There’s no such thing as a typical day in the life of a land steward — except, in Adrienne Cassel’s case, a morning cup of coffee. Since 2013, Cassel has maintained the land at Arc of Appalachia’s Kamama Prairie, a 92-acre nature preserve in Adams County that is renowned among experts as a particularly unique ecosystem. More than 70 species of butterfly call the prairie home, making it more than live up to its name: “Kamama” is Cherokee for “butterfly.”
But Cassel doesn’t see as many butterflies on the prairie as she used to, and for good reason — many species, particularly monarchs, have suffered sharp declines in overall population in recent years, largely as a result of pesticides, development and global climate change.
A 2016 monarch count showed that the butterfly’s overall population has declined by 68 percent over the past 22 years, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. In February, the overwintering count — an annual tally of the butterflies in cold conditions — “confirmed that butterfly numbers fell by nearly one-third from the 2016 count, indicating an ongoing risk of extinction for America’s most well-known butterfly.”
Other factors play a role as well. Cassel recalls a 2015 storm that had a major effect on populations.
“There was one year where there was a huge storm that came through right at the time where the butterflies would have been coming out of their cocoons,” she says. “It wiped out a lot of the butterflies.”
Butterflies aren’t the only pollinators experiencing declines. The term “pollinator” refers to any insect, bird or mammal that fertilizes plants resulting in the formation of seeds and fruits; more than 200,000 species, primarily insects, meet that description. Some of the most common include bees, moths, butterflies, beetles and hummingbirds. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, these animals are responsible for pollinating over 75 percent of the country’s crops and flowering plants.
“Almost all the fruit that we get in the world has to be pollinated,” says Andrea Schepmann, director of Cincinnati Parks’ Krohn Conservatory. “Flowers need pollinators in order to set seed. In order to keep flowers growing, (pollinators) are very important.
“They say so much that everything is holistic,” she continues. “When you lose one part in the cycle of the circle of life, it can always have detrimental effects.”
At Kamama, Cassel keeps a watchful eye on the prairie. Her main responsibilities include learning about its wildlife and noting any changes she observes — what’s in bloom or if she sees any new species — as well as welcoming visitors to the site, which is not currently open to the public without a permit. And she’s there now more than ever, thanks to a tiny house and a few creative minds at the University of Cincinnati.
Also an English professor at Sinclair Community College, Cassel splits her time between the prairie and her home in Dayton. Her initial time as a land steward involved camping out in a tent.
“One of the challenges out there is, the place is just crazy with ticks,” she says, laughing. The risk they posed, as well as general exposure to the elements, limited the amount of time Cassel was able to spend at Kamama.
Enter Cassel’s ultra-sustainable, 160-square-foot home away from home. Construction on the rectangular, wooden-planked building began in the spring of 2016, orchestrated by a team of 15 graduate students at UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Using a shipping container as a frame, the students worked on the house in a workspace near UC’s campus until it was ready to be transported to Kamama in the bed of an 18-wheeler.
“The house is so perfect. I just can’t believe what a great job they did,” Cassel says.
The house is fully equipped with a kitchen, shower, composting toilet, space for a washer and a wooden bench that Cassel also utilizes as a bed. Her favorite aspect is the cedar porch that wraps around three sides of the building, where she spends the majority of her evenings taking notes and watching wildlife.
The students just put the finishing touch on the house: a metal canopy that will keep the building cool. With her tiny dream home complete, Cassel says she plans to spend significantly more time at Kamama, observing and helping maintain the area’s natural beauty. She emphasizes the importance of pollinators, noting that she keeps a beehive nearby.
“That’s one thing I think is so wonderful about the prairie — it provides a place for these butterflies, and it’s so important for us to keep corridors of land that’s wild so the pollinators, the birds, the animals have a place,” she says.
As for how to help preserve pollinators and their habitats: “Let the dandelions grow!” she says. “They don’t hurt anything. They’re pretty. They’re yellow.” Bursting with nectar and pollen, the weeds provide a great source of nourishment.
A multitude of other native plants are beneficial for pollinators in all stages of their life cycles, according to Cory Christopher, Center for Conservation director at the Cincinnati Nature Center. He lists milkweed, purple coneflowers, goldenrods and foxglove beardtongue — a tall leafy plant with bell-shaped white flowers — as some of his favorites.
Krohn director Schepmann adds that a mix of perennials and annuals is ideal. “A succession of blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs is best so that nectar and pollen will be available throughout the growing season,” Schepmann says. “Limit any chemical use in the garden and grow as organically as possible.”
The Krohn is currently in the midst of its 22nd-annual butterfly show. This year’s exhibit, The Majestic Monarch, is all about learning more about butterflies and how to attract them to your home garden using specific plant colors, shapes and scents.
“It can be something as small as a window box garden all the way up to a full-scale garden,” Schepmann says. “Every little bit helps.”
THE MAJESTIC MONARCH continues through June 18 at Krohn Conservatory, 1501 Eden Park Drive; tickets are $7 adults, $4 children. For more information, visit butterflyshow.com.
This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2017.
