Diario de selahjudge

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184479570

Populus deltoides are some of the most popular trees that you see in Alaska. I happened upon this one while walking in Campbell Creek Green Belt. This was around 4:30. Anchorage today was a beautiful blue crisp day that was full of the smell of fall. The biggest way that I have interacted with the Cottonwood is in the summer when they go to seed and it looks like it's snowing in the middle of summer and it is quite beautiful. From my research they are excellent for birds and for moose and large mammals to munch on (Bottorf 1). Also when they are dead and begin the rotting process they expose cambium which allows for a multitude of fungi that eat it and add to the mycelium network.

Another use for the cambium is to make rope. The cambium is the live part of the tree and when the tree is close to rotting but not quite there you can take the stringy innards, twist, roll, then double back on them to create a rope. Here is a link to a video on making the bark into rope.
https://youtu.be/peIFl8XUsc8

I also found this poem on the Cottonwood and wanted to share it with you all as well.

“Close about my tiny shack the cottonwoods cluster,
Bringing lavender shadows and the soft flutter of bird wings.
They temper the blinding glare of the yellow desert.
They reassuringly take the hands of my spirit
When the vast emptiness threatens to overwhelm”

Rose Henderson

Works Cited
Joseph, Kirstynn. “Cottonwood Trees and Their Uses.” Stoneage Man, https://stoneageman.com/cottonwood-trees-and-their-uses/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023.

https://youtu.be/peIFl8XUsc8

Bottorf, Jim. “What Good Is a Cottonwood Tree? .” Wordpress, https://foreststewardshipnotes.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/what-good-is-a-cottonwood-tree/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/183461976

The Birch Tree that I identified was at Balto Seppala Park. I observed it at 6:30 in the afternoon. In the Dena’ina language nichił is the name for Birch bark. I have grown up in Southcentral Alaska for most of my life and I have found that birchbark is super prominent in my memories as a child. It was constantly around me and gave many people in my family allergies. Nichił is an excellent fire starter due to its bark. There is an excess of betulin on the outside that appears as a white powder which is highly flammable and also water-resistant. This is why it is used for shelters and for everyday household items such as bowls.

There is controversy between Western conservationist circles and Indigenous circles on the ethical harvesting implications of Nichił. On the conservationist side is the idea that humans should not harvest the bark because it kills the tree and on the Indigenous side is the idea that through the proper processing and gratitude for the species, there is balance. From my experience with birch bark artwork, I think that it is a necessary art form for Dena’ina people to engage with to stay tied to culture and place, even if I understand the conservationist point of not wanting to hurt nature. I think that Western ideas of interacting with nature make us scared and timid or outright indifferent and violent about the natural world without teaching the reciprocity between the two. We cannot be separated from the natural world because we are the natural world.

https://alaskaethnobotany.community.uaf.edu/noticing-culturally-marked-birch-trees/
https://www.bates.edu/canopy/species/paper-birch/#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20the%20trees,canoes%2C%20buckets%2C%20and%20baskets.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/182418388

While walking through my neighborhood I was called to take pictures and make observations about all the yarrow plants that I happened upon! As a kid, I always collected yarrow to use medicinally because it was pretty. I thought that this would be a great way to start my observations. I observed this on Friday the 8th of September around 7 pm. The sun had not set yet and I was still able to take a photo of it just using natural light. It was very visible amongst the grass and a few raspberry bushes that it was around because of its white head. Achillea millefolium, Yarrow, milfoil, or Common Yarrow are the many names that it is known by. It is of the genus Achillea. The reason for this was that it was named after Achilles who used yarrow to treat his soldier's wounds in the Battle of Troy (Rey-Vizgirdas 1). Not only did Achilles use it, but Indigenous North Americans used and use it medicinally. “Numerous tribes in North America used yarrow for a variety of ailments. The crushed plant was applied to wounds and burns. The dried leaves were used as a tea to soothe colds, fever, and headache. Yarrow beer has been brewed in Europe since the middle ages” ((Rey-Vizgirdas 1). There are so many ways to use this plant and it is also just beautiful to look at. For my family, we use it to make a salve that we can use on any outside wound. It is also a great way to keep your skin hydrated if you make it into a body butter.

Rey-Vizgirdas, Edna. “Plant of the Week: Common Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium).” United States Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/achillea_millefolium.shtml#:~:text=Numerous%20tribes%20in%20North%20America,Europe%20since%20the%20middle%20ages. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.