For several decades Dane County Parks has collected wildflower seeds from remnant prairies, the Curtis Prairie at the UW Arboretum, and restorations in our park land. From the beginning volunteers have been an integral part of this program. A thousand volunteers can collect a lot in a relatively short amount of time! If you’ve been reading this newsletter for any length of time, you probably are already aware of the important role seed collecting plays in the work we do. As a category, projects relating to seeds, their collection, preparation and planting, accounted for over 2,000 volunteer hours last year alone.
What is it about these seed projects that is so appealing? Being out in the middle of a prairie on a beautiful fall day, the sun shining in a blue sky and the grasshoppers humming, getting to know the plants on a more personal basis, for starters. Some people appreciate the opportunity to literally get off the beaten path and have a “Little House on the Prairie” experience (the appeal seems unrelated to age).
Working with seeds is very hopeful work. Maybe nature will take the course we’d like and the seeds will germinate and grow. Maybe nature will take a less fruitful course (though that’s in the eye of the beholder) and the prairie will be over-run with wild parsnip. We all know that seeds contain life, and nurturing life along is very rewarding. We also know that the vagaries of nature guarantee that the results are somewhat of a gamble. That’s where the hope comes in. Ever-hopeful gardeners are all gambler by nature. Similarly, volunteers who scatter seeds on a bare field to start a new prairie are dyed-in-the-wool optimists. It takes some imagination to make the connection between that bare field, the seeds blowing around and the ideal of a colorful prairie in full bloom.
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In 1998 volunteers spent over 2,300 hours collecting, cleaning and scattering wildflower seeds. Seed collection brought in 109 species, which weighed out to 430 lbs of clean seed, 100 lbs of prairie grass seed, and another 150 lbs of partially cleaned seed. Total value, for those species we are able to evaluate, is between $60,000 and $70,000.
An interesting statistic: last year we collected 40 lbs of white indigo; this year only 1.5 lbs! What accounts for the dramatic decline? Rain at the wrong time for proper seed development, parasites and fungus are some possibilities. In addition, these things can run in cycles; the plants may have little energy left after the previous year’s output. The vagaries of nature are often unknowable.
Some other interesting tidbits: it takes 3,680,000 prairie cinquefoil seeds to make a pound, but only 10,560 compass plant seeds to make a pound. Nine pounds of common milkweed is worth $675, but 6.5 pounds of shooting star is worth $4,875!
Our thanks to the many volunteers who helped with cleaning and weighing seeds since last December: Pat Hitchcock, Earl Hazeltine, Robert & Jackie Geimer, Jonathon Rooney, Jack Borders, Mary Spaay, Norma Ball, Donna Fisker, Elaine & Jerry Bayuk, Harland Smith, Peggy Traver, Sal & Marcelle Gamboro, Cindy Cary, Ruth Fahnestock, Janet Kane, Guerdon Coombs, Mary Burek-Faber, Ed Loomis, and READI members (coordinated by Earl Strutz) Howard Endres, Erv & Florence Smith, Ray Griesbach, Paul Griesbach, Karl & Mary Ann Kleemann, Merle & Angie Goth, and “Pete” Peterson. |
