{"id":70014,"date":"2016-07-18T14:08:15","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T21:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=70014"},"modified":"2016-07-18T14:08:15","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T21:08:15","slug":"week-at-the-plant-materials-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=70014","title":{"rendered":"Week at the Plant Materials Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being in Alaska with the Bureau of Land Management, I get a lot of questions about what I do. In truth, I do a lot of different tasks. As a part of my job, I work with other organizations such as the University of Alaska Anchorage\u2019s Natural Heritage Program, the Anchorage Botanic Garden, and the Plant Materials Center in Palmer. This week, I\u2019m at the Plant Materials Center (PMC for short), weeding the fields of native plants and prepping a greenhouse to withstand an onslaught of summertime insects.<\/p>\n

\"Pioneer

Pioneer Peak in Palmer, Alaska overlooks the work done at the Plant Materials Center<\/p><\/div>\n

The PMC receives wild collected native seeds, cleans and stores it, and then grows fields of needed species. This ensures that commercial growers receive enough seed to make a full crop, which can then be used for restoration operations. There simply isn\u2019t enough wild seed to supply the demand of restoration efforts around mining operations and after wildfires. By growing the seed that Seeds of Success collects, much more seed is produced that can then jumpstart larger scale production.<\/p>\n

\"A

A field of native plants grown from wild seed collections by the Bureau of Land Management<\/p><\/div>\n

I have been removing dandelions (Taraxacum officinale<\/em>) and foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum<\/em>) from in between the rows of natives in one such field. The biggest issue with the weeds is that they can contaminate the native seed. As we collect the native seed, it\u2019s possible to accidently pick up some of the weed seed, leading to a lot of issues with the cleaning and then use of that collection. There\u2019s nothing quite as horrifying as seeding for native species and getting dandelions instead.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve really enjoyed what time I\u2019ve gotten to spend out at the PMC. Not only is the work engaging and worthwhile, the people are welcoming and generous. I feel extremely lucky to have this opportunity of working here. There\u2019s also picturesque mountains in the background, which only adds to the experience.<\/p>\n

Anchorage, Alaska Field Office, Bureau of Land Management<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being in Alaska with the Bureau of Land Management, I get a lot of questions about what I do. In truth, I do a lot of different tasks. As a part of my job, I work with other organizations such … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7316,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70014"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70694,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70014\/revisions\/70694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}