Almost all communities of organisms on earth have been directly or indirectly disturbed by human activities; humans have also intervened in the lives of organisms to reverse deleterious effects. Examples of this intervention are numerous: the mending of the broken radius bone of a bird of prey; constructing nest-boxes that successfully fledge young; re-introducing a species to a region where it has been absent for generations; off-site breeding of endangered species; protecting the habitat of rare species; managing the habitat of a threatened species; rehabilitating the riparian community of a wetland and restoring the reach of a degraded river.

Many of these human interventions are successful: medically rehabilitating an injured red-tailed hawk, providing nest boxes for wood ducks, and re-introducing the Karner blue butterfly. Humans have measurable success when intervening to “save” individual organisms and, in several cases, species. Only when intervention extends to communities of living things and to ecosystems does the success of these interventions become less certain, even unpredictable.

The science of restoration ecology is the study of principles and applications in population and community ecology with the goal to restore and rehabilitate disturbed or degraded ecosystems to their more natural states. A young science with many questions that has only begun to reveal answers, restoration ecology is becoming a crucial strategy for the conservation of natural communities of organisms particularly as their remaining natural habitat becomes more and more fragmented. There is a growing concern that preserving what we have will not suffice; restoring what we’ve lost is the only alternative.

Restoration sites in Cruickston Charitable Research Reserve are shown on Map 6.

How will restoration proceed at CCRR?

Restoration of croplands will be a multi-pronged approach:

• Let nature take its course: some sites will be restored by leaving them alone. In fact, a small field on the eastern edge of the Hogsback is such an example.
• Adaptive management: restoration ecologists will select sites and plan the restoration. Planting of native vegetation including trees, shrubs and ground vegetation will be done by personnel who have received training in restoration planting techniques. For example, the forest edge south of Indian Woods has been identified as one of the first restoration sites on the property.
• Research: restoration sites suitable for research will be identified and made available to researchers who have applied and been approved by the CCRR Research Committee.

Doug Larson, director of the Cliff Ecology Group, University of Guelph and one of the authors of Cruickston Park Into the Future had this to say about why research in conservation and restoration ecology should take place at Cruickston: