I have also spent a great deal of time volunteering in stewardship of the earth. Ecological restoration is the key to sustaining natural systems on earth, thereby sustaining human health and wellbeing. Urbanization destroys natural wildlife. If left unmanaged, natural areas suffer, and human life suffers as a result. Indiana is not immune to this phenomenon. In fact, Hoosiers plays a key role in the quality of water from here all the way to the oceans. At IUPUI, the Center for Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) provides service learning opportunities in ecological restoration, such as the four projects I have worked on. 

My favorite project has been at Holliday Park, doing invasive plant removal--which is more than just pulling weeds. I participated in invasive Amur bush honeysuckle and garlic mustard removal. Honeysuckle is not native to Indiana, nor even North America, but settlers brought their favorite plants with them when they came across the pond. Because there are not many local animals who feed on this species of plant, they have an advantage to flourish, making it easy to dominate large areas. There are many problems associated with bush honeysuckle. It takes over the surrounding area, suffocating other plants. It directly deters native plants from growing, which decreases food sources for local wildlife. This problem affects the whole food chain.  It will not let any herbaceous growth in the understory to flourish. It also blooms and survives longer than most native species, and has a hollow inside which allows it to grow faster because it is less dense. We got to see this firsthand because the branches would very easily break off when pulled on. 

The honeysuckle plant has short roots, which do not protect the surrounding soil from erosion. This heavy erosion causes all the chemicals in the soil—like nitrogen and phosphorus from herbicides used by local farmers—to go directly into the nearest waterways. Our local reservoirs contain all these chemicals as a result. Though Indianapolis does a great job of treating the water that comes out of our faucets, they cannot get everything out. Therefore, the effects of this invasive honeysuckle can directly affect not only oceanic ecosystems but also human health through local drinking water. Additionally, Indiana soil is especially sticky, so when it erodes it picks up a plethora of chemicals on its way to the water. This runoff spills into streams, which eventually lead to the ocean Local streams empty into the White River, which leads to the Wabash, which is a tributary for the Mississippi, which of course dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. This nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich water leads to an increased population of algae and phytoplankton near the surface of the water. This abundance of nutrients is called eutrophication, or simply nutrient pollution. As a result, there is a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that has been caused by an influx of phosphorus and nitrogen from this runoff. The Dead Zone in the Gulf is the second largest one there has ever been, and it is at a record size, nearly the size of Connecticut. Hypoxia in the gulf happens naturally every summer, but human involvement has exacerbated the effects—just as the greenhouse gas is not to blame for climate change, but humans’ enhancement of the natural process. 

The best way to reduce the effects of eutrophication is to participate in the removal of invasive species like honeysuckle which increase erosion and decrease filtration. Patronizing local sales of native plants yields much better effects than introducing exotic species into a personal garden. Refraining from herbicide use is another way to decrease the amount of excess nitrogen and phosphorus that seeps into our water through the soil. Finally, it is important to spread information about how simple changes can make big differences in the environment. Stewardship of the earth can start with one person and end in a cleaner world.

To view the handout I developed for CEES in conjunction with my Honors project for my oceanography course, click on the link below.