By Drew Chaney Naturalist and Botanist, Central Virginia As you walk up the hill, you see a gap in the canopy. A sloping outcrop of bedrock lies before you, bordered by gnarled cedars, dwarf hackberries with smooth, cool gray branches, and the olive-green ground cover of the hairy lip fern. You step into the clearing […]
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Notes From the Field: Ecosystem Modeling Under Geological Constraints at Quarry Gardens
21
Nov
Nov
By Ezra Staengl, Center for Urban Habitats The Quarry Gardens property was used as a soapstone quarry between the 1950s and 1970s. After the soapstone industry abandoned it, the community used it as a dump until Armand and Bernice Thieblot bought it in 1991. In 2014 the Thieblots embarked on a mission to create a […]
27
Oct
Oct
Luna moth wrapped in a leaf Thinking about “cleaning up” those autumn native flora? Hold that thought! I will nearly always encourage actions in the landscaping arena that strike a balance between conserving biodiversity and satisfying human aesthetics. Gratefully, modern gardening and landscaping aesthetics are looking to local contexts more, and relying upon observation, inquiry, […]
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Notes From the Field: Khabira Wise’s Gardens, A Story of Native Ecosystem Modeling
09
Oct
Oct
By Ezra Staengl, Center for Urban Habitats Khabira Wise’s gardens in northern Albemarle County are a stunning example of the Center for Urban Habitat’s (CUH) unique approach to landscaping through native ecosystem modeling. When planning a garden, CUH considers factors such as geology, elevation, aspect, and lighting in order to decide which native plant community […]
By Ezra Staengl, Center for Urban Habitats We looked around at the hard greens and browns of the heath, breathing in the crisp morning air. Today, despite being only late July, was one of the first days that you could begin to smell the cool, musty scents of fall. The Center for Urban Habitats was […]
Some Basic Concepts as employed by Center for Urban Habitats Paying attention to local natural systems teaches us how to bring forth the hidden potential of nature in areas where others have lost hope. –D.Floyd Plants grow where they grow for a reason. In order to adequately accomplish so-called “Native” landscape design and installation, CUH […]
08
May
May
Surveys for flora and fauna are turning up evidence of the changing seasons, along with some new finds. Below is a list of birds documented on mountainous terrain immediately south of Charlottesville by the bird team during the past couple of weeks. The tree swallow to the left was noted during survey at Quarry Gardens […]
03
Feb
Feb
Preliminary survey planning has begun at a number of sites, and we are excited to be in the woods again! Ezra, Rachel, and I were the survey team on Tuesday. Our goals during preliminary survey during the winter months are focused on identifying unique plant communities. This helps us to prepare for growing-season efforts to […]
31
Jan
Jan
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus purpureus) Ezra was the sole member of the Bird Team on the second effort of the week. The first half of the day was chilly and windy, and Ezra covered a wide variety of habitats from upland ridgelines to deep ravines. US-Virginia-Charlottesville-38.0x-78.5, Albemarle, Virginia, USJan 31, 2017 8:05 AM – 12:05 […]
30
Jan
Jan
5 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) were noted Ezra, Theo and Joanna performed a half day survey of Avian Fauna at one of our ongoing biological inventory sites. Their goal was to begin the documentation of winter-time species. Quarry Gardens, Schuyler, VA, Nelson, Virginia, USJan 30, 2017 8:33 AM – 12:13 PMProtocol: Traveling2.0 mile(s)23 species Canada […]