers unaware of the plant under their feet and its significance.

One way you can help mountain golden heather is joining countless hikers in heeding area-closed signs on public lands, which often mark fragile habitats or species easily damaged by foot traffic.