In the earliest days of the Mianus River Gorge, the founders were fascinated with the flora and fauna they found here. They contacted biologists, botanists and other professionals to help them catalog the biodiversity of the Mianus River Gorge. Beginning in the mid 1950s, Dr. Henry A. Gleason, Head Curator Emeritus of the New York Botanical Garden, led a team of trustees that included Gloria Anable, Jack Durham, and Anne Hamilton to document and collect wildflowers found within the Preserve. From 1956 through 1958, the team recorded the specific date they observed different species of wildflowers blooming.
Nearly 70 years later, WTP student Adriana DiGiacomo of Somers High School has been searching the preserve to find the initial blooming date of these same wildflower species. She is trying to determine if climate change has affected the onset of flowering, particularly in early ephemeral species like bloodroot, early saxifrage, and red trillium. She also wants to know if being in the gorge has protected these plants from significant change that may be affecting plants in the surrounding area differently.
MRG intern Elena Kubicek (right), who is studying botany at Connecticut College, is helping Adriana get started on her presentation for the Northeast Natural History Conference. Adriana and other WTP students will attend the conference in April.
