Led by Jumping Worm researcher Katie Laushman (UW Nelson Institute, Environment and Resources), the entire Pairie Intern crew and UW Preserve staff were out today to begin monitoring the presence of Jumping Worms in the Preserve. They first tested the large leaf compost pile accumulated from deliveries of leaf pick-ups  by the Village of Shrorewood Hills. After establishing the presence of Asian Jumping Worms at the bottom of the pile, the crew fanned out into Bill's Woods to survey for the presence of the undesirable worms in the Preserve, if any. To learn more about the worms, their spread in Wisconsin and Best Practices to minimize spread, read the UW Arboretum Public Information Sheet. Katie Laushman studies the effect of Jumping Worms (Amynthas spp.) on above-ground woodland vegetation. Photos Gisela Kutzbach.

The other day we spotted the Prairie Interns at the end of their work day, all happy about a day's hard work in the sun. Adam Gundlach of the Preserve staff, who coordinates their work, had stayed behind to finish the job. When we caught up with him and ask him for his secret to keep the crew so cheerful, he remarked, " Oh, today we pretended to be ahead of elk foraging for juicy saplings in the grasses of the old field." Now all this saplings and out-of-place underbrush are gone and the old field looks like a field again, whirring with dragonflies and other critters. Thanks, Adam! Photo Gisela Kutzbach