In a quiet school, Glacier Park seedlings are flourishing

The halls of Columbia Falls High School remain still during the coronavirus crisis, but tucked away on the southern side of the building, a small corner of life continues without interruption.

Allison Dubenezic, propagation specialist for Glacier National Park’s native plant nursery, continues to tend thousands of seedlings growing in the high school’s roughly 300-square-foot greenhouse. Carefully sown since the beginning of January, following a period of cold stratification to initiate germination, more than 4,000 seedlings are now budding true leaves, becoming identifiable by species.

In a relationship going back years, Glacier National Park’s native plant management program has utilized the high school space to get a jump-start on growing perennial native plant species used in Park restoration projects. In turn, Glacier Park provides a paid internship for a Columbia Falls high schooler. The internship includes assisting with winter propagation as well as working with the Park’s nursery crew for 20 to 30 hours per week throughout the summer. Funding for winter propagation work and the internship comes from the Glacier National Park Conservancy.

The seedlings are also on full display for any teachers who may wish to incorporate native plants into their lesson plans. Right now, all teaching and internship activity has been placed on hold. Dubenezic has been the sole caretaker for the plants during the past few weeks, with the exception of the occasional checkup from the previous specialist of the prior four years, Levi Besaw, who relinquished the role after getting the position of nursery manager.

In addition to the 30-plus different species being grown as resilient, reliable restoration candidates, Dubenezic and Besaw have been experimenting with growing several new species for the program. Typical species grown range from herbaceous forbes, to grasses, sedges, ferns and trees.

This year the newest additions include yellow-flowered stoneseed, pathfinder or trailplant, and stinging nettle. A couple of new alpine species have also been added, including mountain heather and whitebark pine, both of which are likely to be used in disturbances created through the Sperry Chalet rebuild. All plants eventually get transferred to Glacier Park headquarters, where they make the transition of joining the rest of the outdoor nursery stock.