Wetlands - Tumblr Posts
enviromental science majors
Outsider stereotype: They're all aggressively vegan tree-huggers! They're all hippies!
Our stereotype: If You Use Bog And Swamp Interchangeably We Will Put You In The Greenhouse Until You Are Mouldy.
New York Landscape Natural Stone Pavers Inspiration for a stone landscaping rustic shade backyard.
Prevention & Safety
Put below is a link to sign a petition. In South Park, Pennsylvania, a developer plans to cut down an old-growth forest and put housing there.
Not only is this an environmental risk, but also it risks the health of the people because of where they plan to build roads and housing. This area of land has been left undeveloped for a reason. There's an old coal mine beneath the surface of the earth, that if put under more stress, could collapse given incentive. There is already evidence of deep pits and areas where the ground is sinking, showing that this is already occurring.
If that was not a serious enough reason to halt the development of houses there, this would also affect the local wetlands (where the water runs off to when it rains). So if houses were put there, meaning water would have nowhere to go, it would most certainly flood and cause erosion-- which could only speed up the process of a collapse.
If only for the safety of the people who might live there if this development continues, please consider signing the petition linked below.
All extra details about the development/petition can be found through the link.
Reblog to spread the petition!!
Link!
The Bald Cypress
Congaree National Park, South Carolina
First, pictures do NOT do this justice. If you saw my last post, you have a better idea of how massive this tree really is. Now, I gotta talk about one my favorite tree species, which is so special to me and the landscape of this region: the beautiful Bald Cypress. You can easily find these trees and their “knees” in the wetlands along the southern east coast, gulf coast, and parts of the Mississippi River.
These trees are ANCIENT. What I am standing next to here is a tree that is over 1,000 years old. Think about that for a moment - the history of a millennium. Bald Cypress trees are the 5th oldest living thing in the world, and they are the oldest wetland tree in the world. There are currently Bald Cypress trees in North Carolina that are over 2,600 years old, and those are the ones we know of. Being in the presence of a living thing this ancient, truly is humbling to think about and experience.
This tree in Congaree National Park is an impressive 30 feet in circumference. Coming to this forest, and seeing the huge versions of trees I see every day is what makes this place so exciting. It truly makes me ponder the potential of what could have been. Growth and industrialization sadly ruined most of the old growth forest landscape of the southeast. These massive trees were largely harvested for building materials.
Instead of focusing on what could have been, I am glad to experience the few that remain!Thankfully, Congaree is a beautiful time capsule and gift we have to step back in time. Take the time to check out where you can find champion trees where you live! The wetlands here are full of Bald Cypress trees. Looking forward to the future, far past my time, I can only hope those trees can become giants.
Consolidated collection of tree pics from Congaree. This South Carolinian old growth forest is full ancient treasures. I have only explored a very tiny piece of the national park’s 20,000+ acres. Pictured here is Water Tupelo, Loblolly Pine, and Bald Cypress trees.
Cypress forest in the wetlands of South Carolina.
I love this home of mine.
A foggy day along the Waccamaw Neck. The first picture was an incredible view. Driving above a thick cloud hovering over the Winyah Bay in Georgetown. Pictures can’t really describe how vast and strange this phenomenon felt.
Then a beautiful view of that fog over the marsh lands spanning from the Waccamaw. Crazy that I can casually grab lunch somewhere so beautiful.
Found this old pic from many many moons ago.
My most special place in the world. Congaree National Park. This place has held a very special place in my heart since my very first visit a few years ago. It’s so much more than a boardwalk through the woods. You have to truly understand the rare beauty you enter. Pictures can never capture the magic of an old growth forest. There are very few left (like count on one hand few) - especially in the southeast.
When I step into the canopy of Congaree, I enter a time machine showing me what the land here is suppose to look like. Still to this day, wetlands are in grave danger and are flattened and filled in with sand and dirt in the name of cookie cutter neighborhoods. No retaining pond could ever make up for the loss. Then when entire towns by the coast get flooded by the storm seasons, people act surprised. Floodplains and swamps are vital to the natural ecosystem of our home. Not to mention the rich habitats and diverse ecosystems they hold. It’s recently been discovered that bald cypress trees can live longer than 2,000 years. Congaree is ancient. Once you ruin a wetland, you can’t get it back- not for several lifetimes.
We drove up to Congaree tonight because we received a permit from the lottery system to view the synchronous fireflies. They only occur two known places in the world. Congaree and the Smokies. More to come on that later.
The Synchronous Fireflies. If you watch the forest fade into black here, you can truly see the amazing phenomenon and why these fireflies have the name they do. No picture or video I took last night could even come close to capture how magical the Congaree forest was last night. We were surrounded by tens of thousands fireflies dancing above the forest floor. My camera only piked up on a fraction.
This only happens in two known places in the world. The Smoky Mountain Nation Park and Congaree National Park and lasts around a 3 week period. What an amazing thing to see.
We made a friend yesterday, as we usually do. I need to start bringing my camera on hikes for often. Eastern Ratsnake. One of our favorites.
The lagoon, salt pans and bird sanctuary which form the Walvis Bay Wetlands in Namibia are rightly heralded as the single most important coastal wetlands of Southern Africa. Over 150,000 migrant birds spend the summer months in Walvis Bay and non-breeding palearctic and intra-African species dominate.
Die Lagune, die Salzpfannen und das Vogelschutzgebiet, die die Walvis Bay Wetlands in Namibia bilden, gelten zu Recht als die wichtigsten Küstenfeuchtgebiete des südlichen Afrikas. Über 150.000 Zugvögel verbringen die Sommermonate in Walvis Bay und nicht brütende paläarktische und intraafrikanische Arten dominieren hier.
The lagoon, salt pans and bird sanctuary which form the Walvis Bay Wetlands in Namibia are rightly heralded as the single most important coastal wetlands of Southern Africa. Over 150,000 migrant birds spend the summer months in Walvis Bay and non-breeding palearctic and intra-African species dominate.
Die Lagune, die Salzpfannen und das Vogelschutzgebiet, die die Walvis Bay Wetlands in Namibia bilden, gelten zu Recht als die wichtigsten Küstenfeuchtgebiete des südlichen Afrikas. Über 150.000 Zugvögel verbringen die Sommermonate in Walvis Bay und nicht brütende paläarktische und intraafrikanische Arten dominieren hier.
Seagulls -napping?
Nap time at wetlands lake