Bloom @ Vermont

The Melting Plot

Introduction

Welcome to our guided tour of the native planting site Bloom @ Vermont, located right out side of the Scene Dock theater at the University of Southern California. This tour will explore the benefits of native plants and introduced species on site. See how they interact both with each other and campus.

The Scene Dock Theater, viewed from within the Bloom @ Vermont native planting site. Sunbeams starkly illuminate the greenery.

Native Plants

There are many native species located at Bloom @ Vermont that coexist peacefully with the other species in the site. It's a functioning ecosystem that operates nearly on its own. The benefits of the native species are they don’t require much maintenance while also building a deeper connection between the native species and the students, professors, and staff that visit.

These are some examples of the native species that can be found at Bloom @ Vermont

Coffeeberry (Frangula Californica)

Promotes biodiversity while helping water conservation

Procumbent Pearlwort (Sagina Procumbens)

Provides a space for the local wildlife while also preventing erosion

Horseweed (Eirgeron Canadensis)

Plays a significant role in the nitrogen cycle and is also a food source for wildlife

Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta Obliqua)

Acts as a natural pest control as well as helps with pollination

All of these species working together is what makes the Melting Plot work. Each native species is an vital piece to the over all ecosystem.

A quiet afternoon in the Melting Plot. A backpack and skateboard rest against a low wall, surrounded by branching trees.

A landscape in flux: Introduced species

Drapuner's Glass Snail native to Western Europe and the Middle East is a widely introduced species across the US. This individual was photographed on Bloom@Vermont site

Although designed as a native planting site, Bloom@Vermont is exposed to the altered landscape of urban South Central LA. It is now home to a number of introduced species, plants and animals, who have made their way on site.

Introduced species: any organism established outside of its native range

Guided by the whims of the wind, a delicate plant seed might embark on an airborne journey, traversing the bustling cityscape, to find its sanctuary in Bloom@Vermont.

Planted with the intention of being a low-maintenance native planting site, introduced species were an inevitablity without constant upkeep. Often they pose the risk of replacing native species. However, it's not entirely clear how these specices will impact the biodiversity of Bloom@Vermont. Their individual characteristics matter.

If you're ever in the mood to discover, consider using the Seek app by iNaturalist to identify species and learn about which are native vs introduced. You can do this on site, or anywhere!

Competition

The above photo was taken on site and displays competition between a native moss and (introduced) common ivy. Both vy for space atop soil that's home to decomposing invertebrates and bacteria that recycle nutrients to these plants. If you are visiting Bloom@Vermont, perhaps take a moment to observe the different looks between the ivy patch and more open soil. Does the ivy look like it's encroaching upon the more diversely planted areas? Or does it compliment the site's beauty and add variety in landscape?

Regardless of our judgements, it's important to acknolwedge this ivy patch is one of the most extensive habitats on site and important to its current inhabitants.

Beneath the ivy

While introduced and competing with native species, ivy's landscape altering abilties can also directly impact us people. The twiny tendrils of ivy creep outwards as the plant grows, climbing over terrain to create a thicket. This layer is exceptionally effective at retaining moisture/water which cools down soil and provides a more temperate place of respite for us. There may be opportunities for urban planning to incorporate this cooling effect and the flow of water through these commonplace ivy patches which exist beyond Bloom@Vermont. Additionally, the understory teems with life and certain species now rely on the habitat this space provides. If you're brave enough, peer through the bramble and dare to see what kind of beauty lies beneath.

Undoubtedly, if ivy were to grow unrestrained over Bloom@Vermont, it would drastically reduce biodiversity on site by reducing the opportunities for native species. However, if monitored and better kept, it has potential to provide habitat for certain species while also accumulating moisture.

Biodiversity and You

As a campus-user, be you student, staff, or faculty, how is the biodiversity of this planting site relevant to you?

This native planting site is located in a relatively low-traffic part of campus. While it may be out of the way for many, we nonetheless encourage you to go and check it out if you are able, and spend a few minutes among the bugs and the ivy.

While there, we encourage you to consider the following:

What are five different plants you see? (No need to identify their species, but see if you can spot anything from earlier in the article!)
What are five different animals you see? (Remember that insects are animals too)
What are some of the ways you see this wildlife interacting with one another?
Is this what you would normally consider wildlife? Why or why not?

Urban wildlife: Probably you would be hesitant to outright call the species you see here wildlife. Likely you had some caveats: it’s planted by people, it’s surrounded by buildings, it’s walled in by concrete. Maybe you didn’t see anything that really signifies nature to you. Nature, even specifically urban nature, is often conceived of as separate from humans and mainly involving more charismatic species (like birds and mammals). But think again of the dense life contained within the ivy patch. How is this not nature in action? How is this life not wild, even within this urban space?

Now, what about you?

Take a moment, consider how people fit into the mix.

What are five ways you can see how humans influence this environment on a day-to-day basis? (See any sprinkler heads? What about trash? Feel free to look outside of the site at the surrounding buildings, or even out into the street!)
Have you noticed any changes in this environment as a result of your presence, if you are at the site physically?

Maybe you swatted a fly away from your face. Maybe a squirrel came down from a tree to see if you have any food. Check the bottom of your shoe. Chances are you've accumulated some plant matter in the treads. Something as small as casting a shadow can influence an environment. You are participating in this system just by existing in it!

Now go forth and continue with your day, or by all means stop a bit longer in the Melting Plot.

Go here to learn how spending time here can be good for your mental health.

[note to be deleted: the idea is to link to the other group's page that's also doing this site, to encourage people to look at more than one page. You can edit the statement or delete it if it doesn't make sense with what they've written]

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