All posts by Jessica McDonald

From Sting to Medicine

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Dan the Wasp Man

Dan Scollard getting ready to remove wasps at Bald Hill Farm

Bald Hill Farm recently had a wasp nest removed by the curious and courageous Dan Scollard of Oregon Wasp.

The nest—too close to the farmhouse for comfort—was home to the Bald-Faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculate), the largest wasp in this area and Dan’s favorite social wasp because they have “lots of personality and can hover, fly backward, bite, sting, and squirt venom.”

A little known—and sometimes confusing—fact: We have no true native hornets in North America. The Bald-Faced Hornet and its relative, the yellow hornet, are actually Aerial Yellowjackets. The only true hornet in North America is the invasive Vespa crabro European hornet—which is not found on the west coast.

Bald-Faced Hornets are primarily aerial hunters of anything smaller than them, including yellow jackets. And the adults will enjoy a sip of nectar from time to time.

Greenbelt had the nest of Bald-Faced Hornets removed to protect visitors to the farmhouse, some of whom may be allergic when stung. Dan sends the wasps he collects to a lab where the venom is extracted from each wasp, amazingly, by hand. From there, immunotherapy shots are made from the venom and used to save the lives of people who have extreme allergies to wasp stings.

Learn more about the remarkable Dan Scollard in this recent Democrat-Herald article.

At the Road’s End

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Sun Kisses Fitton Green

Sun Kisses Fitton Green

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Cynthia McCain

Walking up the trail
at the road’s end
past the part where the grouse drums
and up the hill with the deer prints
til you get to the open sun.
In the meadow where the new shrubs got burned off there are larkspur and cinquefoil
and the very first calochortus came out last week.
Last month we heard a flock of geese, watched them fly straight overhead
but the sound bounced off the valleys and you’d think
they were below us.
Other years, the old logging road was covered with
fleshy algae
but I haven’t seen them for the last decade, I’m guessing.

The calendar of these plants has become my calendar
The seasons of these trees have become my seasons
The destination of these geese, my destination.

*This beautiful poem was published in the poetry journal, Heart. 

Drones + Restoration

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Matt and Intel Pilot Horseshoe Lake Sometimes you need to get a better view.

Since the first aerial images were taken in the Willamette Valley in 1936, organizations like Greenbelt have utilized these images to get a birds-eye view of our work. With the recent emergence of professional drone operators, staff have been able to hone into our restoration projects even further.
When you’re planting hundreds of thousands of trees, it can be pretty handy to get above the treetops to see how your plantings are doing! Drone footage has helped staff understand the dynamics of a river system, analyze success rates of new plantings, and track management over time.

Special thanks to Intel Corporation for financing a drone to help track ongoing floodplain restoration!

41M Gallons Restored

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Greenbelt is partnering with Intel, Oregon’s largest employer, to restore floodplains along the Willamette River. This project is expected to restore 41 million gallons of water per year within the Willamette system, by reconnecting the exchange of water between the Willamette River and a historic oxbow of the river during the critical winter rearing period for native fish.

This connection will provide habitat for critical fish and wildlife species. Intel’s global initiative launched in 2017, to restore 100% of its water use by 2025, is led by partnerships with local nonprofits like Greenbelt to restore local watersheds throughout the world. We’ve planted nearly 100,000 trees over the last five years at Horseshoe Lake—Intel’s investment is the missing link to our restoration vision for this dynamic site.

Renewed Accreditation

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Did you know that in 2008 Greenbelt Land Trust became one of the first accredited land trusts in the country?

Greenbelt is in the process of undergoing re-accreditation, a rigorous independent review process that ensures Greenbelt’s fiscal accountability, organizational leadership, and sound transactions. We are proud to be a leading accredited land trust and to demonstrate our promise of permanence to you, our supporters.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. We ask you, our supporters, to consider providing feedback on our programs and operations as they relate to compliance with national land trust standards—public comments can be submitted by email to info@landtrustaccreditation.org or mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments: 36 Phila Street, Suite 2, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, by August 1st, 2019.

Learn more about Land Trust accreditation here: www.landtrustaccreditation.org