John Jay Senior Will Illustrate Fruit Trees' Impact On Biodiversity

KATONAH, NY — This Wednesday, we will all have the chance to benefit from the fruits of the hard work and research of a remarkable high school senior.

From the Katonah-Lewisboro School District.

John Jay senior Nina Vigil's Science Research project is as local as you can get — with findings that can be applied to your yard, park or strip of grass.

Throughout her junior year, Nina Vigil often woke up as early as 4:30 a.m. to ... count birds. She walked to two Katonah backyards and her parents drove her to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation every weekend to, as she puts it, "stare at little squares of land for three hours. For fifty-two weeks. Every weekend. In all types of weather."

What she discovered underscores an overlooked factor in creating welcoming habitat for biodiversity. Fruit trees.

Nina will present "The Fruits of Our Labor: Fleshy Fruit and its Vital Service to Our Local Birds" on Wednesday, September 18, at 6:45 p.m., at the Katonah Village Library. The free program is a collaboration between the Bedford Audubon and the library.

"The Fruits of Our Labor" is a visual journey in which Nina shares how a bird walk with Bedford Audubon sparked her interest in ecosystem diversity, and how John Jay High School’s Science Research program — a three-year journey during which students develop original scientific research projects, work with mentors, and present their findings at various symposia — gave her the structure and tools to conduct a sound scientific study.

Nina, a National Merit Semifinalist who is past president of the New York State Young Birders Club, had already identified her research topic when she began working with her mentor, noted entomologist Douglas Tallamy, founder of the nationwide native-planting movement called Homegrown National Park.

Tallamy helped Nina set up a study that included three categories of land: control plots cultivated with invasive and ornamental plants, a second category of plots cultivated with native, non-fruiting plants and a third category of plots cultivated with fruit trees and shrubs.

A few days before the public program at the Katonah Village Library, Nina shared her presentation with her Science Research class, a group of 13 students taught by Dr. Lisa Papernik. Principal Steven Siciliano and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Julia Drake also attended the practice run.

Nina was humorous, poised and enthusiastic, equipping her audience with just enough backstory to make her research process and findings both accessible and exciting.

"The fruit plots completely outclassed both of the other plots in both species observed AND individuals observed," said Nina. "It featured a lot of species I saw nowhere else including the Baltimore oriole, the Winter Wren and the Purple Finch."

Nina closed her presentation on a personal note, encouraging her audience to start experimenting in their own spaces. "Once you start considering birds' needs when you adjust your gardening habits, you see more animals everywhere—since we started doing that in my backyard, it’s full of deer, bunnies, foxes, skunks, and more!"

This release was produced by the Katonah-Lewisboro School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.