participatory

On the weekend of September 20th I got the opportunity to take a field excursion with the Lichen Likers and the Ohio Moss and Lichen Association at Camp Tippecanoe. During our time there, I really enjoyed exploring the camp trails with a close-looking lens. Oftentimes, I find myself focusing on the hike and distance while spending time outside so it was a nice change of pace to really sit with nature and notice the smaller things that one might otherwise overlook. Some of my favorite things that I found during our time spent outside included, Reindeer Lichen, Lacewing larva (which was wearing lichen on its back), and vibrant Liverwort specimen.

 I appreciated learning so much from the folks in the Ohio Moss and Lichen Association, from plants to animals, it was inspiring to meet people who are so passionate about nature. I was particularly interested in the way lichen–an organism that is rather subtle and can go unnoticed–was able to become such a prevalent part of so many people’s lives. The shared interest in Lichen, brought our groups of people to meet and foster friendships. I was overall left with not only new knowledge of the Lichen itself, but the different ways Lichen fits into different people’s lives. 

Finally, below is a map of the camp trails and each drawn star indicates where we explored to and found lichens

The Learning Lichen research group participated in two sessions of a hands-on biology workshop led by Ohio States’ Associate Professor Emeritus, and local lichen researcher, Robert Klips. Before taking a look at various samples of lichens under the microscope, Dr. Klips went over the basic structure of this symbiotic relationship. For instance, lichens are a symbiotic relationship, forming from fungi and algae. He compared it to a horticulture system, fungi farming the algae, and bacteria participating alongside these two organisms. Moving on to identification, we looked at the three forms of lichens and their growth types, Foilicose, Fruticose, and Crustose. Other organic structural terms we learned include, Apothecium, Soredia and Isidia, all of which are forms of reproduction. Apothecium being a structure that sexually reproduces while soredia and isidia structures asexually reproduce. During the workshop we examined the apothecia under the Microscope. They present as cup-like structures that often produce spores, and when the sample was sliced, we were able to see the algae cells. Seeing the vibrant plastids made it easier to visualize the inner workings and symbiotic relationship of lichen. There is much more to learn when it comes to lichens, but it was a great to learn about the foundations with Robert Klips. 

Klips provided a field guide educating any and all lichen liker on the species as it relates to Ohio’s geography and climate.

To demonstrate the lichen could be found anywhere, we looked for one! We didn’t travel far, walking to a nearby tree and discovering the Candleflame Lichen (Candelaria concolor) on a large tree.