Virtual HH – Tour of Commons Ford Prairie with Amy Concilio

Join us this Thursday, May 14, from 6-8pm for a virtual tour of a restored native Texas prairie at Commons Ford MetroPark. The 40-acre meadow was restored in 2011-2012 to remove invasive grasses and bring back habitat for native birds, and has been managed since then with regular prescribed burns to maintain high biodiversity. Annual vegetation surveys have been conducted since 2010.

Our speaker, Dr. Amy Concilio, is a plant ecologist and professor at St. Edward’s University, and has been leading the vegetation sampling campaigns with a team of enthusiastic students and volunteers since 2017. She will take us through the meadow virtually, introducing some of the dominant and exciting rare grasses and wildflowers that have returned to the site, and discussing the implications of the restoration for ecosystem functioning and biodiversity conservation. Expect to see lots of pretty pictures of plants and come away with some tips for spotting them when you are next able to visit the park in person!

The talk will be held on Zoom, and you can click on this link to join: https://stedwards.zoom.us/j/99180023159?pwd=K3owZmR1KzlON295UnFPcDQ0bGREQT09
The Meeting ID: 991 8002 3159
The Password is: 088101