Out on the southeastern plains of Colorado, near the town of Granada, lies the remnants of the Amache – Granada War Relocation Center, a WWII Japanese internment camp. From 1942–1945, approximately 10,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast were detained at Amache, unaware when or if they would be released. They did their best to cope with a life behind barbed wire.
In addition to copious amounts of art, poetry, and dance that came from Amache, one of the ways that the people of Amache showed commitment to resilience in interment was through cultivating gardens. Recently, Denver Botanic Gardens employees traveled to Amache to learn about the connections internees made with plants. They learned that internees were innovative with the limited resources they had at the camp to create beautiful gardens – they incorporated trash and byproducts of construction as stand-in garden features. They also used the natural features around – transporting ornamental rocks and native plant species found nearby. The gardens were a testament to the shared resilience of the Japanese-Americans who were detained, who created beauty in uncertain places during uncertain times.
As a historical place, Amache is also preserved from development – a small refuge of shortgrass prairie persists among a sea of agriculture on the plains. The plants found there today are most likely the same plants that Amache internees saw – such as thistle poppy (A., Argemone polyanthemos), buffalo gourd (B., Cucurbita foetidissima), bush morning glory (C., Ipomoea leptophylla), bractless blazingstar (D., Mentzelia nuda), and western spiderwort (E., Tradescantia occidentalis). Many of them enjoyed the beauty of these wildflowers, used the buffalo gourd for a source of food and medicine, and sat in the shade of the purposefully placed Siberian elm (F., Ulmus pumila) in the heat of the afternoon sun.
Although the plains portion of the Denver metro area is over 200 miles from Amache, many of the same plant species are shared between the two sites. See if you can locate any of the plants mentioned above, which are also found in the greater metro area. As you record an observation, think about the impact that this flower may have had on the inhabitants of Amache. Add your observations to iNaturalist so that they will automatically be included in the Denver EcoFlora Project. For more information on the archaeology of Amache's gardens, please read Finding Solace in the Soil: An Archaeology of Gardens and Gardeners at Amache by Dr. Bonnie Clark.
WHAT IS AN ECOQUEST?
EcoQuests, part of the Denver EcoFlora project, challenge citizens to become citizen scientists and observe, study, and conserve the native plants of the City via iNaturalist, an easy-to-use mobile app.
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
Download the iNaturalist app or register online at iNaturalist.org
Take photos of the plants in bloom that you find on your daily neighborhood walk. It is ok if they are weeds! But avoid taking photos of cultivated plants in gardens or in your home.
If you are concerned about revealing the location of sensitive organisms or observations at your own house, you can hide the exact location from the public by changing the "geoprivacy" of the observation to "obscured."
Post your findings on iNaturalist via the app
Your observations will automatically be added to the Denver EcoFlora Project
You can add an identification to your photo when you post your findings on iNaturalist, or leave it blank for others to identify.
WHAT IS THE GOAL?
The EcoFlora project is designed to meaningfully connect citizens with biodiversity, and to assemble novel observations and data on the metro area’s flora to better inform policy decisions and conservation strategies.
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