GEO 280/460: Ecological Restoration - Syllabus
Miami students preparing bare soil for native prairie seeding and removing drainage tiles to enhance surface
flow of water into newly constructed wetland at the Edge of the Farm Conservation Area.
Dr. R. Hays Cummins haysc@muohio.edu 529-1338 & Dr. Tom Klak klakt@muohio.edu 529-4049
Geography & the Western program
Course Description:
This course is hands-on, experiential, and practically-focused. Students will learn to read local
landscapes for signs of historical and contemporary degradation and habitat quality and potential.
They will learn practical ways to distinguish significant local plants and animals including
desirable native species and invasive non-native ones. They will learn how to apply ER
knowledge to restore and enhance a variety of habitat types, including woodlands, riparian
corridors, wetlands, prairies, and backyard landscapes.
The instructors have many years of firsthand experience with ER in our region, and they
personally manage and continue to enhance about 35 acres of permanently protected land for
habitat richness and biodiversity.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1) Students purposefully examine ER concepts and examples, describing and analyzing their
readings for the course, their reactions to class discussion, and their comprehension of and
viewpoints on course lectures.
2) Students develop interdisciplinary, self-/group- directed inquiry projects with the support of
their peers; reading and critiquing proposals; reflecting in writing about the strengths and
weaknesses they perceive; and conducting peer review of ecological restoration project ideas,
restoration project proposals, and restoration final projects.
3) Students review and assess the literature pertinent to their interdisciplinary restoration project
questions, using print and web resources, and identifying distinctions between qualitative and
quantitative scholarly research practices.
4) Students locate their interdisciplinary research questions and projects within social, historical,
cultural, and geographical contexts to explore and explain their broader relevance.
Evaluation Methods:
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Henceforth: ER = ecological restoration; ERP = ecological restoration project
The central focus of the course is to equip students with the necessary tools for conducting their
own ER inquiries and projects. By first sampling the range of approaches that scholars take to an
ER research question, students build their familiarity with the methods deployed across the
disciplines to pursue inquiry, then work in teams to initiate, develop, and complete projects in
which they situate their particular findings on a given topic within a broader context.
One goal is to have every ER team invested in the success of everyone else’s project and to
demonstrate the necessity of teamwork and collaboration to high-quality interdisciplinary
research by building an inquiry community. Students self-select into semester-long restoration
project/research teams of two. Each team chooses an interdisciplinary ERP idea and location;
and then develops a restoration project proposal, an ERP teaching packet, and a final ERP report
and presentation. All are posted to a course website, and will then be available to the public
including future students as a learning tool and opportunity for follow-up.
Each step in the ERP involves a peer-review process starting with the initial ERP idea. For
instance, class members publicly critique, on the class website, each research team’s initial
research idea. Each research team then responds to the peer suggestions and posts a revision of
their research idea. Before moving on to the research proposal, the class must come to a
consensus that we have thoroughly critiqued, discussed, and revised the initial research ideas to
the point where each research team is ready to produce a research proposal. Each ERP team then
takes responsibility for further involving other classmates in their respective projects. For
instance, the authors of each project will be responsible for teaching and involving their
classmates in their ERP (field work, collection and/or analyses of data); every student team’s
ERP can count on having, for one day or more, other class members assisting them on their ERP.
Each ERP team provides data sheets and introductory material, oversees fellow students to make
sure the procedures are executed properly, and makes adjustments for unexpected events. As
class time is valuable, students leading particular classes that are devoted to their ERPs are
responsible for using their classmates' time wisely. This requires preparation and foresight to
make certain the class time is used efficiently and productively.
At the end of the semester, upon completion of the research projects, students submit their final
ERP reports to the class web site and conduct an on-site ER symposium tour that celebrates
student work and teaches about the completed ERP.
Students will create teams of 2 and select from the 14 ERP opportunities identified by the
instructors (see separate document).
Evaluation Rubric:
Before getting into the point distribution, we instructors want to say up front that we approach
this course and the component ERP by assuming and expecting the highest level of maturity and
individual responsibility among all class members. We want to you to earn an A through
demonstrating throughout the semester your positive attitude and commitment toward all aspects
of our course, including the reading, discussion, field trips, and ERPs (both your project & your
classmates’ whom you will help) from start to finish.
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Assignments
ER reading reflections
class participation
- assist on at least 3 ERPs that are not your own
media-rich weekly blog of ERP reflections
restoration project
TOTAL
Points (1000 Possible)
200
150
150
100
400
1000 points
Readings:
Aldo Leopold. 1949. A Sand County Almanac. New York: Oxford University Press
Tallamy, Douglas. 2007. Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our
Gardens. Timber Press, Portland-London
Other reading on course website or online
BUILDING the FOUNDATIONS
Week/Topics
Week 1 Jan 13
Introduction to the
Course
Week 2 Jan 20
Living Seasonally:
Sand County
Almanac
Week 3 Jan 27
Having an Affair
with the Earth: Sand
County Almanac
ERP Plan Draft
Week 4 Feb 3
Peer Review of
ERPs
Week 5 Feb 10
Field trip to Hays’
ERP
ERP Plan Revision
Assignments
- Read for our 1st class: What can
WE do about climate change? (see
New York Times reading on our
website)
- Be prepared to participate in all
class discussions
- Finalize Restoration Project
Teams & their selected Projects
-Reading Reflections (respond on
website to some of the questions
about Sand County under readings
on our website; also write reflections
on other assigned reading)
- Post on website initial plan for
your team’s Restoration Project
- Reading Reflections (respond to
some of the questions about Sand
County under readings on our
website; also write reflections on
other assigned reading)
- Peer Reviews--Critique &
contribute positively to posted ERP
plan drafts
- take detailed field notes during
class on the ER successes &
challenges that your instructors have
experienced over the years
- ERP Plan/Idea Revision
(responding to critiques) due on
Website
Readings & Activities
- Semester overview (including website) & Great
Expectations
- Overview of the 14 Projects; some class time
devoted to students discussing & selecting projects
- in class: view part of “America’s Lost Landscape:
The Tall Grass Prairie” featuring the Leopold family
& the sand county land
- Leopold A Sand County Almanac pp.1-92 (ie to
the end of Part I)
- Gilfillan “January” (website)
- Parker-Pope “Switching to Grass-Fed Beef”
(website)
- slides of on-going ERPs at the Edge of the Farm
Conservation Area
- Leopold A Sand County Almanac pp.95-226 (ie to
the end of the book)
- Friedman “A Land Ethic for Protecting
Biodiversity” (website)
- slides of some of Tom’s ERPs
- Berry Preface to Kentucky's Natural Heritage
(website)
-Tallamy preface & chaps 1-4
- Apfelbaum & Haney “ER: An Overview” chap 2
in Restoring Ecological Health to your land 2010
Island Press & SERI (website – use reading to
improve your ERP)
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Week 6 Feb 17
ERP Proposals
- Full Final ERP Proposals due on
Website
- Reading Reflections
-Tallamy chaps 4-8
- Canright “Shifting Baselines” (website)
Alien Invasion!!
DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT ERPs
Week/Topics
Assignments
Readings & Activities
Week 7 Feb 24
- Peer Review-Critique Full
Research Proposals on Website
- Work on ERPs
- Reading Reflections
- Final Revised ERP Proposals due
on Website
- Work on ERPs
- Reading Reflections
- Reading Reflections
- Continue work on your ERP &
help other teams with theirs
-Tallamy chaps 9-12
- Sullivan “Spring Comes to Chicago” and “Early
Spring” (website)
- Reading Reflections – How do
these organizations effect and
interconnect with your ERPs? From
these websites, find and describe at
least 2 written sources useful to your
ERP.
- 10 minute oral overview of 1st 7
ERPs (5 min illustrated summary &
5 min Q&A)
- Continue work on your ERP &
help other teams with theirs
-Reading Reflections
- 10 minute oral overview of 2nd 7
ERPs (5 min illustrated summary &
5 min Q&A)
- Continue work on your ERP &
help other teams with theirs
- study web site of: Wild Ones, a dynamic
Midwestern organization devoted to native
landscaping of yards http://www.forwild.org/
- study web site of: The 3 Valley Conservation
Trust, locally devoted to permanent habitat
protection 3vct.org
- study web site of: SER http://www.ser.org/
Aesthetically Wild!
Week 8 Mar 3
Millions of Insects!
Week 9 Mar 17
Sacred Space: Field
Trip to MEEC
Week 10 Mar 24
Analysis of &
connection with the
work of 3 key ER
NGOs
ERP Updates &
Engagement
Week 11 Mar 31
ERP Experiential
Reflections
ERP Updates &
Engagement
-Tallamy chaps 13, 14, Afterword, & 3 Appendices
- studying the MEEC intro & ecological trail map
(course website) & then their website
http://meec.udayton.edu/
- Kaufman “How to starve, or feed, a
river” (website)
- Rich “Beautiful species to hate: nonnative bush honeysuckle” (website)
- Neuman & Pollack “Farmers Cope With
Roundup-Resistant Weeds” (website)
- NSF – “Too Much of a Good Thing:
Human Activities Overload Ecosystems
with Nitrogen” (website)
ERP FIELD TRIP SYMPOSIA
Week/Topics
Week 12 April 7
Assignments
- Reading Reflections
Readings & Activities
- Camden/WRA teams will assign readings
Student ERP Site
Visits & Analysis
- Continue work on your ERP & help
other teams with theirs
- Camden/WRA teams lead on-site class
Week 13 April 14
- Reading Reflections
- Dewitt teams will assign readings
Student ERP Site
Visits & Analysis
Week 14 April 21
- Continue work on your ERP & help
other teams with theirs
- Reading Reflections
- Dewitt teams lead on-site class
Student ERP Site
Visits & Analysis
- Continue work on your ERP & help
other teams with theirs
- Geddes/EFCA teams lead on-site class
- Geddes/EFCA teams will assign readings
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Week 15 April 28
- Reading Reflections
- THS teams will assign readings
Student ERP Site
Visits & Analysis
-Final Exam Week
- Continue work on your ERP & help
other teams with theirs
- Post on website & submit hard copy
of ERP report; due by Weds April 27
5pm
- THS teams lead on-site class
Description of the 14 Ecological Restoration Project Sites
Students will organize themselves in teams of two, and select from the 14 ecological
restoration project opportunities described below. There is much more to be said about
each of these sites, but the descriptions below should help students to decide which one
they would like to invest most of their time during the semester. Of course students
adopting a site should visit it ASAP first-hand to begin the semester's affair with the land!
Note however that in addition to the one site that each team of students has primary
responsibility for, all students will be expected to contribute manual labor on the ground
to at least three of the other projects. This will bring strong human resource collaboration
to each project, and allow students to have hands-on experiences with a wider range of
habitat types.
The various sources of native plants and seeds to be used at each of these 14 sites will be
discussed in class. Students are of course encouraged to be creative and proactive, and
identify plant and seed sources in addition to those known to the instructors. Similarly,
we will discuss in class sources of Roundup herbicide to eliminate alien plant species,
and equipment for native seeding of larger areas of around an acre or more.
Each student should have in their possession two crucial pieces of equipment: strong
work gloves and boots, preferably waterproof, that can get very muddy. And, a big smile!
The Restoration Site Locations can be found on Google Maps HERE:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=39.56772,84.756947&spn=0.107451,0.222473&t=h&z=13&msid=20951303172970057301
9.0004995d4f909419b1cec
--T. the new Talawanda High School acreage south of Oxford; the high school land is
147 acres total; Tom has been working for a year with Talawanda people to ecologically
restore the land, which was sold by the retired farming Erik family at a favorable price to
the school district, and prepare it for outdoor science education; current schedule has the
new school open in January 2012; and NGO called the Erik Sustainability Initiative (ESI
http://www.eriksustainability.info/) has been created to focus energies on enhancing the
ecological sustainability potential of this very large high school campus; student teams
working on one of the four high school projects described below will be expected to
interface with the ESI team and work synergistically (4 projects)
- T1. wetland restoration: the site is a cattail & phragmites-dominated natural
wetland; these invasive species need to be removed manually and/or with a
Roundup method previously tested by instructors; replace invasive species with
native wetland plants; this wetland is one of several natural or enhanced wetlands
on the site; plans are for high school students to monitor water quality above and
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below wetlands in relation to various other land uses such as impervious,
agricultural, and natural.
- T2. hardwood forest restoration and native wildflower monitoring: removal of
bush honeysuckle & other invasive species from approximately 1-2 acre, in a
prominent forested location as demonstration site for future additional woodland
naturalization & spring wildflower enhancement; requires significant manual
labor & the use of chainsaw; working with our Talawanda partners, we have
located a portion of the forested land that is most visible to the public, and
contains impressive stands of native hardwoods; it is also overwhelmed with
honeysuckle and therefore needs to be cleaned in order for the spring wildflowers
to thrive; by the end of the semester the positive results of this work should be
seen in the vibrant emergence of spring wildflowers which have been squelched
by honeysuckle; work should also include an inventory of native hardwoods,
spring wildflowers, and invasives removed
- T3. water quality monitoring – the project is to further develop this on-going
data collection project involving the Butler County Stream Team
http://www.butlercountystreamteam.org/ and the approximately 10 sampling
locations strategically distributed throughout the 147 acres high school site; water
samples are collected in the morning of each second Saturday of the month; the
need is to further integrate THS teachers & students into the project so that they
will have stewardship over it into the future and can track the water quality
changes over time in relation to the various runoff conditions; invasive
honeysuckle removal is needed for improved access to several of the 10 collection
points; work will include assembling water quality analysis results and
interpretations in a form accessible to the general public, including high school
science students.
–T4. stream riparian corridor restoration project along Lick Run, which flows
extensively through the wooded portion of the new high school land; bush
honeysuckle and other invasive species removal; creation of revetments along
vulnerable stream banks to retain soil and create opportunities for native trees to
reestablish; planting some native species such as dogwoods along stream banks;
perhaps other methods to slow down the water, thus decreasing its erosion power
and increasing its percolation; signage to describe project. See our course reading
on how to starve or feed a river for additional ideas.
– WRA. Native plantings at the MU WRA cabin site (1 project)
- Project is to remove turf grass (through the use of Roundup and possibly other
methods) & replace it with native plants along the lane that extends from OxfordMilford Road back to the WRA Cabin. Students will work with Jeff Prater &
Danny Bertsch from Physical Facilities/Grounds; they have stopped mowing
WRA but it is still all predominantly alien turf grass. They desire to reduce the
costs associated with the typical 18 mowings per year of the approximately 750
acres of lawn on Miami University campus; this WRA cabin site is one of the first
where mowing has ceased; they would like to see more acreage go unmowed in
the future, but need support on alternative land uses, and obviously native
plantings are the ideal substitute; thus this project site will serve as a model for
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how turfgrass can be replaced with native plants in order to reduce costs and
enhance the environment.
- from the MU Natural Areas web site:
“Women's Recreational Association and Cabin Area
This twenty-six acre tract of land is north of Bachelor and Reinhart Reserves and
is located on Oxford-Milford Road [just north of Bonham Road & on the west
side]. One half of the land is a mature woodlands providing access to Harker's
Run Creek. The other half of the land is an excellent example of old-field
succession. A circular trail rewards hikers with the pleasures of the scenic
woods.” http://www.units.muohio.edu/naturalareas/trails/#wra
-- D. the Miami University Natural Areas: the Dewitt cabin area. The Dewitt cabin is
the oldest existing building in Oxford Township, occupied by the Dewitt family in 1809
when they purportedly told wandering and inquiring Miami University trustees that the
ideal location for a new University should be up the hill about a half a mile to the west.
Because of this tremendously important historical location, and the fact that it is located
within the Miami University Natural Areas, ecological restoration projects have been
undertaken near to it in recent years. The ecological projects complement the historical
building, creating a more historically accurate landscape that includes both buildings, as
often is the case in historical preservation, but also more representative natural
landscapes of Ohio prior to massive European settlement (4 projects)
- D1. enhancing the current prairie, created in 2004. Funded by an Audubon-athome grant, Dr Klak led a group of collaborators who created a 1 acre prairie
behind the Dewitt cabin in the spring of 2004. The site has been an island of
biodiversity richness ever since, but like the original restoration project by Aldo
Leopold at the University of Wisconsin called the Curtis Prairie, it needs constant
maintenance and management. Until now efforts to fight back alien species
invasion have been piecemeal and unorganized. One objective for this project is
to define a solid prairie management plan for the site. While the prairie planting
was successful, the site would also benefit much from the introduction of a greater
range of native prairie plants. Alien species need to be systematic addressed. The
whole effort needs to be written up and well documented with photos.
- for more information please consult the Dewitt prairie site, which is part
of the the Miami University Natural Areas website:
http://www.units.muohio.edu/naturalareas/Miami_University_Natural_Ar
eas/Teaching_%26_Research.html
- D2. converting an additional contiguous ~acre to native prairie (that is now
primarily overgrown fescue) to native prairie. Project is to remove turf grass
(through the use of Roundup and possibly other methods) & replace it with native
prairie in a method similar to that which occurred in 2004 in the contiguous
existing prairie acre. Students will work with Jeff Prater & Danny Bertsch from
Physical Facilities/Grounds; they have stopped mowing but it is still all
predominantly alien turf grass. They desire to reduce the costs associated with the
typical 18 mowings per year of the approximately 750 acres of lawn on Miami
University campus; they would like to see more acreage go unmowed in the
future, but need support on alternative land uses, and obviously native prairie is
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an ideal substitute; thus this project site will serve as a model for how turfgrass
can be replaced with native plants in a wider range of locations on Miami
University lands, in order to reduce costs, enhance the environment, and teach
about nurturing the land through purposeful actions and restored landscapes.
- for more information please consult the Dewitt prairie site described
above
- D3 & D4. 2 teams will implement native plant landscaping projects near the
new bird blind. In 2010 a team of three architecture majors stepped forward to
design and build an aesthetically pleasing and highly functional bird blind near
the Dewitt cabin. They drew financial support and other contributions from an
impressive array of people and institutions. Since then Jim Reid, the manager of
the Natural Areas, has worked to reintroduce a range of native plant species in the
landscaping within the fenced area (perhaps 1 acre in size) surrounding the bird
blind. We have identified two priority areas for aesthetically pleasing native plant
landscaping. These two sites are on either side of the walkway as one enters the
fenced area on the way to the bird blind. Student teams are to identify and install
the appropriate and available native plant species for such a landscape, creating
aesthetically pleasing vistas, and to specify a maintenance plan for the future.
-- IC. Indian Creek Nature Reserve (ICNR 2 projects) – Ann Geddes’ land includes
~250 acres, and is continuous to several hundred more acres along Indian Creek of
protected land in other 3 Valley Conservation Trust easements or public lands; together
these lands form one of the most significant and sorely needed corridors of protected
natural lands in western Butler County; the protected land corridor particularly unique for
the way it synergistically combines private and public land along one of our most
important riparian corridors. Of the 14 projects, the two located on the Geddes land are
the most open-ended at this moment. This is to allow the projects to be further specified
within the context of the huge array of ICNR habitats conditions and restoration needs,
and through interactions between the students, the instructors, and Ann Geddes, one of
our region’s most foresighted and committed conservation leaders.
- IC1. wetland restoration & rehabilitation project: the site is a cattail-dominated
created wetland; these invasive species need to be removed manually and/or with
a Roundup method previously tested by instructors; replace invasive species with
native wetland plants; this wetland is one of several recently created on the site
that complement an array of natural landscape features including native prairies,
oak savannas, and hardwood forests.
- IC2. hardwood forest restoration and native wildflower
monitoring/documenting: removal of bush honeysuckle & other invasive species
from approximately 1-2 acre, in a forested location as a contribution to future
additional woodland naturalization & spring wildflower enhancement; requires
significant manual labor & the use of chainsaw; the land contains impressive
stands of native hardwoods; it is also overwhelmed with honeysuckle and
therefore needs to be cleaned in order for the spring wildflowers to thrive; by the
end of the semester the positive results of this work should be seen in the vibrant
emergence of spring wildflowers which have been squelched by honeysuckle;
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work should also include an inventory of native hardwoods, spring wildflowers,
and invasives removed
-- E. Edge of the Farm Conservation Area (EFCA; 2 projects)- This conservation area,
under conservation easement protection, was established in 2008 by Hays Cummins &
Donna McCollum. The protected area, about 23 acres, is adjacent to over 200 acres of
woods. There are 5 constructed wetlands (built in the summer, 2007 and 2008), tall and
short grass prairie (planted on June 2, 2008), and hardwood forest. Funding for the many
ecological restoration projects was provided by the landowners, US Fish & Wildlife, JF
New, and Pheasants Forever. Much of the invasive honeysuckle has been removed and
wild flowers are quickly becoming established.
To view a photo gallery of the history of the reserve, go here:
http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/edge-farm/TOC.html
- E1. Prairie Restoration of land contiguous to the EFCA
- Design and Implement the prairie restoration of a private 1.5 acre
landscape on a site contiguous to the Edge of the Farm Conservation Area,
which is permanently protected by the Three Valley Conservation Trust.
Hays bush-hogged and sprayed the acreage in the fall to better prepare the
land for the upcoming work this spring. Bill Vollmer (a local farmer) has
offered his tractor and seeder for this project. Your group will produce a
restoration vision that turns this bare land into a native landscape.
- E2. Wetland restoration at EFCA – In the fall, 2010, we received funding from
JF New to install a water control structure on Rush Run wetland. Two main goals
are to better regulate water levels in the wetland and promote aquatic plant
diversity thru the development of a water level ‘regulation plan’ and the intensive
planting of native aquatic species.
- native plant enhancement in context of fluctuating water levels owing to
newly installed water control structure
-- G1. Native Plant Landscaping project on exurban land owned by Marge & Gary
Glaser near Camden Ohio (1 project)
- G1. The Glasers made a contribution to support the work of the 3 Valley
Conservation Trust, which has permanently protected around 11,000 acres of land
in our area over the past decade, in exchange for a native plant garden. Dr Klak
has been auctioning off such gardens for about 10 years now, and has created
about 20 of them for different urban and suburban landowners across our region;
students have sometimes worked on these projects, as in this case, and learned
about this effective fund-raising technique that simultaneously restores the earth;
such projects are a great way to expand native habitat & biodiversity, and to bring
patches of wildness, in aesthetically pleasing landscaped forms, on smaller land
parcels in urban neighborhood settings
- the native plant garden will complement a home that has recently be ecoretrofitted with geothermal heating & many other impressive sustainability
features. Thus the native landscaping product project blends beautifully with a
wider sustainability demonstration effort by the Glasers, who are also very active
in the local food movement.
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Some additional topics & readings relevant to conceptualizing ERPs:
-- Gene Logsdon, northern Ohio-based restoration ecologist
- His inspiring blog: http://organictobe.org/index.php/category/gene-logsdon-blog/
- a list of his articles and books: http://organictobe.org/?page_id=251
- this one is important: http://organictobe.org/index.php/2009/01/06/knowing-ones-place/
-- Analysis of Lawnscapes: Why do ecological restoration practitioners loath them?
- Wright “The Dandelion King” (website)
- Robbins and Birkenholtz “Turfgrass Revolution” (website)
-- Traditional Ecological Perspectives in Miami Culture (previous occupants of local land,
now revitalizing their culture & healing their land)
- Miami Tribe 2007 “A Miami View of Land: Our Ecological Perspective” (website)
- Study materials on the Myaamia Project web site (www.myaamiaproject.org/) to gain
further appreciation of the Miami Tribe’s cultural/ecological resource agenda.