I have noticed a large amount of areas that are degrading in quality for trash, invasive organisms (mostly plants) and of various other reasons. I have been thinking on ways to help the native organisms, and this is what I have come up with. What if a Group of inatralists worked together to remove invasives and restore the habitat? I can think of a dozen or more high quality area that are worth trying to save, all of them are in danger of being lost. Some of these are on power company land, that is one of the obstacles. If anyone thinks this is a good idea and would be willing to do something to help that would be very much appreciated, I don’t know for sure if this will be possible but the more people willing to try the more likely I feel like it will be. If you have read this far thank you.
Ecological/Habitat restoration is a common volunteer activity in my area. You might try using those keywords + wherever you live to see if there are any existing groups. If not, reach out to your local landowning agencies (e.g. city parks, county, state, forest preserves, etc) to see if they have a volunteer program.
I spend most of the summer clearing invasive bracken and Himalayan balsam from high quality habitat near Tregarth, North Wales. If any iNaturalists or anyone else would like to help, they would be very welcome.
Since most of us here probably don’t live near you, your best path is to get involved with a local group that does restoration / conservation work, as @bouteloua said.
Most such groups are always looking for volunteer help.
@Brycetheplant, I don’t know what part of WI you’re in, but a quick Google for habitat restoration projects in the state turns up several possibilities. Maybe check with both the state and county DNR to see what options are open to volunteers. Then maybe report back here with what you find?
I also echo everyone else’s recommendations. Connect with a local conservancy and see where they’re doing restoration work.
My 2 cents in regards to wanting to remove invasives is to learn how to properly remove invasives and when and what to replace them with. Pollinators (especially generalist ones) are depending on that invasive plant for food source, in the absence of the native plants that should be growing there, so removing large stands of flowering plants you are removing that food source.
It’s better to go one section at a time and observe if there is any ecological memory and what native plants pop up. If there is no ecological memory then seeding the area with plants that would normally grow there to replace what you’ve removed would be best.
I absolutely would do that with very careful advice.
There is an earlier thread where someone used a commercial seed mix. Then regretted adding the stuff you needed to be weeding OUT in the first place.
It is hugely rewarding to see fynbos species returning from the seedbank in the soil, after decades of pine plantation.
I have read that thread and had similar experiences. Now I don’t trust “native” seed mixes and make them myself, with seed from trusted sources (my backyard).
I’m part of a non-profit trying to buy 96 acres here in Leon County, Florida. 20 acres of which would become a green cemetery. The rest would be in a conservation easement that would be managed to restore the native forest. My fantasy is that we would have bio blitzes periodically, maybe four times a year, to monitor the species as we go through this process. I envision this as a long term project. Any Inaturalists interested in what we are doing please contact me.
