From the outset of the project, we have been interested in the cemetery's physical attributes, its environmental setting, and the plant, animal, and fungal species it supports.
To our knowledge, the cemetery has never been cultivated or landscaped (other than some memorial plantings), so many native species are still found there. Part of our effort has been to document them.
Beyond environmental characteristics, also of interest are geographical representations, land issues, and remnants of human intervention, such as grave and plot markers, evidence of a past building structure, a former road, and memorial plantings.
Upcoming posts will address topics related to:
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natural history
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human alterations to the site
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land and geography
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physical projects, such as work days to control the spread of invasive honeysuckle
eBird is the world's largest birding community. The cemetery is a designated Shawnee County hotspot on eBird.
All bird sightings made via eBird are recorded on its Ritchie Cemetery page.