The Herbert Bluethenthal Memorial Wildflower Preserve is a 10-acre forest in the center of UNCW's campus. This preserve contains a higher diversity of native plants than anywhere else on campus.
Pronunciation: (blee-then-thal)
The preserve was established not only to protect this ecologically important area, but also to aide in the education of UNCW students and the surrounding community. Come stroll along the trails and discover the plants and animals that make this forest their home.
At a rapidly expanding university such as UNCW, protecting the natural areas of campus is a crucial step towards a healthy educational environment. Progress that is necessary to accommodate a growing student population such as new roads, parking lots and buildings can often take precedence over green spaces.
College is a stressful time for many students academically, socially and financially. Studies have revealed that the amount of stress students feel can be linked to the physical environment of their university.
This means that a balance between progress and preservation is important for student success. Interactions with plants and nature have many positive mental and physical effects on student lives. Just being able to take a walk through the woods is a great way to relieve stress.
The Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve is a wonderful place for students to actively engage with nature. Students participate in many cleanups and plantings each year. For example, every spring, Venus Flytraps are planted in the flowerbeds by students.
The next time you’re feeling stressed, take a walk through Bluethenthal and enjoy this naturally calming environment.
The UNCW campus actively holds arboretum status dedicated to educating the student body and surrounding communities about native flora. Many of the classes utilize the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve as a tool for hands-on learning. Students can be found measuring tree heights, taking soil samples or identifying plants and animals among the forest.
This outdoor classroom, which overlooks a pond, is another example of turning the preserve into an educational tool. Classes meet here to study the natural environment around them, or to enjoy the outdoors as they learn.
Before the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve was established, there was a forested area of campus with a single trail that wound through the woods near Hoggard Hall. The trail was used by the faculty to teach students about ecological principles and to familiarize them with native plants and animals.
As the university grew larger, new buildings and roads began replacing the undeveloped areas of campus. Soon, the fast-paced expansion of UNCW’s campus cut away half of this trail and the surrounding forest. However, the most diverse collection of native plants found anywhere on campus thrive within that portion. Biologists at UNCW began to worry about the loss of natural areas on campus, and so began the discussion of how to protect them.
The biologists formed a proposal to protect the 10 acres of forest surrounding the trail. The idea was presented to the chancellor at that time, William Wagoner, and was passed by the university’s Board of Trustees in 1973. The land was officially dedicated as a wildflower preserve to be “forever protected from all other uses (Hayes, 2011).”
Janet Bluethenthal, who was a neighbor and friend to Chancellor Wagoner, expressed interest in honoring her late husband Herbert by giving to the university. She loved native wildflowers, and when presented with the wildflower preserve proposal, she adopted the project. This area of forest was established as a preserve on Nov. 8, 1974, thanks to Mrs. Bluethenthal’s generosity.
The donation of Ms. Bluethenthal’s time and money resulted in this beautiful natural area that will forever be protected and enjoyed at UNCW as the Herbert Bluethenthal Memorial Wildflower Preserve.
The Bluthenthal Wildflower Preserve is home to many native species of plants and animals. As you walk through the preserve, take notice of the signs that identify many of the plants and trees along the trails.
Carnivorous plants are species of plants that obtain nutrients through organic animal material such as insects. They obtain these nutrients by trapping bugs and digesting their nitrogen-rich bodies. The manifestation of carnivorous qualities in these plants makes sense due to their natural habitats. Most carnivorous plants are found in boggy, acidic soils that are low in nitrogen.
Consuming insects provides the plant with nutrients that the soil lacks. The Venus Flytrap and Pitcher Plants are two species of carnivorous plants that are native to North Carolina, and both can be found in the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve.
The Venus Flytrap was labeled by Darwin as "one of the most wonderful plants in the world" (Gibson & Waller, 2009). When one or more of its three hair-like triggers are stimulated by prey, the Venus Flytrap closes its trap in about 0.3 seconds. The trap closes tightly around the insect to keep it from escaping, and to seal in digestive fluids.
After the prey has been digested, the trap will open again and reset itself. Each trap on a plant will re-open two or three times (Gibson, 2009). You should not touch or attempt to trigger the leaves on a Venus Flytrap plant because you may be preventing the plant from getting the nutrients it needs to survive. These plants are endangered, so we must do our best to protect them.
The Venus Flytrap is only naturally occurring within a 70-mile radius around Wilmington, NC.
The Purple Pitcher plant can also be found in the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve. This carnivorous plant digests insects as its main source of nutrients just as the Venus Flytrap does, however, it captures its prey in a very different way.
The Pitcher Plant leaves have a long, tube-like structure. Inside each leaf are digestive enzymes which pool at the bottom of the tube with rain water. Insects enter the plant and are unable to climb back out due to downward facing hairs along the inside walls of the leaves (Classing, Peroutka & Lendl, 2010). The insect sits in the bottom of the leaves and is digested by the plant's enzymes.
The longleaf pine is a staple in southern coastal environments. This astonishingly tall tree can be found throughout the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve, as well as UNCW's campus. These trees can grow to be 100 feet tall and up to three feet in diameter! They grow almost perfectly straight without limbs on the lower part of the trunk.
The longleaf pine forest is quite unique because it is fire-dependent. The trees themselves are resistant to fire, and their seeds need a fire to occur in order to germinate and grow. Fires also reduce the amount of brush and smaller plants, creating more opportunity for longleaf pines to grow.
Located in the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve is a small man-made pond that creates a habitat for all kinds of wildlife such as the Eastern Box Turtle. The outdoor classroom overlooks this quiet area.
Fox squirrels are large with dark coloring on the upper part of their body and lighter coloring on the lower part. They nest in trees and spend most of their days foraging for seeds, nuts, berries and insects. These squirrels store excess food for the winter, finding it with an amazing sense of smell.
This turtle can be found throughout Eastern North America. Its preferred habitats include ponds and open forests. As juveniles, these turtles spend their time in the water where it is easier for them to catch prey. Eventually the turtles become terrestrial and consumes more plants, mushrooms and fruits.
These large woodpeckers drill rectangular holes into dead trees in search of insects. They live in older forests with dead and fallen trees, but can be found in young mixed forests throughout Eastern North America. You will see their marks left on trees throughout the preserve, and may even hear their rhythmic drumming.