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| We grow milkweeds from
locally-collected seeds |
We're pleased to have Dan Segal, owner of The Plantsmen Nursery, as our speaker for our March program (being held on April 3). Native Plants: Personality Traits, Regionalism and AvailabilityDan will explain how most plant traits arise as adaptations to local conditions and regional environments, making our regional native plants much more compelling and valuable than just pretty faces. The more we understand the connection between native plant traits and their natural environments, the easier it is to see the importance of regional and local seed-source native plants. Availability is often considered an obstacle to the use of local native plants, but it's a textbook case of supply and demand. If we want native plants to perform reliably and thrive in our region, all of these ideas need to come together: first, why it's important; second, the growth of demand; and third, a resulting supply (availability). This talk includes all original photos, as well as practical examples of how other regions are already accomplishing the goal of regional native plant availability.
WHEN: Sunday, APRIL 3 at 2:00 pm
(NOTE: Due to the Easter holiday, our March program is being held in April.)
WHERE: Liverpool Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool (Directions)
Our meetings are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Come and bring a friend!
MARCH 4 - 5 Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium MARCH 4 - 5
Wild Ones members (and newsletter readers) get a discount!
Official dues-paying Wild Ones members can get a discount and an additional rebate for the Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium taking place March 4 - 5. Newsletter readers can get a discount, too. Details are in the article below. In addition to the speakers mentioned in the last newsletter, you'll have an opportunity to hear the following two speakers: Ron Rohrbaugh Jr., Conservation Science Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "The Role of Young Forest in Supporting Healthy and Diverse Bird Populations" - Ron's presentation will focus on the conservation of bird species (Golden-winged warbler and others) in a fascinating ecological niche: New York's idle farmlands. Ernest Williams, Professor of Biology Emeritus at Hamilton College: "Monarchs, Milkweeds, and Migration" - Williams, a nationally known expert on monarchs, will describe threats to the continued migration of monarchs as well as their current status. See the article below for more information about rebates and visit the Symposium website for more information. Hope you can make it!
~ Janet Allen, President, HGCNY Wild Ones Chapter
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Do you have a dry, shady area?
Not a problem! Many beautiful native plants can grow in shady areas with dry soils, and the plants will help hold soil and soil moisture in place.
Here are just a few examples from a larger list compiled by Ellen Folts of Amanda's Garden: Black cohosh ( Actaea racemosa - formerly Cimicifuga) - tall, with beautiful white flowers; excellent pollinator plant and host for Spring Blue Azure butterfly Wild ginger ( Asarum canadense) - Low-growing with beautiful leaves; spreads, but not aggressively. (Note that European ginger is commonly sold; choose this beautiful native variety instead!) Bottlebrush grass ( Elymus hystrix) - Adds interest to a woodland garden Flowering raspberry ( Rubus odoratus) - Flowers for pollinators, fruits for birds, and beautiful flowers for people Wild stonecrop ( Sedum ternatum) - Tiny pure white stars and beautiful foliage on this low-growing, gradually spreading plant Here is the entire Amanda's Garden list.
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| | A chickadee working in the leaf litter to get moss for its nest |
Get ready for nesting season
Birds need food, cover, water ... AND a place to raise their young. Be sure your yard is ready for them -- for the birds that nest in trees and shrubs and those that nest in cavities and nest boxes.
For all birds
1) The most important thing you can do for ALL birds is to plant lots of NATIVE trees and shrubs. Not only do they provide choice nesting sites for non-cavity-nesting birds, but they also produce the caterpillars that are so essential as baby bird food.
Read more from the National Wildlife Federation about non-natives:
Non-native Plants: Ecological Traps
2) Leave the bits and pieces of nature in your yard. Little sticks, old bits of leaves and grasses, mud are birds' building supplies! They don't need dryer lint (which is NOT recommended anyway) or other human-supplied materials as much as they need what nature provides naturally.
For birds nesting in cavities
1) Natural cavities in snags (dead trees) are ideal. If you have a dead or dying tree, cut no more than is needed for safety. Grow a native vine on the remaining trunk if you want some decoration. A dead tree can be full of life! See Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife for more info on snags.
2) No snags? Provide nest boxes -- artificial cavities. If you have nest boxes still mounted from last season, make sure they're clean and ready for this year's tenants. Does your nest box have a perch in front of the entrance? Remove it! It doesn't help the nesting birds, only potential predators.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a wealth of information on their NestWatch website at http://nestwatch.org/ including All about bird houses, which includes features of a good bird house, plans for making your own nest box, which birds will nest in your region and in your habitat, how to install a nest box camera, and more.
You can also participate in their Nest Watch citizen science program.
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You can help make
"Hometown Habitat" a reality
Video documentaries have power to change people's ideas. That's why Catherine Zimmerman's Hometown Habitat, Stories of Bringing Nature Home project is so important.
This 90-minute documentary focuses on showing how and why native plants are critical to the survival and vitality of local ecosystems.
Award-winning director Catherine Zimmerman and film crew have been on a two-year journey, traveling the country to visit Hometown Habitat Heroes, people who are reversing detrimental impacts on the land and in the water of major U.S. watersheds, one garden at a time. This documentary features Doug Tallamy and Wild Ones! Learn more about the project and how you can help fund it.(NOTE: HGCNY and other Wild Ones chapters have contributed to the project.)
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| | Document the arrival of spring |
Thoreau a citizen scientist?
Scientists have used Henry David Thoreau's 160-year-old field notes to document the changing life in the woods, as a warming climate jumbles the timing of annual springtime schedules.
The leafing out of trees in the spring is one of the most dramatic events of the year in temperate regions of the world--whether New York, England, Japan, or Russia. New leaves mark the end of winter and the beginning of the growing season. They mark the awakening of wildlife, the arrival of migratory birds, the emergence of flowers, and the time of year for walks in the park and spring-cleaning.
Although researchers have been interested in the mechanics of leaves for many decades, the natural history of leaf out and leaf drop was largely ignored. Using Henry David Thoreau's field notes from Walden Pond in the 1850s, Richard Primack and Amanda Gallinat have shown that leaf emergence times have shifted about 18 days earlier. Unfortunately, the schedules of the birds and insects that depend on these leaves have not always shifted accordingly, throwing co-evolved schedules out of sync.
Researchers at botanical gardens around the world have joined in monitoring leafing out times to understand this heretofore under-appreciated aspect of natural history, so that scientists can make better predictions about forest ecosystems as the climate changes.
In this short (5 minute) video, "Climate Change, with help from Henry David Thoreau," the scientist Richard Primack explains his research (in a very user-friendly way).
Two ways you can help monitor a changing world
1) Choose one or more of you plants to monitor through the seasons. Check out Project BudBurst at budburst.org to learn more. Resources for educators from Kindergarten through Higher Education are available on the website, too. And here's an enjoyable 3-minute introductory video from Project Budburst to explain plant phenology and why citizen science efforts are important.
2) You can also help digitize others' bird migration records from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. These cards are invaluable, but only if they're in digital form! See how you can participate in the USGS North American Bird Phenology Program at https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BPP/v4/index.php. |
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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.
Some of the speakers:
Jesse Hoffman will discuss his comprehensive efforts for the Albany Pine Bush, where he collects seed, proagates, and raises native plants from local seed sources, for their APB's own restoration efforts. Jesse also works to make those plants available for local landscape use and helps local people understand how to use them.
Dan Segal, The Plantsmen Nursery will address the real relationship between plant traits as we perceive them, and their environmental origins, which we often don't think about. He will explain how traits, and their environmental basis, often influence plant availability, and how the chain of relationships -- traits, environmental origins and availability -- can and should guide our use of most native species as well.
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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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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Pollinator Pathway Workshop
What is a pollinator pathway? A series of small gardens planted with native species that provide pollinators with distinct habitat pathways in urbanized, scattered or barren landscapes.
When: Sat. March 5 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Where: 203 N. Hamilton St. Watertown
FREE! Snacks will be provided. Free seeds, too!
Hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County and the SLELO PRISM.
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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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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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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
(NOTE: 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 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 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.
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Renewal of a Jewel:
Onondaga Lake
WHEN: Wed. March 30, 7:30 pm
WHERE: SUNY-ESF Gateway Center
ESF's Dr. Neil Ringler (along with dozens of students) has studied the Lake's aquatic communities since closure of the Solvay Process plant in 1986.
Come hear about Onondaga Lake from "A" (aquatic plants) to "Z" (zebra mussels) and bass, sunfish, sturgeon, walleye, aquatic insects -- all organisms Dr. Ringler has studied.
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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.
Join the NATIONAL 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.
Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildonesnativeplants/ and once you there, click "Join Group" in the upper-right corner. |
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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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