Events

Join us for our annual native seed cleaning and exchange. Our guide this year will be Mike Kost, a new Native Plant Specialist at University of Michigan, Matthaei Botanical Gardens (MBG), and Nichols Arboretum In addition, he is one of the authors of the recently published: A Field Guide to the Natural Communities of Michigan.

We will be working in the greenhouse with simple tools and equipment, much of which you can duplicate at home. Bring your extra native seeds to share, and you can take home seed to help with your own projects.  Of particular interest is the venerated burning of the milkweed fluff. 

We will be helping Mike Kost to clean their seed harvest for the Great Lakes Garden.  This acre plus garden of regional plants and trees (within the fencing) at the MBG is still young. Come and help.  Have some fun. Enjoy the chance to mix and mingle during the quiet months. 

Free and open to the public. Come early and enjoy a stroll through the tropics as the Conservatory will be open until 8PM.

Scio Woods Preserve
Scio Church Road, between Wagner and Zeeb

Shrubs and Trees minus the leaves

Join naturalist Faye Stoner to learn how to identify many native woody
plants in the winter.

This program is hosted by Washtenaw Co Parks.

Free and open to the public, no registration required.

A Field Guide to the Natural Communities of Michigan

Josh Cohen

Join author and ecologist Josh Cohen for a photo tour of Michigan's natural
communities.  From the bogs and Muskegs of the north to the sand dunes
fringing the Great Lakes, each landscspe has a unique assemblage of species.
For 17 years, Josh has hiked, climbed and photographed these ecosystems to
help naturalist, botanists, and conservationists learn about the vast
diversity of ecosystems in our state.

Eligible for Michigan Conservation Stewards Continuing Education Credit.

On Wednesday evenings arrive early and enjoy the Conservatory which remains
open until 8pm.

This program is hosted by Washtenaw Co Parks.

Free and open to the public, no registration required.

Raising Native Bees

Sunday, March 5 ? 2:00 to 4:00pm

County Farm Park ? meet in the Field Operations Building

Native bees provide excellent garden pollination and are essential for seed
and fruit production in nature.  Did you know that you can raise them in
your own yard?  Learn techniques, strategies and sources of bees and nesting
materials from an experienced native bee keeper.  Materials will be on-hand
to build your own bee house.

Guest Naturalist Jennifer Casler and Shawn Severance lead this program.

There is no charge, but space is limited so please register with The
Stewardship Network:
 https://www.stewardshipnetwork.org/raising-native-bees-home

Presentation by Jacqueline Courteau and Paul Muelle        
?How Deer Affect Plants, Pollinators, and Ecological Processes: Studies in Southeast Michigan.?  and Successful Deer Management at Hudson Mills Metropark

Research throughout the northeastern U.S. has shown that heavy deer browsing leads to decreased plant abundance and diversity, and to forest regeneration declines. Is this happening here? I will present data from various studies in southeast Michigan parks and preserves over the past 20 years to outline deer impacts on various native trees and wildflowers, and discuss implications for forest regeneration, pollinator interactions, and restoration.

This event is free and open to the public.  If you are a member of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens/Nicols Arboretum you can park free.

Please note parking and building access restrictions:

An access ramp is being constructed between the main entrance and the classroom wing.  During this construction (until March 17) you will need to park in the front parking lot, with overflow in the large lot.  Please enter the building through the Main Lobby.  Do not try to enter through the west lobby door.   The hallway doesn't connect to the Main Lobby at this time.
Visitors might want to bring a small flashlight, since there isn't any lighting on the sidewalk in front of the building which the MBG regrets.

Topic: The Milkweed Community
 
Everyone knows about the Monarch Butterfly and its needs for milkweed plants
to survive. But many other insects and some non-insects also make their home
in the milkweed community. Join naturalist and photographer Don Drife as he
presents a program on the many organisms, which feed on and among the
different species of milkweeds, and those that make passing visits.

Speaker: Don Drife, 'The Michigan Nature Guy'
Independent Naturalist and Blogger
http://www.michigannatureguy.com/

Sponsored by
Michigan Botanical Club - Huron Valley Chapter,
Ann Arbor Wild Ones- Native Plants & Natural Landscapes
Matthaei Botanical Gardens Herb Study Group.

Program is free and open to the public.  The parking areas are metered.
Funds from meters support the botanical garden.

For more information, call 734.647.760 , or visit http://www.mbgna.umich.edu 
Or [email protected]

In this Wild Ones meeting, we will talk about and organize for the future of our Wild Ones chapter.? We want to structure several committees to help with programming and events, communications, etc. ?

Bob Grese will lead a discussion about the future of our Wild Ones chapter.? We want to structure several committees to help with programming and events, communications, etc. ? Additionally, he will share a summary of the survey of our members and we?ll be making plans for the future. ?

We hope you'll join us and come with ideas!

Co-hosted with the Bot Club:

For her project "Foreshadowing - Endangered & Threatened Plant Species", Jane photographs the shadows of endangered plant species and transfers the images onto paper made from the invasive plant species that threaten them. Jane will be talking about the process of collecting invasive plant species, turning plant biomass into pulp and paper, and photographing the shadows of endangered plant species. The presentation will also include a demo of an alcohol gel transfer onto invasive plant species paper.

Dr. Mark Wilson of the UM School of Public Health, will discuss vector-born diseases, and how we can best avoid them while exploring and enjoying the planet, both near and far. In particular, Mark will discuss the ecology and epidemiology of Borrelia burdorferi transmission and Lyme disease risk. Additionally, he will include the environmental factors that determine the geographic patterns of risk, human behavioral and other means to reduce risk, the roll of various animal species as bacteria reservoirs and rick vectors.

Learn how to continue enjoying your warm weather activities while being more well-informed and mindful of the risks of ticks.
Co-sponsored with our colleagues from Wild Ones of Ann Arbor.

Sierra Club Huron Valley Group (lead by Rita L Mitchell, 734-665-0248, [email protected]) meetings are held every third Tuesday of the month, are free and open to the public. Metered parking fees go to the Botanical Gardens.

Please join us to plan events and programs for the coming year, particularly for the winter and spring months. Bob Grese will lead the meeting.

Please come and join us and bring along your ideas.

Come and celebrate another year of our adventures with native plants.

Our annual potluck will convene at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in room
125 at 6:45pm on Wednesday, Nov 8th.

Please bring a dish to share and your own plates, bowls, and cutlery
(optional, but in keeping with the Waste Not program).

At our meeting last week, we started to fill in next year's program which
will include some familiar favorites and some new themes.

Please put this on your calendars and think about just how you might want to
participate!