In addition to the valuable career experience gained through the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Conservation and Land Management (CLM) Internship program, there are plenty of good times to be had as a CLM intern! Check it out–this is a brief overview of an exciting program which engages CLM interns in a significant nationwide conservation effort. More information can be found at the following website: www.nps.gov/plants/SOS.
PARTICIPATION IN THE SEEDS OF SUCCESS (SOS) PROGRAM. This conservation effort primarly involves collecting seeds of native plants to develop native plant material for restoration purposes. Collecting the seeds of some chaparral species–coffeeberry, toyon, fairy-lantern, and redbud–in the Sierra foothills of central California have been enjoyable, but I can’t say that for all of them like tarweed/rosinweed and hollyleaf redberry, which leave your hands sticky or slimy and scratched, respectively. Another part of the SOS program has been collecting voucher specimens.
Collecting coffeeberry fruits (Frangula californica)
Drying fruits of toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
Fruits and seeds of white fairy's lantern (Calochortus albus)
Sun revealing seeds inside the fruit of western redbud (Cercis orbiculata)
Sticky rosinweed (Calycadenia multiglandulosa)...yes, it is sticky!
Fruits and seeds of hollyleaf redberry (Rhamnus ilicifolia)
Counting seeds to determine an estimate of the total number collected
Pressing voucher specimens of creeping sage (Salvia sonomensis)