My name is Helena Bittner and I am a 2020 Siegele intern for CNHP this summer. I am studying Biology and concentrating in Botany, as well as minoring in Spanish. My college career has gifted me with a passion for conservation efforts as well as education and social change. Although our summer is coming to an end, I wanted to share some details about one of the projects I was able to participate in near the beginning. I traveled to Pagosa Springs with Jessica Smith and Renee Rondeau in Southwestern Colorado to help perform population monitoring of the rare plant species, Ipomopsis polyantha. Throughout the nine day hitch, we visited multiple targeted sites to observe population fluctuations as well as soil moisture changes and habitat preferences of the plant. Throughout this experience, I learned an immense amount about data collection, plant identification, research equipment and field work preparation. I was also intrigued to find out just how popular the rare plant was in the town, as they have banners all around the city sporting the white and lavender colored flowers!
