TRWA’s program, “Listening to Nature with Bioindicators” was held on January 24th at the Boyden Wildlife Refuge.
The frigid temperatures kept the program indoors, but Abby Abrahamson, TRWA’s Bruce Spooner Education Center Program Manager kept participants enthused with interesting discussion, interactive materials, and hands-on learning.
Abby presented a very informative program on bioindicators, focusing on an important species, lichen! As a replacement for freezing outside, she provided examples to examine inside and identified some that are common in the watershed.
There are varieties of lichen in many places one might see during a woodland walk. They are easy to overlook – it’s the “hiding in plain sight” phenomenon. Although easily overlooked, they are actually important indicators of air quality and are important contributors to its health. An abundance of lichens is an indicator of good air quality.
Lichens are a combination of two species that act together symbiotically, fungus and algae. There are three basic types with descriptive names, crustose, that is tightly attached to rocks, tree backs and other surfaces; foliose that have a leaflike structure and fruiticose that is bushy or branched.
Some lichens are native to New England, and although they are very hardy and can withstand a wide variety of environmental conditions, some are also considered endangered due to climate change, habitat destruction and other environmental challenges.
When the weather turns warmer, maybe we will have an opportunity to look for them outside in their native environments. For now, watch for them, take pictures and send them to us for identification.
Reference: https://owlcation.com/stem/lichens-and-people-surprising-interesting-and-helpful-uses
