Today we had a visit from the Vascular Flora of Wisconsin (Botany 401) class at UW-Madison. As it turned out, they were taking their midterm exam, using the numerous flowering plants at Pleasant Valley Conservancy as the test objects. They were quizzed on 25 species. They needed to know the Latin name, the family, and the status (native, exotic, invasive, etc.)
Kathie and Tom made a few brief remarks (photo above), describing the history of the Conservancy, the importance of fire as a management tool, etc.
Despite the weather (the temperature was 95 F in the shade!), the class forged ahead for their three hour trip/exam.
Thanks so much for hosting us, Tom and Kathy! The students had a great time-despite the heat- and we made it all the way around the main trail loop and saw every major plant community! Here is a link to our class web album of photos from day: http://picasaweb.google.com/Brent.A.Berger/Botany401FieldTrip4?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKDkYDfg-ebfg#