Call for Submissions: Festival of the Trees 63 at the Slugyard

Pacific Banana Slug, Photo by Ben Stanfield (AcaBen)

Host: Slugyard

Deadline: August 30

Email to: mike [at] slugyard.com — or use the contact form on our Submit page

Theme: How animals and other wildlife interact with trees

Important! Put “Festival of the Trees” in the subject line of your email

Look high, look low, and look carefully. The Festival of the Trees 63 visits the soggy summer in Mike’s Slugyard on September 1st. This month, Mike asks us to take notice of what the animals and other wildlife are up to in the trees.

For example, you might think slugs are little more than monsters who decimate your veggie patch while you sleep. However, the Pacific Northwest is home to the beneficent Ariolimax Columbianus, known commonly as the Banana slug. Despite their delectable name, Banana slugs are more interested in fungi than garden veggies.

So what in the name of pine cones do Banana slugs have to do with trees? These creatures are important decomposers in Northwest forests. They live in the shade, feast on mushrooms and detritus, and excrete nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Banana slugs can also play a part in seed dispersal. Patient observers will be rewarded with the Banana slug’s mystical mating rituals and majestic yellow countenance.

Banana slugs are but one species you’ll find hard at work each day in the forest. Watch for raccoons in your orchard trees, listen for birds in your garden, take a closer look at crannies in tree bark, and get up early to see who’s walking the woods before the sun rises.

You know the drill: blog about your discoveries, send us the permalink, and spread the word! Links to juicy material at blogs besides your own are always welcome.