UA partners with land conservancy for Haley’s Run Trail restoration assessment

2014 BioBlitz goers tour Haley’s Run, part of the South Akron Greenway, a network of trails and natural areas that will eventually extend north to the Little Cuyahoga River. The Western Reserve Land Conservancy owns property along nearby Adam’s Run and worked with Lockheed Martin on the Haley’s Run restoration, which was finished in 2010. Lockheed Martin funded a complete restoration that included a trail, native plants and a meandering stream.

An eight-legged creature stares through its multitude of eyes as onlookers attempt to document its species and characteristics. If this stirs your inner biologist, check out the Haley’s Run Trail BioBlitz and Birthday Bash on Saturday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event presents an exciting opportunity to collect and identify the various plants and animals that inhabit the newly restored South Akron Greenway near 452 Archwood Ave., just west of Seiberling Street. 

The University of Akron is partnering with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to offer hands-on activities to community members who attend the event. Throughout the day, Randy Mitchell, UA professor of biology, will lead groups through the field in search of insects.

Measuring project's success

“The general idea for the event is to work with the community to get a snapshot of the biological diversity of this area after five years of restoration,” says Mitchell, whose focus is on bees and flowers. “We will take insect nets and binoculars out and record all the living things we see to help assess the situation. The restoration looks to have really improved the situation, and I’m hopeful that we will see lots of cool insects, birds and plants. I’m hoping we can confirm that there is a lot of pollination going on, which will help the restoration be ready to take care of itself in the future.”

Beginning at 12:30 p.m., guided walks with spider expert Gaurav Amarpuri, a Ph.D. student in integrated bioscience, will take event attendees into fields and forests. As Amarpuri and his trail tourists find spiders, the scientist will explain how the arthropods survive in their home environments.

Next generation fibers and adhesives

Amarpuri works with biology professor Todd Blackledge, Ph.D. to study the chemical and physical properties of the different types of silks produced by spiders. Blackledge and his team hope to use this research to advance the next generation of synthetic materials, especially high performance fibers and adhesives. 

How will this research tie into the Akron Bioblitz?

“Many of the species that people will see are the same types of spiders that we investigate in the laboratory,” Blackledge says. “Spiders are really vital components of our local ecosystems. We want the public to understand how big of an impact basic, natural history-based research can have on other areas of science and technology – in our case inspiring new approaches to materials science.”

For more information, visit Western Reserve Land Conservancy.

 Story by Samantha Sipe

Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.