June 2024 Monitoring: Reflections from a new volunteer

We got to enjoy some beautiful weather for our June monitoring. We once again monitored water quality, hydrology, and surveyed for amphibians. Thank you to all who joined us this month!

We participated in the Society for Ecological Restoration’s Make a Difference Week and picked up litter from our sites as we monitored. This wasn’t out of the ordinary for us, as we always pick up trash when we go. Our wonderful volunteers like to leave our sites cleaner than when they found them. Luckily, thanks to great management, most of our sites tend not to be pretty clean from the start. 

Although we saw fewer amphibians than in our previous monitoring sessions we did see a number of adult frogs and salamanders. You can view our observation on our iNaturalist page.  

Although we had mostly returning volunteers this month, we were fortunate to have some great new volunteers as well, including both of Carolina Wetlands Association’s summer interns, who attended all of our monitoring sessions! As a special monitoring summary, one of our interns describes what it was like to be a new volunteer, below. 

Reflections from a new volunteer 

by Erin Mansfield

I'm Erin Mansfield, a student in Environmental Science at NC State and a summer intern for Carolina Wetlands Association. This was my first time volunteering with VWMP, and I was lucky enough to go to all three monitoring sites. While it's hard to pick, I would say that Robertson Millpond was my favorite of the three sites: it was my first time out monitoring, and I thought the bald cypress trees were beautiful (even if their knees tripped me a few times). Being my first time out, I learned a lot about how the monitoring process works, and the specific steps to accurately collect our data. I also learned how wonderful all the volunteers and PIs are! It was a friendly atmosphere, especially with how I was a bit nervous as a newcomer. One of my favorite things about working in the environmental field is the supportive community I often find. 

My favorite part of the monitoring itself was testing the water levels in the wells. I enjoyed the mystery of when the dip meter would finally start beeping at you to tell you you've reached the water table, as well as debating with my fellow volunteers the correct hundredth-foot measurements to record. I'm a very data-oriented person, so I liked being able to record real, concrete numbers in the field and think about what they mean in the context of the wetland itself. I'm curious to see how the water level changes throughout each season. As long as I'm in the region, I'll definitely come back for future events: it'll be interesting to experience monitoring as someone used to the sites and procedures instead of as a newcomer. 

Calling all plant lovers! 

In September, we will be heading out to our monitoring sites once again for our annual vegetation surveys and to look out for invasive, non-native plants. We’d love to have participation from anyone interested or skilled in wetland plants, even if it’s your first time monitoring. Please let me know if you want to join! 

It’s also a good time to start reviewing some of the common plants we see, by checking out some of the resources below and staying tuned for more upcoming Plant of the Month blogs. We look forward to seeing you in the wetlands!

Our previous plant observations 

Previous plant of the month blogs 

Common Guide to Wetland Plants 

NCSU Herbarium  

Identification of Common Trees of North Carolina  

NC Native Plant Society Non-native Invasive list 

NCDOT Invasive Exotic Plant Guide 

A field guide for the identification of invasive plants in southern forests 

Mistaken Identity? Invasive plants and their native look alikes