Hi, I am a Michigan student and doing a research on food systems, if you have 5 mins can you take this quick survey?

https://umich.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4VzsjwGIvXyuO2

I’m an environmental scientist by degree with a bit too much time on my hands, looking to do some geurilla restoration gardening in an abandoned 6 acre forested parcel owned the municipality, adjacent to my home in southwest PA. It is absolutely over run with morrow and japanese honeysuckle, garlic mustard, and most of all deer. There is a healthy population of adult trees, but the understory diversity is next to zero. I need resources for trees and shrubs that won’t get obliterated by the deer, are good for a starting ecosystem, and suit the soil type (which seems to be a loamy clay). I don’t want to start removing invasives until I have something to replace them, otherwise the sudden open sunny spaces will fill with Poa and Alliaria. Also, this is a HUGE empty lot. I need to find a cheap way to source these plants, and am considering looking into gamelands and parks that allow foraging as a legal adjacent way to acquire them (dont worry i know how to harvest sustainably), but I have yet to dive into the details of where that is allowed. If anyone has any insight to that I’d appreciate it

Thank you for reading all of this

TLDR: Studying Environmental Resource Engineering, how to be qualified in ecology without a degree? + more questions at bottom.

Hi all, I am a undergrad student at Cal Poly Humboldt. I declared myself as an ESM: Ecological Restoration and Environmental Resource Engineering double major when I got accepted and enrolled last fall. Now I am one year in and the fat stack of units staring me down (along with the rising costs of tuition) are making me reevaluate how long I am willing to be in school. That being said I am a first generation college student and I have about 1 more year of financial aid help before I will have to pay for my tuition with my life savings. (No, I won't take out loans.)

I am in love with learning about ecology and the complexities of the relationships that make life possible on Earth; this human and other-than-human expanse of life is very precious to me. I am also nurturing a blossoming excitement and apptitude for the world of engineering, how it so intimately shapes the lives we all live, and the dramatic impacts of equity, resilience, and rejuvination that engineering can have when applied in a mindful, contextual way. I am very interested in both the Peace Corps and Engineers Without Boarders.

So, recently, I have decided that I am going to drop my double major. I have decided that with the rising costs of tuition and my desire for finacial security, I would like to get out without having to spend my entire life savings. This means that I will only get a bachelors degree in Environmental Resource Engineering.

Helpful information: I am already volunteering with a local non-profit to pull invasive plants and perform ecological restoration. I have done this for the entire academic year, so 1 year of experience. I am planning on volunteering with them during the summer and next year also. And, I am planning on getting my California Naturalist Certificate after I graduate.

My question(s) for you all are:

How can I study ecology myself? (I love to read and be outside)

What are the main ecological skills / knowledges that are sought out for the field of Ecology?

What else is out there besides a degree and CN certificate?

How much of this kind of work is Desk Engineering vs Hands in the Dirt/ Feet in the Field?

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I am working on a paper for a vegetation study I conducted that did not directly measure, but was likely influenced by, large differences in rainfall year to year. I am searching for rainfall data 2016-2020. I just need a full-year average for each year, although monthly totals would be better.

I am aware of the NOAA database at https://www.climate.gov/maps-data/dataset/past-weather-zip-code-data-table and the associated climate data online search, but when I enter the date range and zip, the data I get are only for 2016. I've been struggling to find this elsewhere. Any tips? TIA

Edit: Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the responses.

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I'm 40 and returning to work after having a child. I've worked in sustainability communications and would like to shift toward ecology, but I don't have a science degree. I'd love to take classes, but can't afford to live on a student budget anymore. There needs to be a net positive income that adds up to a living wage for myself and my son. (We'll be living in coastal New England.) I would consider seasonal work if it lets me learn for at least part of the year while doing something else in the off-season. All ideas welcome! Thanks so much.

Hello everyone! I am a senior at Southern Oregon University and I am currently working on an environmental capstone called "The Anderson Clean-up Project" with another Environmental Science major, Ryah Hale. Our goal is to lead a volunteer based clean-up of Anderson Butte and document the waste removal process. We are currently fundraising to cover important safety and waste removal needs and any donations would be greatly appreciated. We are also looking for individuals who are interested in volunteering for the clean-up on the weekends of the 6th and 13th of April. Your support is crucial to our success. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if you are interested in volunteering. Thanks! Anderson Cleanup Project

I am concerned that we are not doing enough to protect the natural world, and I would like to do everything I can to help. How can I do the most good?

What I can bring to the table is five years experience in horticulture (plant nursery), a small influence on how 140 acres of corn/soybean cropland is managed (historically oak/hickory forest), the ability to live most places in the Unites States, and the ability to devote a lot of time and a little money to the cause. I am 40 years old and in good health, so I should have 30 years or so to actively work on this.

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the best sub for these questions- please let me know if there is a more suitable one! I have a private lake on my property that is overrun with Pumpkinseed Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) which is an invasive species. They are outcompeting the Native fish as well as devouring the eggs of native amphibians. As part of a bigger project to restore natural ecosystems and remove invasive species from the property, I would like to explore removing them.

I have researched this issue a bit and it looks like the government of my province/ local environmental groups are either just monitoring populations, or have used chemicals, introduced species for population control, and specialized nets. I am not interested in using a blanket solution such as rotinone or introducing another invasive species to control populations and I don't have access to/plans for developing specialized nets.

I would like to remove them ethically and humanely. Anyone out there have experience doing this? Is it possible to just catch them and kill them? Is this possible/ethical?

Cross-posted

Restorative landscaping is the future! Come join us at the 2024 Foodscaper Conference, next week, from January 24-25, and learn from some of the foremost experts in edible landscape design. Perfect for those looking to create food systems that integrate with and improve the health of natural ecosystems!

Get your tickets here! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Years ago, I was developing my first project, an evolution simulator, and decided to look for initial testers among experts and enthusiasts - individuals with actual insight from subreddits like r/Aquariums, r/biology, r/Evolution and r/Botany. This steered the development in the right direction from the start and provided me with valuable feedback and suggestions before releasing it to the wider public. Almost a decade later, I am working on similar idea, but focused entirely on realistic gardening and very in-depth plant simulation - and this time, I am looking for anyone with experience and knowledge in the fields of plants, botany, and gardening to join the closed alpha testing. You can check the project so far after two years at https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052790 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOj17MNSjTI

Gardener utilizes my original algorithms, which have been developed (and 'battle-hardened') over years for the evolution simulation, to procedurally generate each and every plant. No two trees are identical, each plant is unique, and every leaf, flower, fruit, and twig is simulated separately with its own DNA, conditions, and state. I am simulating hydration (the ground can be saturated with water, temperature and grass length affect evaporation, etc.), sunlight access (shade affects growth), ground pH levels, and six base nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Mg). There are pests, diseases, and fungi to prevent, alongside realistic visual/behavioral signs of these problems on plants. Plants can be pruned at every node, allowing you to collect, grow, and farm particularly interesting specimens, and perform all the actual botanical maintenance activities, from training to grafting. Gardens can also be designed with sustainability in mind, attracting local fauna that either assists in pollination or simply enjoys the habitat.

However, I am not a professional gardener. I have a small garden that I enjoy tending to, but while I have some understanding of population genetics, I am not an expert in gardening. If you have experience with plants, knowledge or suggestions you would like to share, or if you just want to play with the simulation and provide feedback, please let me know, I'll provide a Steam key for testing. Keep in mind that the game is in early development; it has many bugs and missing content, and everything is subject to change. But if you are interested in shaping it and don't mind unbalanced gameplay that might crash from time to time, please check it out or add it to your wishlist to wait for a more stable version. Everyone who participates will keep the title in their Steam library after the release, along with some other closed-alpha tester perks.

While I am primarily looking for suggestions related to mechanics, design, and balancing, the testing will also greatly help me to iron out bugs and crashes. But don't worry if you're not interested in reporting them, there's an automatic system that takes care of that, so every playthrough directly helps, even if it simply results in a crash. I also have a Discord server with a couple hundred users, where I'm happy to help and answer any questions 24/7.

^(*I've checked the rules of this subreddit, and I hope this post doesn't violate any. This is my solo indie project, and Reddit is the only way for me to reach out to people with this kind of interest and a PC capable of testing it. I don't have a marketing budget, and I prefer to spend my time developing Gardener rather than promoting it, so I'm just cross-posting across Reddit in the hopes of finding brave souls interested in testing it. Please don't regard this as spam — I don't plan to post about it here again. Thank you!)