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MrFlyTrap2

OMG h8 pings
The past week has been one that I won't forget in a long time.

During vacation I planned to update my original post as I went though the days. That quickly surfaced to be quite difficult. There was simply too much that I wanted to share, I couldn't put it to words fast enough and be ready for the next day at the same time.

Traveling from Illinois to Virgina I opted for traveling by train. The path followed a lot of geographic features of the united states that I had never seen before. I figured the train would be the best way to see the country. In the end I was right, however both going and coming home took about 28 hours. A lot of time lost, but still a good experience none the less.



Upon arriving from the train, I was greeted by one of the other interns Nick, Phil Sheridan was out at the airport picking up another intern, Rebecca, that was flying in from Canada. Sadly I arrived at night and couldn't get a good look around. But that just made the morning even more of a surprise.



Bed after bed, Sarracenia after Sarracenia. It was amazing, never before have I seen so many mature plants. The research station where I was staying is the off site cultivation and propegation location of specific genetic lines. Many of these plants were saved from sites that are now extinct. Hopefully in time, they may find a new, location apprerate, home back into the wild. Some have already been reintroduced! But for now these continue to grow in the saftey of the research station.







Our work started immediately, there is hardly a day of rest as there is always something to do. A local school summer program was stopping by to learn more about carnivorous plants. Phil, along with all of the interns got to speak about their experiences with carnivorous plants. This was turely a heart warming experience to see the exticement, "oohs" and "aahs" of seeing these plants in person. It reminded me of my own experiences of seeing these plants for the first time.



The next day we lent a hand at repotting venus flytrap seedlings. These seedlings will some day grow into mature plants that help fund the research station along with the Joseph Pines Preserve.



Here's Phil and me, bundling up 100 older venus fly traps to ship out.


Along with all the daily work that everyone was putting in, I did manage to sneak away for some great photos.

These are growing along the pond of the research station.




This little guy stopped for a photo before being eaten. :x


But the most important element of Meadowview, and the reason for it's existance is the preservation of Sarracenia in the wild. We got to spend one day visiting two habitats of Sarracenia growing in the wild. First was a VDOT site that Phil and volunteers lend time and effort in helping manage.

In this photo, Nick is pointing out how Sarras die in natural habitat. In the past, wild fires kept woody growth at bay, keeping Meadows around swamps free and open. Civilation today fights wild fires full force for obvious reasons. It's amazing how one tree will kill an enitre population of Sarracenia. It's nature fighting nature. This day, we lent our hands at being an artificial fire. Cutting away sapling trees, bushes, and other growth so that these plants have a fighting chance.







 
And next up was the Joseph Pines Preserve. This Preserve is a 300 acres of land purchased by Meadow view as a protected space, a protected habitat for the reintroduction of lost genetic lines. (now only kept in cultivation) Even while at the preserve you can hear the humming of construction at the new sub-division awaiting expansion into the surrounding vanishing habitat. Here Phil helps organize controlled fires, which simulate the scorching of land. A lost routine of nature. These fires, while devastating at first glance, are paving the way for these endangered plants along with the long leaf pine.





Even on the horizon of destruction, new life is on the way. Can you tell what the tiny yellow dots are?







Wild seedlings, beginning to start their own foot print. Nature picking up where we once cut it off.





One of the last days at Meadowview left me with a great sunrise that I defiantly will return to.



It's heart warming to understand that there are those out there such as Phil who dedicate so much time, effort and money to the plants that we take for granted in our collections. Sometimes it's easy to forget about where these come from and the help that they need for us to exist in the wild, as we move into their home at a steady rate.

But Phil can't do it alone, he needs the help of others, of the volunteers who will give back to the plants that we keep with such passion here on the forum.



If you ever have a couple of days to spare, I can guarantee they can be put to good use here. In return you'll have plenty of good memories to come home with!

But like all good things, my week went by in a flash and my ride home was on time to pick me up. (well no it wasn't, it was 8 mins late, to start my 28 hour ride home)





But at least I had my mini, "welcome home!" crew waiting for me when I arrived. 8)


Thank you Meadowview, I'll be back soon!
Nathan
 
wow nice photos
sad about the habitat destruction however
looks like you had some fun though
beautiful sarr pictures. cant wait to go back to florida now and visit some family members...get another opprotunity to see them natural. i never paid mind to them while i lived there. guess i never noticed em until now that i think about them.
 
:)

Wow! I went to visit Meadowview the last time I visited my mom, on 12-21-07. It is very interesting to see everything all dormant in my pics and then all flowering and full in yours, nice pics by the way! I didn't see any pics of his greenhouse, did you not go in there? I will post some of my Meadowview pics later today :) Ryan and I bought a few neps when we were there, they're doing great! I think I'm going to have to go back this summer. Look out Phil, here we come again! LOL!

-Sara
 
Very nice Nate! Looks like you had a pretty good time. Thanks for sharing your experience :grin:. It is easy to talk of Sarracenia conservation efforts but to actually get out there and do it is truly inspiring. Thank you.
Pipis
 
Wow, that must've been an exciting week you had! I've never seen so much Sarracenias before! Thanks for sharing :D.
 
Haha great photos!:) It was nice meeting you there, glad you had a good time. I still havent made it to Joseph Pines, great looking sarracenia there.
 
Nathan, thanks for sharing the pictures and your experience there. I was able to visit Meadoview in late March of this year. Phil was really nice and gave us a tour of the whole place. The plants were just breaking dormancy and starting to send up flowers. I was still happy and impressed to see all the plants. I'd like to make it back there one more time this year.
 
Great! I think my favorite shot is the little babies poking up through the grass. There is an implied sense of promise and hope there in those tough little guys.

Thanks for the report
 
  • #10
Thanks for turning us on to the pics. As beautiful as these plants can be in our collections, it never ceases to take my breath when I see them in their natural habitat. I try to support Meadowview every chance I get. I am probably going to get some plants from there this week.
 
  • #11
Hey ther MR FT2,
welcome back,
don't have time to look at all th epics tonite got to starst shipping plants to auction winners.
LMO
 
  • #12
Thanks for the replies everyone! I have so many pictures that it was really hard to pick which ones to share without going over board, I have more on my site and will be posting even more soon.

One of the neat things that I managed to do was take video of the place as well. Once I get some free time to work with the, there should be some amazing footage to share!

Nate.
 
  • #13
Yeah, a little late on the reply, but really cool pics. It looks like you had quite the experience. Really really cool photos though.
 
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