The second week of my internship was spent working with the Virginia Department of Forestry. Forestry is a very big industry in Virginia as it contributes more than $27.5 billion to the economy every year. The VA Department of Forestry not only maintains state forests, such as the Conway Robinson in Gainesville, but they also serve the private citizens within their regions.
After a long weekend of storms, some of the trees at the Conway Robinson had fallen and covered the trails. We spent some time on Monday clearing the trails for recreational use.
After a long weekend of storms, some of the trees at the Conway Robinson had fallen and covered the trails. We spent some time on Monday clearing the trails for recreational use.
In our gadget savvy age, technology seems to be everywhere. Now it's making its way into the forest! One of the features of the Conway Robinson is the QR codes that are scattered throughout the forest. These QR codes were put in place by a previous intern and I was able to go through them this week and fix ones that were no longer working and add new topics to the list. If you're visiting the Conway, make sure you have a QR scanner on your phone so you can give them a quick scan! Another feature that I have been working on this week is a digital tour of the Conway Robinson. For people who have never been, or have been but haven't been able to venture out too far, this might be very helpful! I was able to walk the whole forest and take photos of the different trails and other noticeable features. Once the digital tour is finished, it will be up on the Manassas LEAF website to be viewed.
This is one of the photos I took for the digital tour of the forest, and it might just be my favorite spot. This part of the forest is dominated by Loblolly Pines that were planted here when the forest was first acquired by the Department of Forestry in 1938.
Just in this short week, I was able to learn so much about trees and forest health. I was introduced to a common forest pest and now I seem to see its destruction everywhere. The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a beetle that lays its eggs beneath the bark of an ash tree. The real damage that occurs is by the larvae that will eat the essential layer beneath the bark leaving the tree without access to nutrients and water. Normally you can't see them as they are beneath the tree bark, but you can tell they're there because woodpeckers will target the tree to try to eat the bugs. This phenomena is called "blonding". Now that you know what it is, you'll see it everywhere. I know I sure have!
Blonding caused by a woodpecker.