Events

Our annual Seed Cleaning and Exchange Workshop takes place on
Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018. (Please put this on your new calendars.) This is
a chance for us to help the MBG/NA by bringing our extra seeds which we
share with them and with each other. You will also learn techniques for
cleaning seeds and just enjoy an evening in the greenhouse on a cold January
night--nattering away with old friends and complete strangers.

Adrienne O'Brien, who was very helpful in leading the workshop last year,
has included a spreadsheet with seeds that they could use. Once things dry
out again, please check your gardens and collect what you wish to share.

Free and open to the public

Many people have questions about what to do after they?ve worked to remove invasive plants on their landscapes. Come here this panel of land managers/designers talk about their strategies for restoring and managing landscapes.

Panel:
Mike Appel, owner of Appel Environmental Design
Shawn Duke, Senior Ecological Restoration Technician, Cardno Design
Dave Mindell, owner of PlantWise: Native Landscapes & Ecological Restoration
Moderator: Bob Grese, Director of Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
Free and open to the public.

Native plant landscapes can range from formal to informal while being beautiful and support wildlife. This interactive conversation will be guided by drawings and pictures of native landscapes to identify tips and pointers for design success.

Drew Lathin is the General Manager of Creating Sustainable Landscapes, LLC https://www.creatingsustainablelandscapes.com/join. He is creating ecologically restorative landscapes for residential, commercial, and public spaces by utilizing native plants which support wildlife, reduce resource inputs, and create lively and healthy outdoor living spaces.

Free and open to the public.

Speaker: Bill Schneider is the owner of Wildtype: Native Plants and Ecological Services

Growing native plants often requires different strategies than those used in traditional horticulture. Come hear how Bill propagates and grows native plants and what this means for using them in your garden or ecological restoration. 

We will be moving from room 125 into the greenhouses to see demonstrations of how to move seedlings into plug trays.  We?ll will also have an opportunity to see numerous species currently growing in the greenhouses so you?ll be able to identify the seedling stage.

Bill will be bringing germination flats so that you will be able to sow a germination flat to take home.  So come prepared to play in the dirt!

Free and open to the public.

Nature Walk in Mary Beth Doyle Park in SE Ann Arbor,
sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library.

Walk will start from Packard entrance.

Best parking is across Packard, by tennis courts at Buhr Park. Or on side
street (Woodmanor) east of park entrance. Or at Mallets Creek library
branch.

There will be plenty of white and yellow trout lilies, and other spring
ephemerals, on view very soon. Bev Walters did the initial plant surveys
that led to the high quality wet woodland's preservation.

County Farm Park ? Platt Road Entrance, Meet at the Pollinator Garden

The spring ephemerals are emerging and the early bees are out!  Hike with U of M bee scientist Gordon Fitch to learn about the surprising diversity of spring-flying native bees and some of their remarkable adaptations to our unpredictable spring weather.  Learn how you can support these important pollinators in your yard and garden.  

Well, we certainly had to wait long enough, but spring has finally popped into bloom.  

To celebrate we are going to have a gathering at Dexter-Huron Metropark on Wednesday, May 9th from 6 - 7:30pm.  With the rain and warmth the cutleaf toothwort and spring beauties are in full bloom.  Trillium just started opening today!

Go into the park and take the first right.  Park down along the woods and then turn around and look at the huge swaths of spring beauties on the lawn.  

In mid-week there is usually no attendant at the toll booth.  Single entrance is $10 and a yearly pass is $35 with Senior (62+) only $21.  We will be focusing on the central woodland area, and then the asphalt path to the bridge and along the boardwalk.

Metropark map of the Dexter Huron Metropark (and others), download this

Come and appreciate the restoration of this wonderful natural area where Toni and Ken Spears have worked so hard.  Many of us remember a total infestation of garlic mustard.  This place is a really good example of what consistent efforts bring back.

If you wish, bring a picnic and enjoy an evening or a few more minutes by the river.

Hope to see you there.  All are welcome.

Environmental Psychology, What We See and What We Do

Panelists: Ray DeYoung, Avik Basu, Jason Duvall

Our interpretations of the beauty of nature, our sense of harmony, and
reactions to environmental harm and threats, depend on a complex range of
interactions. We use our knowledge, experience, and our sense of community
to guide our actions related to natural resources.

Join with our panel of three environmental psychologists from University of
Michigan: Ray DeYoung, Jason Duvall, and Avik Basu. We?ll be guided through
discussion of some controversial issues that can generate conflict or motivate
action in our state, region, and neighborhoods.

This is free and open to the public.

Meeting co-sponsored by
Sierra Club Huron Valley Group and Ann Arbor Wild Ones

A2Wild Ones has received an invitation to come as a group for a tour on Saturday, May 19, at 1pm.  (However, if you cannot make it then, here is the rest of the 2018 schedule.)  See:

http://www.wildtypeplants.com/retail.html

Bill's nursery is located on 40 acres and is quite wonderful:
Wildtype was established in 1996. For more than 20 years we have specialized in growing plants native to Michigan, from Michigan genotypes. We grow trees, shrubs, grasses wildflowers, and emergent wetland species typical of Michigan woodlands, wetlands and prairies. It is our objective to propagate nursery stock with enough genetic diversity to create self-sustaining populations. Therefore the majority of our plants are grown from wild seed stock. This is what we mean when we say our plants are borne to be wild.

Wildtype also provides ecological services http://www.wildtypeplants.com/retail.html for public, commercial and residential projects focusing on restoration and preservation of native landscapes.

The name of the nursery, WILDTYPE, is borrowed from the genetic term "wild type," which describes the typical genetic form that occurs in the natural environment. The name reflects the genetic status of the plants being propagated ? they are grown from primarily wild seed stock. Our plants have not been bred or intentionally selected for uniformity. The majority of seeds (and in some cases cuttings) of the species listed were collected in Michigan.

We keep track of when and where the seeds or cuttings were collected and where and how they were grown and handled. This information can be supplied upon request.

Thurston Nature Center is mostly owned by the Ann Arbor Public Schools and is used for their Science and Outdoor Education curriculum. It is 18 acres in size, including an 8-acre pond. It has several ecosystems, including a mature oak/hickory forest remnant, a tall-grass prairie, rain gardens, and a young oak savanna/short-grass prairie. A long-time goal was to include every significant Michigan-native tree, which has been nearly met. More recently, we have concentrated on returning native forbs and grasses to areas we have cleared of buckthorn, honeysuckle and phragmites.

Jim Vallem (Land Steward) will be giving us a guided tour around the pond, pointing out the various ecosystems.

People should park on Prairie Street near the eastern end of Renfrew Street.  We will start the tour there. 
 
If anyone arrives early, there is a nice rain garden in front of Thurston Elementary, one block south, at 2300 Prairie St, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

See:

www.thurstonnaturecenter.org
and
www.facebook.com/ThurstonNatureCenter/

A panel discussion with Dave Borneman of A2NAP, Allison Krueger of Washtenaw Co. NAPP, and Ryan Stanton of Huron-Clinton Metroparks

These leaders in the management of our local and regional natural areas will discuss the challenges, successes, and opportunities for the future---what?s working, what?s not working, suggestions and recommendations.

Come join Andrew Bucienski as we discuss Regionally Native Foods and how to grow them.

Heard of the three sisters (corn, beans, & squash)? Ever wonder about our region’s original annual vegetable varieties? Where can you get them today? Not all seeds are the same.

Aldo Leopold said “the key to wise tinkering is keeping all the parts”. What’s happening to these vegetable parts? And, will we need them in the future? Ever heard of the Irish potato famine? People’s lives depend on biodiversity!
Are there some cultural things about growing these plants we don’t want left out? Can these plants be important to us? Something to gather around? A good cooked meal?

These seeds are regionally adapted and provide a glimpse into the past. They don’t grow on their own and we need seeds, places and people to sustainably carry them into the future for humanity. Training is needed to do this and my presentation is a symbol of trying to start lead the way, as are the references provided at the meeting. We need to grow these plants to experience and know them.

Hope to see you there! Free and open to the public. Bring your gardening friends.

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