|
|
| Serviceberry is a serviceberry is a serviceberry? No!
|
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!
~ Janet Allen, President, HGCNY Wild Ones Chapter
|
|
| | Is all this lawn really necessary? |
Flip the default!
What's the default American landscape? Lawn! Lawn is everywhere, with some trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants added for "decoration."But as Tallamy recommended in his visit to Syracuse last year, we can "flip" this default. We can consider native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants to be the default option, and then carve out places for lawn. Lawn can be useful in our landscapes as sitting areas, as paths to utility areas (such as compost piles and laundry areas), and as play spaces -- but these uses can take a fraction of the space usually reserved for lawns.Spring is a good time to analyze the traffic patterns in our yards and determine which areas can be converted from resource-intensive lawn to life-supporting native plants.
How to get rid of it
After deciding on the new boundaries of the lawn, get rid of the rest. Although it could be dug up and composted, the simplest way is to smother it.
Cover it with newspaper 10-12 pages thick overlapping by 5-6 inches at the edges, wet the paper so it doesn't blow away, then cover the newspaper with 6-10 inches of wood chip mulch. After several months, you'll have a beautiful bed of topsoil. You can plant your native plants right through the mulch.
Read more on Cornell's YardMap "(Un)importance of Lawn" webpage.
|
|
|
|
Vernal ponds
Vernal ponds are temporary wetlands, filled with water in the spring, then drying up in summer. Though temporary, they're essential breeding and feeding grounds for many amphibians and insects, as well as the reptiles, birds, and mammals that depend on them for food. Few urban/suburban yards will have vernal ponds, but larger properties might. If you're lucky enough to have a vernal pond, protect it from chemicals and disturbance. It's more than just a big puddle! You can create a vernal pond
Preserving existing natural features is always best, but if you don't already have a vernal pond you can create one. The US Forest Service has an excellent booklet A Guide to Creating Vernal Ponds that can be downloaded for free.
If you can't create one on your own property, perhaps you know of a public property that could host a vernal pond.
BUT don't create an eco-trap!
Ecological traps are places that allow wildlife to begin their life cycle, but don't allow them to complete their life cycle. A common example is providing host plants for butterflies, but then raking up the resulting larvae with fallen leaves, not giving them an opportunity to become adult butterflies and continue the generations.
Similarly, in this case, a vernal pond that dries up before wildlife is able to live on land is an eco-trap. Monitor vernal ponds for a number of years to be sure they are functioning properly -- in other words, allowing amphibians and the like not only to lay their eggs, but also to become adults.
See what they look like and the life they support
These 3-4 minute videos describe vernal pond and the wildlife that live there:
The Vernal Pond - part of a Riddle Solvers series (well-done, though it features talking animals...) * Life of a Vernal Pond - Discovery Life * The life of a vernal pond in Massachusetts - Northampton Wildlife Committee |
|
|
|
| | Red-spotted purple nectaring on clethra ... BUT raised on cherry leaves |
What is a poop stick?
Black cherries ( Prunus serotina), along with other native Prunus species, are one of the best wildlife trees since their leaves support so many butterflies and other insects, which in turn support birds and other creatures that depend on insects. Yet, as Doug Tallamy says in the video interview below, people unthinkingly eradicate black cherries without considering the abundance of life they support. This fast-growing native tree grows in sun to shade, in dry to moist well-drained soil. Interesting fact: This is one of the first New World trees introduced into English gardens, recorded as early as 1629 in Europe. It is now highly invasive there and in northern South America. Plants outside of their natural communities can become problems!
From Eco-Beneficial Video: Before you pull out that native black cherry sapling, watch this interview with Dr. Doug Tallamy, author of "Bringing Nature Home." Doug explains how black cherry trees and other Prunus species are valuable host plants to many butterfly caterpillars. See what's thriving in Doug's yard.See this 4-minute video, taken in Doug Tallamy's yard, about the interesting life found on black cherry saplings -- including poop sticks! |
|
|
|
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.)
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
| Hemlock wooly adelgid
Photo: Maine Dept of Ag
|
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.
|
|
|
|
Onondaga Lake: An Important Stop for Birds on an Impressive Journey
WHEN: Sat. April 2 from 9 am - 4 pm and Sun. April 3 from 1 pm - 4 pm WHERE: The Onondaga lake Visitors Center ( Directions) Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps is hosting the exhibit in partnership with Audubon New York and Honeywell. The display will feature stunning images of migratory birds and waterfowl taken along the Onondaga Lake shoreline. Onondaga Lake is a priority Audubon Important Bird Area and a vital stop for migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway. Visitors will view photographs and meet the photographers who captured the images. An interactive live viewing station with experts from Montezuma Audubon Center and Onondaga Audubon Society will allow guests to observe birds in their natural habitat.
|
|
|
The Endangered Migration of Monarch Butterflies
Lecture and book signing with
Dr. Ernest Williams When: Sat. April 9 at 2:00 pm
Where: Great Swamp Conservancy
8375 N. Main St. in Canastota, NY
Ernest Williams is the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology Emeritus at Hamilton College and co-author of Stokes Butterfly Book : The Complete Guide to Butterfly Gardening, Identification, and Behavior and author of The Nature Handbook: A Guide to Observing the Great Outdoors.
Professor Williams will describe the current status of monarchs, the factors that threaten their continued migration and the conservation efforts underway to try to counter these losses.
Suggested donation $3. Space is limited. Register by April 8.
Call 315-697-2950 or email greatswampconservancy@gmail.com.
Limited copies of Stokes Butterfly Book and The Nature Handbook will be available for purchase.
|
|
|
|
Junior Birders Program at Great Swamp Conservancy
Funded by the Madison County Youth Bureau, this after school program invites Madison County kids in grades K-3 to join us for educational and fun meetings to learn about bird-watching, meet new friends, help birds and have a great time. They meet almost every Wednesday in April, May, June, September, October and November. Space is limited and registration is required. Contact Julie Tuesdays through Fridays at Great Swamp Conservancy: 315-697-2950 or greatswampconservancy@gmail.com for more info. GSC is located at 8375 N. Main St in Canastota NY 13032. |
|
|
Spring Break Nature Academy
for children in grades K-4
Where: Great Swamp Conservancy
When: April 26-29 10am - 4pm
Discover the 4Bs that live at the Great Swamp: birds, bats, beavers and butterflies through exploration, games and crafts. GSC is located at 8375 North Main Street in Canastota NY. For registration information, contact Julie at 315-697-2950 or email greatswampconservancy@gmail.com |
|
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
