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Each spring there is a beautiful display of wildflowers in our forests and other habitats in central New York. If you're interested in learning what these spring flowering plants are, their identifying characteristics, and habitat requirements, join Joe McMullen for his presentation on spring wildflowers.
Joe is always a popular speaker at HGCNY. Don't miss it!
WHEN: Sunday, February 28 at 2:00 pm
WHERE: Liverpool Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool (Directions)
Our meetings are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Come and bring a friend!
APOLOGY but GOOD NEWS
We apologize for running out of space at our January meeting, but we're thrilled to see the enthusiastic interest in Jim Engel's presentation native shrubs.
The good news is that we've made arrangements so we'll be able to admit more people to the room in the future. We're less likely to have to turn people away (but it's always a good idea to get there early).
National News: Join the Wild Ones Facebook group Wild Ones has created a Facebook group for dues-paying members to share information about articles, photographs, videos, and so forth. To join the group go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildonesnativeplants/ and once you there, click "Join Group" in the upper-right corner. Wild Ones is expecting a large number of requests initially so please be patient while they verify your Wild Ones membership. Another benefit of membership
Official dues-paying Wild Ones members can get a discount and an additional rebate for attending the Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium. Newsletter readers can get a small discount, too. Details in the article below.
~ Janet Allen, President, HGCNY Wild Ones Chapter |
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Mark your calendar for February 12-15
Be part of a global effort to take a snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds. In 2015, participants in more than 100 countries counted 5,090 species of birds on more than 147,000 checklists!
Go to gbbc.birdcount.org for more information on how to participate.
And help spread the word by printing the above poster, sending e-cards, through social media etc. Go to http://gbbc.birdcount.org/spread-the-word/ for these and other resources. |
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| | A free phone app is available, too |
Your observations are critically important!
From eBird.org:
For the first time, scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have documented migratory movements of bird populations spanning the entire year for 118 species throughout the Western Hemisphere. The study finds broad similarity in the routes used by specific groups of species--vividly demonstrated by a brand new animated map showing patterns of movement across the annual cycle. "We used millions of observations from the eBird citizen-science database," says lead author Frank La Sorte, a research associate at the Cornell Lab. "It's an exciting new area of research," says La Sorte. "By using eBird data and other forms of migration tracking information, we're getting a more detailed picture than ever before about where and when birds migrate. That's the kind of information we need to make smart conservation decisions for species that live in vastly different regions during the year. Citizen science makes it possible to do this for populations across an entire hemisphere."
Read the whole article, including descriptions of various migration patterns and an animated map which shows migration patterns of more than 100 species: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/lasortemap/
Learn more about eBird, a joint program of the Lab of Ornithology and Audubon: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/. You can Explore Data or create an account for your own observations by going to the My eBird tab. It's FREE!
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Humans need nature, too!
The Jan 2016 issue of Consumer Reports On Health's cover story featured ways to boost your body's immune system. One of the recommendations? Visit a park! "Nature doesn't just have one or two active ingredients -- it's more like a multivitamin that provides us with the nutrients we need to protect us from different diseases," said the director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory of the Univ. of Illinois. She identified more than 20 ways in which experiences in nature can improve health.
From Frontiers in Psychology: How might contact with nature promote human health? Promising mechanisms and a possible central pathway by Ming Kuo:
Contact with nature has been tied to health in a plenitude of studies. Time spent in and around tree-lined streets, gardens, parks, and forested and agricultural lands is consistently linked to objective, long-term health outcomes. The less green a person's surroundings, the higher their risk of morbidity and mortality - even when controlling for socioeconomic status and other possible confounding variables.
The range of specific health outcomes tied to nature is startling, including depression and anxiety disorder, diabetes mellitus, attention deficit /hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), various infectious diseases, cancer, healing from surgery, obesity, birth outcomes, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal complaints, migraines, respiratory disease, and others, reviewed below.
Finally, neighborhood greenness has been consistently tied to life expectancy and all-cause mortality.
Read the whole Frontiers of Psychology article: |
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Earthworms and climate
From the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's Ecosystems on the Edge series:
Little-known secret: Almost every earthworm in most of the U.S. came from somewhere else. Native earthworms all but disappeared more than 10,000 years ago, when glaciers from a Pleistocene ice age wiped them out. A few survived further south. But today, virtually all earthworms north of Pennsylvania are non-native. ...
It's an ironic truth-the traits that make earthworms wonderful for gardens are the same ones that make them dangerous for forests. Earthworms stir up the soil, making nutrients more accessible to flowers and vegetables. But plants in forests have evolved other ways to get nutrients from the ground. When earthworms convert them into easier-to-access forms, it can favor invasive plants that later take over the understory. In the process they have also been known to endanger birds and orchids. They can be a threat to humans as well, collapsing irrigation ditches and speeding up erosion.
Read the whole article and see the 10-min. video Earthworm Invaders: http://ecosystems.serc.si.edu/earthworm-invaders/Learn more about how worms may affect climate at the Smithsonian's Molecular Ecology Lab: http://www.serc.si.edu/labs/molecular_ecology/earthworms.aspx Great Lakes Worm Watch - Learn more about worms in the Great Lakes region -- and about citizen science projects: http://www.nrri.umn.edu/worms/
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Ideas to Reality: True Stories and Real Models for Regional Success in the Native Plant Industry
When: March 4th and 5th
Where: Cinemapolis, 120 E. Green St. Ithaca
The Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium is based on a simple idea: the use of native plants should remain an integral part of sustainable landscapes.
The Symposium offers alternative ideas, knowledge and perspective presented by experts and professionals form our region and beyond. It is for landscape architects, designers, educators, Master Gardeners, government employees, homeowners, gardeners, naturalists and anyone else eager to learn more about this growing movement.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about the speaker schedule and the symposium, visit http://www.ithacanativelandscape.com/.
Even more affordable for HGCNYers!
To help spread the word about the value of native plants, INLS and HGCNY are each offering discounts to people who would like to attend either one or both days.
Dues-paying members get the biggest savings, so join today. It's easy. Just join Wild Ones at
http://www.wildones.org/wild-ones-store/join-renew/
and you'll become an official dues-paying HGCNY member.
DISCOUNTS from INLS:
Non-HGCNY members who receive this newsletter can get a flat $10 discount whether they apply it to Fri. only, Sat. only, or both days. On the registration page, there is a box labeled PROMO CODE. Enter HGCNYNEWS (all caps) to receive this discount.
Dues-paying WILD ONES HGCNY members can receive a $20 discount using the promo code HGCNYMEMB (all caps).
Additional REBATE from HGCNY: In addition to the discount available from INLS, HGCNY is offering an additional $25 rebate ** for dues-paying Wild Ones members only ** attending one or both days of the conference.
Dues-paying Wild Ones members can obtain this additional rebate from HGCNY after registering for the conference. Just email your symposium receipt to our Treasurer Randi Starmer at randi.starmer@gmail.com before March 12 (include your mailing address), and she will mail you a check for $25. Or, you may mail the rebate request to Randi Starmer, Treasurer, 8022 Bush Rd. Jamesville, NY 13089.
If you would like to carpool or arrange to lunch together, send your email address to hg.cny@verizon.net and we'll put you in touch with the other HGCNY attendees to make these arrangements.
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Onondaga Audubon presents Reptiles and Amphibians of New York
Wed. Feb. 10, 7 pm DeWitt Community Library, Shopping Town Mall Free and open to the public. Information at Onondaga Audubon. |
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Annual Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District Plant Sale
These are the natives they're offering:
Balsam fir
White cedar
White pine
Elderberry
Black cherry (a biodiversity all-star!)
Black walnut (use care when siting this tree)
Red oak
White flowering dogwood
(We do not recommend the Conservation Pacs.)
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| Hemlock wooly adelgid
Photo: Maine Dept of Ag
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Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Awareness and Monitoring Hikes
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County (CCE) will be partnering with the Finger Lakes Land Trust, Central New York Land Trust, and Cornell University to offer two hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) awareness and monitoring hikes. Citizens who appreciate hemlock trees and forests can help by learning how to identify HWA and report possible infestations during one of two winter hikes. Winter is the ideal time to see the insect. On Tues. February 16, 2016 at 10 am families are invited to explore High Vista Nature Preserve and learn how to identify hemlock trees and look for signs of HWA. Snowshoes or cross-country skis may be needed in case of deep snow. Snowshoes may be available to borrow. To register: www.cceonondaga.org or contact Jessi Lyons at 315-424-9485 ext. 233 for more information. On Sat. March 19, 2016 at 10 am hemlock lovers, property owners, volunteers and stewards, are invited to visit the Bahar Nature Preserve to see HWA firsthand, and then monitor hemlock stands at the Elbridge Swamp Preserve. This full-day event will start at the Skaneateles Library to hear more about HWA from Mark Whitmore, and how to monitor and report HWA from Jessi Lyons, environmental educator at CCE. After a break for lunch, the group will carpool to Bahar Nature Preserve and then Elbridge Swamp Preserve. To register: http://cnylandtrust.org/march-19-hemlock-woolly-adelgid/ |
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Become a Master Gardener
Onondaga County is currently accepting applications for new Master Gardener Volunteers.
Master Gardener Volunteers complete a 2-year, approximately 45-hour basic horticulture training course to build a common foundation in soil science, composting, botany, insect biology, plant diseases, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), wildlife management as well as best practices in cultivating vegetables, fruits, herbs, houseplants, tree and shrubs.
Upon completion of the training program, each Master Gardener provides Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County with 50 hours of service per year. There are numerous ways to volunteer: answering gardening questions from the public, teaching gardening classes, mentoring youth, writing articles, and many others.
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2016 Raptor Academy
Onondaga Audubon is making plans to offer its second annual Raptor Academy.
The class will likely occur around early/mid March to early/mid April. Initial plans are to hold four to five weekly evening classes in the Syracuse area and weekend field sessions at Derby Hill Bird Observatory. Registration will likely be in the range of $60-$75.
So that they can gauge participation, those interested should submit their contact information and any comments or questions to OARaptorAcademy@gmail.com
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Onondaga Audubon presents The Endangered Migration of the Monarch Butterflies WHEN: Wed., March 9, 7 pm
WHERE: Fayetteville Free Library
Monarch butterflies are well known and much beloved, but their abundance has declined significantly over the past 20 years due to changes in their overwintering colonies, summer breeding habitat, and migratory corridor. Dr. Ernest Williams, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Hamilton College and co-author of The Stokes Butterfly Book, has spent the past 10 years focusing on these butterflies in New York, Wyoming and Mexico.
He will describe several conservation efforts underway to try to counter these losses as well as discuss what is known about the current state of monarchs.
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Join Wild Ones
We welcome everyone to our meetings, but we encourage you to become an official member. Since HGCNY is a chapter of the national organization Wild Ones, when you become a member of Wild Ones, you're automatically a member of HGCNY, too. And since Wild Ones is an official not-for-profit organization, your membership is tax-deductible. It's easy to become a member, receive the bimonthly Wild Ones Journal, and support our mission. Just go to the Wild Ones website or call toll-free (877) 394-9453. |
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Join us on Facebook
As more of us participate on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hgcny, this will become a useful resource for asking (and answering!) local HGCNYers' questions about habitat gardening. |
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Learn more: Habitat gardening
This is an example of a local habitat garden. It also includes links to more information and inspiration to get started on your own habitat garden. |
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Learn more: Edible gardening
This is an example of a local edible garden. It also includes links to more information and inspiration to get started on your own edible garden. |
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