"A Model for Urban Pollinator Conservation"
FREE program on Monday, September 12th
Healing the earth, one yard at a time

September 2016 Newsletter


In this edition:

UPCOMING WILD ONES PROGRAMS
GAPP: A Model for Urban Pollinator Conservation - September 12
Fall Landscapes in Progress - September 17
Native Plants of the Cumberland Trail - October 10

SAVE THE DATE!
Plant Natives 2017! Symposium
March 18, 2017

UPCOMING CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE PLANTS PROGRAMS
Plant Form & Function I - September 10
Plant Form & Function II - October 8
Soil and Water - November 12

CHAPTER UPDATES

OTHER PROGRAMS & EVENTS IN THE REGION

INTERESTING INFORMATION

PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD

CONNECT WITH US


Photos above include native plants blooming this month: 
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), 
Missouri Ironweed (Vernonia missurica), 
Georgia Aster (Symphyotrichum georgianum) 
and American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

UPCOMING WILD ONES PROGRAMS

The Greater Atlanta Pollinator Partnership: 
A model for urban pollinator conservation 
with Jennifer Cruse-Sanders, Ph.D.



Monday, September 12, 2016 - 6:00 pm
green|spaces, 63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
FREE and open to the public

Global pollinator populations are in decline for many reasons including habitat loss and overuse of pesticides. The Greater Atlanta Pollinator Partnership (GAPP) was initiated in 2009, in Atlanta, because the housing boom of the 1990s and early 2000s. Over a 20 year period, approximately 162,000 hectacres of pollinator-friendly native green space/tree canopy were lost with an increase of 81,000 ha of impervious surface.  

Goals of the GAPP are to encourage restoration, development, and registration of pollinator habitat at an ecologically significant landscape scale.  Key initiatives include using native species, controlling invasive species, establishing community gardens, citizen science projects, conservation, education, and research.  

Dr. Jenny Cruse Sanders is Vice President for Science and Conservation at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and adjunct professor in Biology at Georgia Institute of Technology. 

Plant Form & Function I
with with Richard Clements & Mary Priestley



Saturday, September 10, 2016
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center

This is a core class for the Certificate in Native Plants and offers 6 credits toward the program's completion. The goal of the class is to provide students with a basic understanding of botany which is critical to understanding how plants work in the natural world.  For example, what exactly is a Plant? Here we take a look at the qualities that plants share with other living things, as well as characteristics that set them apart. We also examine the range of different organisms that make up the plant kingdom. Specific topics include: living vs. non-living things, matter, energy, chemistry, cells and their functions, photosynthesis, respiration, natural and artificial selection, and the diversity of the plant world.

Instructors:  Richard Clements, PhD, Professor of Biological and Environmental Science, Chattanooga State Community College, and Mary Priestley, Curator of the Sewanee Herbarium.

Note: Plant Form & Function II will be held on October 8 at McCoy Farm & Gardens.  Both are core classes.  There are NO prerequisites for either class.  You do NOT have to be working toward your Certificate in Native Plants to register for this class.

Saturday, September 17, 2016 -- 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Wild Ones MEMBERS ONLY
 
The Fall Landscapes in Progress tour is on Saturday September 17, 2016.  Three members of the Tennessee Valley Wild Ones - Hill & Paola Zannini Craddock, Valarie Adams and Dennis Bishop - will open their home gardens to a small group of members. Details about garden locations (in the Fort Wood neighborhood and Flintstone, GA) will be provided after registration.
 
These informal programs provide an opportunity for education, promotion and encouragement of native plant gardening, as well as TVWO member appreciation.  Rather than a traditional "garden tour" where everything is perfect, LIPs is an event where members -- host and visitor -- can ask questions, share information about their own endeavors, and spend time with others dedicated to landscaping with native species. Over time, we have re-visited some of the same gardens to witness the evolution and growth of a landscape, all with the hope of becoming better gardeners.
 
Registration is FREE and limited to 20 members for this fall's Landscapes in Progress. Sign up now to ensure your slot.  A brown-bag picnic at the last garden will cap the day's activities.  Registrants will receive the itinerary, driving directions and descriptions of the three landscapes after registration.  As always, consider carpooling with other members who've signed up for this wonderful members-only event.
 






The CNP is a partnership with Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center, 
the Tennessee Native Plant Society and the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones.

Registration is currently open for the following classes:

Plant Form & Function I*
 with Richard Clements & Mary Priestley
Saturday, September 10
Core Class

Plant Form & Function II*
with Richard Clements & Mary Priestley
Saturday, October 8
at McCoy Farm & Gardens
Core Class

Soil & Water *with Wyn Miller
Saturday, November 12
Core Class

* NO prerequisites are required for any of these classes. 

Native Plants of the Cumberland Trail
with Bobby Fulcher


Monday, October 10
6:00pm
FREE and Open to the Public
green|spaces, 63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN

Details coming soon


SAVE THE DATE!






Saturday March 18, 2017
SAVE THE DATE!
More information coming soon!



CHAPTER UPDATES

Program Planning for 2017

Do you have some ideas for Wild Ones 2017 programs and field trips?  If so, please contact Lisa Lemza or Bill Moll, Co-Chairs of the Program Committee.  

Would you like to be part of the Tennessee Valley Program Planning Committee?  All members are welcome to join the Committee and help plan meetings and trips for 2017; the first meeting will be in October.  Please let Lisa or Bill know if you're interested.


Officers and Board Membership for 2017

Are you interested in helping lead and chart the future for our chapter?  If so, please contact Dennis Bishop, Chair of the 2017 Nominating Committee.


Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed at the three following events:
  • The Wild Ones information booth at the Reflection Riding Plant Sale, including two display gardens (see below).  Wild Ones will be there all three days (September 8-10); we still need more volunteers for Saturday, September 10.
  • The Wild Ones display within the Master Gardeners' area at the Hamilton County Fair on Saturday and Sunday, September 24-25.  Our display is titled "Save the Bees, Save the World."  We will have two display gardens - Pollinator Garden and Shrubs & Trees for Bees - supplied by Trailhead Nursery at our Wild Ones' table.  We need volunteers both days.
  • Workday for the Reflection Riding Butterfly garden on Saturday, October 8th, from 9-11.  We will be weeding, mulching and putting the garden to bed for the winter.  
Contact Ann Brown or Lucy Scanlon, Co-Chairs of the Public Information Committee for info or to volunteer.

Tennessee Valley Chapter Annual Meeting

Save the date: Saturday, November 5th.  We will be announcing 2017 programs, electing officers for 2017, and having fun social time together.  Details will be coming soon.


OTHER PROGRAMS & EVENTS IN THE REGION

Community & Regional Events Calendar on Our Website

Check out the Community & Regional Events page on our website to learn about other events of interest -- http://tennesseevalley.wildones.org/community/

If you know of an event related to native plants, natural landscaping, biodiversity, etc. that might be of interest, please let us know and we'll add it to the Calendar.  Email us at tnvalleywildones@gmail.com


Reflection Riding Fall Plant Sale

Want beautiful spring and summer blooms? Take advantage of the fall planting season and let your plants settle in over the winter. Expand your knowledge of native plants and the best way to grow and care for them through the many walks and presentations given by local experts throughout the weekend.  Click HERE for more information.

Wild Ones and Reflection Riding will also collaborate to present two displays - "Plants for Pollinators" and "Trees for Bees."  Look for them in front of the greenhouse during the Plant Sale.

Member Pre-Sale:
Thursday, September 8, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm EDT

Public Sale:
Friday and Saturday, September 9 and 10, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm EDT

Location: Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center,
400 Garden Road, Chattanooga, TN 37419


Trailhead Nursery

Trailhead Nursery will be open on Saturday, September 24 from 10am - 2pm (EDT) and at other fairs and festivals, including the Crabtree Farms Fall Plant Sale and the Main Street Market.  Click HERE for more information.



INTERESTING INFORMATION

New Book - "I Contain Multitudes" by Ed Yong

"News flash: A fabulous new book about microbial life (which, it turns out, is all life) hit the shelves recently.  Ed Yong is an outstanding writer whose elegant, witty prose describes a revolution in biology. Our new understanding of microbes upends much of what we thought we knew about medicine, conservation, ecology, and many other fields. I Contain Multitudes takes us into the labs and the field sites where this revolution is unfolding." Read more in the book review by David Haskell.




When Privet is Removed, Native Plants and Pollinators Return.  

Results from a study published in 2014 by U.S. Forest Service researchers showed that not only can a thorough removal of privet last at least five years without a follow-up, but also that native plant and animal communities steadily return to areas cleared of the invasive shrub.  Read more.



Swamp Rose Mallow - for Bees, Butterflies, Beetles, Birds and Beauty

"The huge, showy blossoms of Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), a member of the Mallow (Malvaceae) family, begin to appear in mid-summer, and continue into early fall."  Read more in the blog article and see photos by Mary Ann Borge.




Can You See Me Now?

As Doug Tallamy has said many times in his lectures on native plants as larval hosts, caterpillars don't want to be seen because that increases the chance that they'll be eaten. Caterpillars have several strategies to avoid being seen: staying hidden is one of them.  Read more of the "Using Georgia Native Plants" blog post.



Watching Dragonflies: Eastern Pondhawks

"Dragonflies have exceptional vision, the best of all insect species. Their large eyes are compound, consisting of thousands of simple eyes, and providing them almost a 360-degree field of vision. "  Read more in the blog article and see photos by Mary Ann Borge.





PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)


Just-emerged Gulf Fritillary
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)


Sleepy Orange Sulphur Butterfly Chrysalis
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)


Sleepy Orange Sulphur Butterfly chrysalis at 8:15am on August 31
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)


Newly emerged Sleepy Orange Sulphur Butterfly 
at 10:15 am on August 31st.
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)


Tiny Monarch Butterfly caterpillar, several days old, approximately 3-4mm long on Common Milkweed. 
Note milky sap at edge of eaten leaf. 
Finger in background for size comparison.
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)


Female Pileated Woodpecker on porch screen
(Photo by Nora Bernhardt)


Eastern Box Turtle (Photo by Nora Bernhardt)


CONNECT WITH US

Become a Wild Ones Member!
Join the Tennessee Valley Chapter

See what's happening on our social media sites:

Wild Ones: Native Plants. Natural Landscapes is a national non-profit organization with over 50 chapters in 13 states that promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Please read more information about Wild Ones at www.wildones.org.
 
The Tennessee Valley Chapter presents guest speakers, field trips and other special events throughout the year, as well as an annual native plant and natural landscaping symposium in early spring. 
 
To contact our chapter, email us at tnvalleywildones@gmail.com