Visitors and Friends of the Arboretum members come from near and far! A tally of 2013-2014 visitors who signed our guest book (near the greeters desk in the Visitors Center) shows that visitors represented every U.S. state with the exception of Idaho, Connecticut, West Virginia and Wyoming. In total, visitors represented more than 290 cities in the U.S. and 14 countries around the globe. A visitor from Uzbekistan came from the greatest distance, 6420 miles. You may assume that Friends of the Arboretum members are all from the KC metro area. Wrong! FOTA members come from nearly a quarter of the states in the U.S. and enjoy the benefits of membership from afar. In total, FOTA members are from 95 different zip codes in this country.
Volunteers Aly Swyden and Ryan Burnett tabulated these statistics. Photo by Ken O'Dell
Easy Trees to I.D. in Winter If all trees, with their green and leafy branches, look more or less alike to you, take a leisurely stroll through the Arboretum some winter day and notice their incredible variety. School children learn to identify trees by the shape of their leaves. But in winter, you can identify many trees by their distinctive bark alone. Some examples: A few steps outside the Visitors Center a weeping willow dominates the shadier part of the Monet Garden. To the south of the Monet bridge, the willow's slender, weeping branches are already turning yellow. The willow appreciates the moisture from the pond. As you cross the dam that separates Margaret's Pond from the woods below, look to your left and notice the mottled white trunk and branches of a mature sycamore tree. We are near the western edge of this native tree's range. Continue clockwise around the pond to Byrd's Grove and there you will see the peeling bark of six small paperbark maples. These trees also have spectacular autumn foliage, so you'll want to visit often in order to enjoy the Arboretum's seasonal changes. As you learn to identify the trees by name, you will find that you enjoy them more.
Photos by FOTA Volunteer Ken O'Dell
Volunteer in the Spotlight
One of our volunteer photographers stands out as especially talented at capturing pictures of the Arboretum's wildlife. A gentle soul, Kevin Keltner has been shooting everything from butterflies to deer in a most benign way since early 2008. Lucky for us, he shares his beautiful work with the Arboretum. Not every photographer has the patience to do what Kevin does. The trees and flowers hold still and "pose" for the camera, but the birds and bees do not. Kevin's photos frequently appear in this newsletter, and there's one at the very top of this issue. For those of us who know him only through his Arboretum photography, it's interesting to note that he is also involved with community theater in the KC area. Originally from Ohio (he's a proud Ohio State fan), Kevin lives in Gardner, KS. By the way, 99.9% of the photos used in FOTA promotions were taken at the Arboretum, most of them by FOTA volunteers. If you see Kevin, tell him how much you appreciate his work. We certainly do!
Photo by Judy Moser
|
Thank you, Dennis Patton We can't move into the new year without giving a special thank you to Dennis Patton. People all around our community know Dennis from his work as the Johnson County Horticultural Extension Agent, which is a full time job and more. Even so, Dennis has contributed his valuable time to serve as the FOTA Executive Committee Chair for the past three years and continues on the Executive Committee this year. This was actually Dennis's second term as Chair, having served another term about 10 years ago. His love for the Arboretum and commitment to the mission of FOTA brought him back once again, and we have all benefited enormously. During his most recent tenure as Chair, Dennis launched a new vision and direction for FOTA intended to better position us for moving forward with building out the Arboretum's master plan. He leaves a valuable legacy, and we are all grateful. If you see Dennis around, please offer your heartfelt thanks to him for his steadfast commitment to the Arboretum!
|