Click HERE to register. 

Date:  Saturday August 18th, 2018
Time: 8:00 am – 3 pm
Place: Chattanooga Fen, north of Silverton
Title:  Wetland plants of Chattanooga Fen/Fen Restoration Volunteer Day
Leaders: Amanda Kuenzi and Anthony Culpepper, Mountain Studies Institute

Description: 

Join us for a plant walk with the Colorado Native Plant Society!

Fens are groundwater driven peatlands, which provide valuable ecosystems services to our watershed.  Fens filter water, reduce sediment load into rivers and streams, and reduce flooding. Mountain Studies Institute has been working to restore Chattanooga Fen, north of Silverton for 10 years. Join us to learn about the wetland plants that live there. As an added option, you can stay for an additional hour or two afterward to help us continue the re-vegetation effort. We will be transplanting sedges and other vegetation to help the fen continue to improve towards a fully functioning wetland.

Logistics: Meet at Animas City Park in Durango (East 2nd Ave and East 32nd St), carpool to Silverton. The plant walk will be from 9:15-12:00. We will break for lunch and begin restoration work after lunch and work for 1 -2 hours. All those that don’t care to stay for the volunteer session are free to leave at the end of the plant walk. 

Please bring lunch, water, and footwear that is appropriate for walking in wet, muddy fen!

Fens in the San Juan Mountains have accumulated up to three meters of peat and most are thousands of years old. These ancient wetlands store carbon, filter pollutants from water, and support biodiversity, including rare species. Learn more here: http://www.mountainstudies.org/ecosystemwork/2014/11/7/fen-restoration

Our fen project is an integral piece of mountain wetland monitoring and we need your help; join us to restore these critical ecosystems and learn more about them during a day out in the mountains! 

Contact Amanda@mountainstudies.org with any questions.