Monday at the 100th Meeting of the Ecological Society of America

I last attended a meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting in 2005.  That year, a few of my graduate students and I travelled to Montreal, Canada to present our research on insect diversity in New York City gardens.  I enjoyed reconnecting with friends and colleagues, but I left feeling like the ESA didn't have a place for us or our developing research program in urban ecology.

Fast forward 10 years:  I was thrilled to see that this year's meeting ~ the 100th meeting of the ESA ~ was full of opportunities to learn from and network with ecologists, engineers, geographers, designers, sociologists, educators and spiritual leaders who are keenly invested and involved in understanding how to build more sustainable, just and healthy cities.

What did I learn from #ESA100?  What inspired me?  Over the next few days, I'll put together my day-by-day impressions.  First up . . .

Monday, August 10, 2015

I started my morning by slipping into the Plenary session. Esteemed ecologists David Tilman and Margaret Palmer were joined by former US Representative and current Chief Executive of AAAS Rush Holt to set the stage for a conversation on 'what will a successful environmental agenda look like for the next 5, 10, 100 years?'.

Notables from the plenary session:

• David Tilman on ethanol:  'I thought we'd be hard pressed to make a fuel worse than gasoline, but we've done it'.
• David Tilman on the importance of agriculture to sustainability: suggested that to feed the world while conserving biodiversity, we need modern, precision agriculture and a healthier diet.
• David Tilman on the impact of diet on the environment:  asked a rhetorical question 'how can we convince 11 billion people to change their diet?', and suggested that a Nobel Prize should go the chef who can create healthy, delicious and sustainable dishes.
• Rush Holt on the status of science, today:  'Americans have lost their reverence for evidence.'
• All speakers noted the importance of making science accessible to all.  I could not help but notice the irony of sitting in a hotel conference room with a mostly white audience . . . not too far from where the Baltimore riots occurred.  I grew up not too far from where we sat.  As a child, I didn't know anyone who was a scientist.  I never would have believed that *I* could be a scientist, if it weren't for a teacher who took the time to cultivate the confidence I needed to believe that a career in science was possible, for a kid like me.  Taking the time to reach out to others, inviting them to participate, and providing them with opportunities, mentoring and support is so incredibly important if we are sincere about diversifying science and the field of ecology.  Judging from the demographics of those at #ESA100, we still have a ways to go.
• POTUS wished the ESA a happy birthday, and thanked ecologists for our contributions to society.  

In the afternoon, I moved between several different sessions.  Some interesting tidbits:

• Lindell et al. 'Birds in orchards: economic, biological, and social aspects of ecosystem services':  birds such as starlings cause a lot of damage to fruit orchards.  The researchers installed nesting boxes to attract kestrels that might help control the fruit-eating birds.  Analysis of kestrel diet showed that they mostly eat insects and mammals, but that they occasionally eat starlings.  They then surveyed consumers to see what type of control they would prefer for pest birds.  Consumers preferred, and would be willing to pay more, for fruit that was protected from pest birds by kestrels . . . compared to the use of pellet guns or other deterrents for bird control.
• Lopez et al. 'Drivers of plant species composition in an urban landscape: which variables matter most?':  looked at plant species composition in forest fragments along an urban gradient. Among other factors, researchers found that distance to urban centers was positively related to the prevalence of invasive species in forest fragments.  This suggests that horticultural use of non-native species played an important role in the introduction of invasive species into forest fragments.
• Thorn et al. 'Quantitative scenarios for land cover change in New Hampshire: what is the potential impact on ecosystem services?':  for this series of simulations, ecosystem service degradation seemed to take hold when the percent of paved surfaces in the landscape surpassed 10%.
• Cattell Noll et all. 'How does consuming organic products affect my nitrogen footprint?': the University of Virginia has developed an online tool that you can use to calculate your nitrogen footprint.  How cool!

Milkweed for Monarchs: does it make sense in Oregon?

(Originally published in the March 2015 issue of The Gardener's Pen newsletter)

Larvae (left) and adult (right) of the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexipuss.  Photo Credit:  Dr. Jeffrey Miller, Oregon State University Professor of Entomology.

Ecology of the Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus,  in the Pacific Northwest:  Monarchs are common on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, but very uncommon on the west side.  Monarch caterpillars feed on milkweed during the early summer.  Adults fly from spring to fall when they migrate south.  Found in open habitats, particularly along roadsides and fencerows. (Adapted from: Miller and Hammond, 2003. Lepidoptera of the Pacific Northwest. USDA FHTET-03-11)

Monarch butterflies are specialist insects, with specialized digestive systems and feeding behaviors that are adapted for feeding on plants in the genus Asclepias (milkweed plants).

Asclepias plants have toxic chemicals (cardiac glycosides) and a latex sap that deters most insect feeding.  Monarchs store the cardiac glycosides in their exoskeleton, which circumvents the need to metabolize these nasty chemicals and also makes them poisonous to vertebrate predators.

The latex sap of milkweeds gums up the mouthparts of many insects ~ causing them to starve.  Monarchs deal with the latex sap by clipping the veins on milkweed leaves, allowing the latex to ‘bleed out’ of the plant before they feed.

Monarch adults are migratory.  East of the Rocky Mountains, monarch butterflies fly south to overwintering sites in Mexico each the fall, and return north in the spring.  Scientists have have noted that overwintering populations of Monarchs in Mexico have significantly declined over the last two decades (Brower et al. 2012).  Three factors have been implicated in the decline of eastern monarchs:  (1) loss of forest habitat in Mexico, where the butterfly overwinters; (2) loss of breeding habitat/milkweed plants in the United States due to land development and increased use of herbicides in Roundup-Ready crop fields; (3) occasional extreme weather conditions that decrease the length of the breeding season.

Known migration routes, breeding territories and overwintering areas for Monarch butterflies.  Map reproduced courtesy of MonarchWatch.org.

Although most North American monarchs overwinter in Mexico, those that live west of the Rocky Mountains generally overwinter at one more than 300 sites along the California coast.  These monarch ‘groves’ tend to be within a few km of the ocean, which is thought to moderate temperature, and are usually protected from the elements in some fashion.  Unlike eastern monarchs, who may fly thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico, western monarchs usually migrate no more than 100 miles.  Their breeding sites are thought to range as far north as western Canada, and as far south as southern Arizona, in the mountains and foothills of California, the Pacific Northwest and the Great Basin States.  General dogma has been that monarchs may wander into southern Oregon, during their spring migration to breeding sites or their fall migration to overwintering sites in California.  But the truth is, we really don’t know that much about where western monarchs breed.

Still, many groups have advocated that Oregon gardeners plant native milkweed plants to support western monarchs ~ particularly because there has been about an 80% decline in western monarch numbers recorded from California overwintering sites since 1997.  The factors implicated in western monarch decline include:  (1) milkweed loss following prolonged drought, (2) land development that reduces overwintering habitat and/or breeding habitat, and (3) pesticide use.

Does it make sense for Oregon gardeners ~ particularly those in Western Oregon ~ to plant milkweed to support western monarchs, given that conventional dogma suggests that monarchs don’t migrate through or utilize breeding sites in Western Oregon?

I suggest that it can’t hurt for Oregon gardeners to plant milkweed in an effort to support the Western Monarch.  Although monarchs may not be common outside of southern Oregon, what little data there is suggests that monarchs may at least be migrating through ~ and in some cases may be breeding in ~ broad areas of Oregon.  What data do I have to support this assertion?

1. A map of the known and potential monarch breeding areas in the western U.S. includes (as best as I can read) monarch breeding records in Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Harney, Lane, Benton, Washington, Multnomah, Wasco and Deschutes counties.  I do not have access to the data that was used to construct the map, but it appears as if the researchers are relying on museum records.  So, the identified breeding sites probably represent a record of a monarch specimen from a museum, which was collecting during the summer at a particular locale.  If this is true, there are records of summer monarchs in both eastern and western Oregon locales.  These may be ‘vagrants’ that wander off of their migration path, but they may also be breeding adults.
2. The Butterflies and Moths of North America site has user-verified records (with photos) of monarchs reported for nearly every Oregon county.  I was able to access details for the three most recent sitings.  I’ve paraphrased the details of the sitings, below, so that you can see that there is evidence of monarch breeding in southern Oregon (caterpillars in Josephine County) and adult migration through the Willamette Valley (strong adult flights ~ rather than tattered-winged vagrants).
• June 10, 2014, Benton County, OR, one adult monarch sipping nectar from showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa).
• June 21, 2014, Black Bear Bar along a wild and scenic section of the Rogue River, OR.  Monarch caterpillars munching on showy milkweed.
• June 20, 2014, Lane County, OR, one adult monarch flying around and sipping nectar from Buddleia.  Flight was strong and direct.  Perhaps a migrant. Over the past few years, several organizations have been promoting the planting of milkweed plants, in order to provide host plants for monarch butterflies.
3. The adults I've seen in Oregon (Douglas County, Lane County, Linn County) have had intact wings and scales - not what I expect from strays far from their host plants/flight path.

What type of milkweed should you plant?  Opt for native milkweeds, and avoid tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica).  The Xerces Society has a wonderful publication that details the milkweed plants native to Oregon.  These include:

• Asclepias cordifolia (purple milkweed):  scattered in south and southwest Oregon
• Asclepias cryptoceras ssp. Davisii (Davis’ milkweed): scattered in central and eastern Oregon
• Asclepias fascicularis (narrow-leaved milkweed):  scattered across Oregon
• Asclepias speciosa (showy milkweed):  widespread across Oregon

You will most easily be able to find seed of Asclepias speciosa from local nurseries, who may also have Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed, native to the Eastern US) and Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed, native to Europe).  Asclepias tuberosa and Asclepias syriaca, like many milkweeds, can have weedy tendencies.  They are called milkWEEDS, after all.  But, with this weediness comes the potential to invade areas outside of your garden.

Thus, when selecting milkweed, try to stick to native species that are appropriate for your area ~ such as Asclepias speciosa ~ in order to limit the introduction of non-native plants in natural areas.  

Advice for New Extension Master Gardener Coordinators

Congratulations!  You've just been hired to coordinate the Extension Master Gardener Program in your county or region.  The work that you will do has the potential to make a real and positive difference in your community.  Master Gardeners help folks understand how to grow their own food, conserve natural resources, use gardens as living laboratories and natural classrooms, and much, much more.

I love working with Master Gardener volunteers and for Oregon State University Extension. However, I've recently been reminded of just how challenging it can be to coordinate an Extension Master Gardener Program.

To share a bit of my story, my first three months on the job (in 2007), I sincerely thought about quitting  . . . every . . . single . . . day.  Some days, I felt like I was being hazed, or at the very least, tested.

• There was the time I was introduced at a local Master Gardener Association board meeting with a poem that read something like:  'The problem is, the old can't do what they know, and the young don't know what to do'.  

• There were the whispers I heard in corners: 'Who does she think she is?!?  She's overstepping her bounds. She doesn't know what she's doing.'.  

• There were the more direct confrontations (which I sincerely appreciated much more than the whispers in the corners), from folks who were upset that they were not consulted about my hire, and who demanded to see my credentials to make sure that I was qualified.

• There was the time that some members of the Association that I was working with uninvited me to their meetings, and told me that I was not welcome to attend.

Ouch.  I'm not going to lie.  It all hurt.  I had moved cross country to take this position.  By myself.  I felt alone.  I felt small.  I felt a fool for giving up a great job that was much nearer to my family ~ to start a new life where I didn't seem to be welcomed.

Despite all of this, I can now say that I love the Master Gardener Program and the great work that University Extension and our volunteers do together.  We really do help to make the world a better place by gardening.

For example, in 2012, 400 people were surveyed about their experience with Master Gardener classes.  Folks reported that they have taken steps to attract beneficial insects into their garden (64%), are more tolerant of spiders in the garden (58%), planted a pest-resistant cultivar (71%), decreased or eliminated pesticide use (68%), disposed of a pesticide at a community hazardous waste removal event (54%), and are more tolerant of insect pests (58%) as a direct result of what they have learned in our classes. Still, in those early days, I could have used some advice on how to survive and thrive in a challenging position.

When I Googled 'advice for new Master Gardener coordinators', nothing came up that fit what I was looking for.  Thus, I thought I would write my own little advice column ~ to communicate those things I wish I would have known when I first started, or to share those things that have helped me to survive and thrive in my current position.

If you're a Master Gardener coordinator, please feel free to add your own advice in the comments.

1)  Know that you're not alone!:  I initially thought that the fact that there seemed to be so much discontent meant that I was a failure.  But then I started talking to others, and realized that my experience was fairly typical.  I've found the National Extension Master Gardener Coordinators Community to be particularly valuable for support and professional development.  They have a listserve, host a conference for Master Gardener coordinators (every even year), host monthly webinars on professional development topics, and much, much more!

Talk to your colleagues, and cultivate your support network ~ locally, regionally and nationally.  They can be great resources for information, advice and understanding.

2)  Not everyone thinks you're awful at everything!:  I also initially thought that I was doing a fantastic job of upsetting just about every volunteer that I worked with.  And then I realized that the discontent seemed to be coming from a very small portion of the volunteers that I worked with.  In fact ~ according to the feedback that I was getting from anonymous evaluations of my classes ~ most people seemed to think I added value to their education.  According to my annual reviews and peer evaluations of my efforts, I seemed to be doing a decent job.

Look for objective reviews of your work ~ to find those areas where you may improve and to celebrate those areas where you've had success.

3)  Stay mission-focused:  In Oregon, we have a mission for the Master Gardener Program, as well as for Oregon State University Extension.  Let your organizational mission(s) guide your activities, collaborations and decisions.  Not everyone will like every decision that you make. But, if you can get people to understand the importance of staying mission-focused (particularly where limited financial and human resources make it impossible to take on every good project) ~ folks may be able to understand that a decision they don't like isn't personal.  Decisions are being made using the mission as a guide.

Make sure you have a solid understanding of your organizational mission(s), and use the mission(s) as a guide when making decisions and when making long-term programmatic plans.

4)  Become familiar with 'Founder's Syndrome':  No matter the context or the organization, change is often difficult.  Professors Paula Huff and Sue Pleskac wrote a fantastic article on Founders Syndrome in Volunteer Organizations ~ what it is and how to approach the issue in a way that helps organizations move forward.  And, Dr. Huff was kind enough to give a webinar on Founders Syndrome to the Extension Master Gardener Coordinators in September 2013.  I think that this webinar should be required viewing for all new Master Gardener Coordinators!

Take time to view the webinar!  You won't be sorry.  [The content on Founder's Syndrome starts at around 5 minutes, if you want to fast forward.]

5)  Take time to listen and learn before making drastic changes:  Sometimes, drastic changes need to be made right away.  But, I was a new coordinator, coming from out of town, who had never worked in Extension before.  My personal rule for myself was to take 1 year to travel around the state (my position is a statewide position), listen and learn.  I wanted to give folks a chance to get to know me, and I wanted to get to know them and the program.  I **think** that taking this time helped folks to better trust me and my judgement.

Don't be shy.  Get involved.  Get to know people.  Develop an understanding of what is going on (and how long it has been going on), to see where you can celebrate established successes as well as where you can provide value.  

6)  Understand roles, policies, expectations:  The Extension Master Gardener Program is probably a program of your local Land-Grant Institution.  In Oregon, I am tasked with making sure that the Extension Master Gardener Program follows applicable policies and procedures of Oregon State University.  I also serve as, and work with, content experts in a variety of fields to ensure that our educational resources are up-to-date and research-based.  If a problem occurs in the Master Gardener Program, it ultimately falls at the feet of Oregon State University.  With ultimate responsibility for the program also comes ultimate authority.  This has sometimes created problems with the 501(c)3 that was founded to support the work of the Extension Master Gardener Program in Oregon.  There is sometimes confusion over roles and responsibilities.  I've tried to clarify this by writing out roles and responsibilities for the Extension Master Gardener program in Oregon (page 21 in this publication).  Nonetheless ~ issues still arise.

Help people to see that working with Extension has many benefits (e.g. access to high quality educational opportunities, and to local and statewide experts in the field) ~ but also comes with many responsibilities (e.g. insurance, legal, procedural) that must be followed. Once again ~ it's not personal.  

7)  Remember that You're AWESOME!:  This can be hard to remember, when it seems like you have someone telling you that you're not at all awesome.  But, you were likely hired after a rigorous and competitive search that involved University personnel, Master Gardeners and other stakeholders.  You were hired because you have a valuable and important set of well-developed skills that will serve the program well.  Be thoughtful about how you can leverage your skills to improve the program and to do the most good.  For myself ~ I eventually realized my training as a scientist could benefit the program.  I thus work hard to read the primary literature on a regular basis, and to update my talks to reflect the latest science.  I also realized that I needed to improve my leadership skills, and have worked hard to do so at every opportunity.

Don't let yourself get down.  Remember that YOU were hired for a reason.  YOU have important skills and can and will make important contributions to the program.

8)  Have a life outside of work:  Working in Extension can be all-consuming.  We often work outside of regular business hours.  We often take work home or work on the weekends.  Take the time to develop friendships, hobbies and fun outside of work.  This can be hard to do ~ but it is so incredibly important.  Because I love my job so much, I had a really bad habit of doing it all the time.  But my sister would always remind me that 'those folks at work won't be pushing you in your wheelchair when you get older.'  Over time, I've learned to draw a line in the sand.  I will not let my job negatively impact my marriage.  I will not let my job negatively impact my health.  And if I feel like my job is encroaching on one or both of those things, I take the time to re-orient my priorities.

Take time for you.  Do things you love.  Find friends, confidantes and hobbies outside of work.