Honey Suckle Pull Reflection

Austin Arceneaux

BIO – 155

10/18/16

Honeysuckle Pull Reflection

        When we arrived at the site for the honeysuckle pull, I had no idea what to expect as far as the amount of work, or the extent of honeysuckle that was actually present in the woods at Ruder Preserve. We weren’t the first group to participate in the pull and it was amazing at just how much honeysuckle there was throughout the preserve.

        This experience showed me just how detrimental an invasive species, like honeysuckle, could be to an area. There weren’t nearly as many trees in Ruder as there were when we visited Hueston Woods, it was almost all honeysuckle at the forest floor and understory layers. This service learning trip was an eye opening experience because it showed just how much of an impact a group of 20 or so students can make in as little as an hours time. I think it will be rewarding to come back to Miami and revisit the site where we removed all of that honeysuckle and see what new and different species will be growing there. I have a feeling that there will be many more saplings and it will eventually look more like the site of our first field trip.

        I certainly think that this was an effective capstone project for our BIO 155 course. It allowed us to physically interact and make a difference to an area plagued by an invasive species and see firsthand many of the lessons that were covered in the classroom. I also liked the fact that we got outside and were able to make a difference by pulling the honeysuckle instead of only talking about the adverse affects it causes.

        In the future I think that this capstone project should be at the end of the course and last a full class period. I think that it will be a nice way to end the sprint course instead of having the final be the last class. Extending the time actually removing honeysuckle will also increase the impact of our work. It would also be nice if we opened the removal service project to other students or members of the Oxford community by advertising it throughout town with flyers. It would be neat to raise awareness to more than just those enrolled in BIO 155.