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A captivating, sub 4 minute whiteboard video by the Wisconsin Wetland Association about the importance of wetlands and how they contribute to the health of surrounding watersheds by reducing storm surge, flood damage and filtering  drinking water. Below is a sample illustration of how simple, yet effective the whiteboard video is. Watch and forward!

 

 

 

 

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Category: Wetlands
Considered one of the finest honey in the world, Tupelo honey is harvested from bees collecting nectar through the swamps of Florida and Georgia, along the Appalachicola, Chipola, and Choctahatchie River basins, home to the highest concentrations of Tupelo trees  (Nyssa sylvatica) in the world. Equally likely to thrive in wetlands and non-wetlands, they are classified as a  Facultative (FAC) wetland plant by the NCRS.
 
 Tupelo trees typically start blooming the last week of April every year for about 3 weeks. Some years the blossoms don't even last this long, they are delicate, and a strong wind or hard rain can rip them from the trees.
 
Immortalized in the 1971 Van Morrison song and album titled, "Tupelo Honey", for no discernible reason, it is a light colored honey, bright and buttery in taste.  Its scarcity is due to the short, but intense Tupelo blooming season.  In comparison to others honeys from around the world  - Tupelo honey has a  high fructose content, making it one of the few honeys that never crystallize.
 
 
 
Tupelo Tree in Bloom
Tupelo Tree in Bloom
 
Further Reading:
 
 
USDA, NRCS. 2019. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 15 November 2019). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

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Category: Wetlands
Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens
The often cited "functions and values" wetlands provide are long and broad.  Wetlands act as a nursery for fish and wildlife, improve water quality, reduce storm surge - the list goes on.  These large scale ideas are abstract and not easily quantifiable, however, the craft of sewing sweet grass baskets in South Carolinas Low Country  around Charleston from wetland grasses, is an example of a  sustainable activity with a directly measurable economic benefit.
 
Woven sweetgrass baskets have a long history - beginning on the West Coast of Africa  woven baskets were used for winnowing rice.  When  West Africans were enslaved and brought to the US in the 1600's, specifically for their rice harvesting knowledge, their basket making  skills came with them. 
 
Over time, influenced by  the Gullah culture and the abundance of locally available materials, the  baskets traditional reed, Bulrush (Scirpus atrovirens),  was replaced by Sweetgrass (Mulengergia filipes or Muhlenbergia capillaris ) or  Needlegrass Rush (Juncus roemerianus Scheele) aka Black Rush). Beginning in the 1920's, the long, thin needles of the Long Leaf Pine began to be woven into the baskets providing a  earthy  color contrast. 
 
Population growth and land development have decreased sweetgrass habitat, primarily found beachside, behind the 1st set of dunes - - making the grasses more difficult to source. Once harvested, the grasses are dried in the sun before being gathered, twisted into fibrous cord, and sew into baskets.
 
Today, sweetgrass baskets are recognized as art, and are displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, and other museums worldwide.  Along Route 17 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina has been designated as the "Sweetgrass Basket Makers Highway" where you can purchase many types of baskets and trays.
 
The South Carolina legislature, made sweetgrass baskets the official state handcraft in 2006. The paper referenced below provides a interesting glimpse of the efforts the artisans and the town of  Mount Pleasant to retain the art and history of the sweetgrass basket.
 
SweetGrass Basket made with Wetland Grasses and Pine Needles
SweetGrass Basket made with Wetland Grasses and Pine Needles
 
 
Sweetgrass Basket Stand- along Route 17 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
 
Sources and More Information:
 
USDA Plant Profile - Needlegrass Rush  https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=JURO
USDA Plant Profile - Green Bulrush  https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SCAT2
 
 
Sweetgrass Basket Stands under Siege
Catherine F. Marshall
Chrestomathy: Annual Review of Undergraduate Research 12 (2013)
School of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs
College of Charleston, Charleston SC 29424, USA.
 
 

Wetlands in the News

06 May 2024