What's Up Under Your Trees? A Native Shrub Workshop

What's Up Under Your Trees? A Native Shrub Workshop.

June 16, 2012 9am to 3pm. $8.00 includes lunch. Earth Connection, Cincinnati Ohio. Please join us to learn more about native plants that grow under the canopy of large trees in Eastern Forests and how you can incorporate shrubs and wildflowers into your home landscape. Speakers include: Christine Hadley, President of Cincinnati Wildflower Preservation Society, will discuss invasive shrubs, such as Honeysuckle, how to remove it and efforts being made by local groups to eradicate invasive from local restoration projects, including Ohio State Preserves. Brian Jorg, horticulturist for CREW at the Cincinnati Zoo will show us how to propagate native wildflowers. Chris McCullough, President Greater Cincinnati Wild Ones, will talk about native alternative shrubs for Amur Honeysuckle. Debi Wolterman, Midwest Native Plant Society, will show a video of her bio-hedge and explain what plants she selected and why; then what plants NOT to select, as well as how to deal with neighbors on the other side of the hedge. Tim Sisson, President of Western Wildlife Corridor, will lead a hike to show native shrubs and local efforts to restore prime forest habitat in our area. The hike will last approximately 1-1 ½ hours. Easy to moderate walking. Native plants will be available for purchase from Keystone Flora Cost: $8.00 Includes lunch, pay at the door. Cash only, sorry no checks accepted Location: Earth Connection, 370 Neeb Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45233 (across from Mt. St. Joseph College in Delhi) About 15 minutes from downtown Cincinnati Registration: RSVP by June 1 to Kathy@cincinnatibirds.com or call 513-941-6497 and leave your name and the number attending. Sponsored by the Midwest Native Plant Society.

4th Annual Midwest Native Plant Conference-Registration is now Open!

We have some exciting news!

Registration for the 4th Annual Midwest Native Plant Conference is now open!

This year's conference will be held at Bergamo Conference Center, located on the beautiful grounds of Mt. Saint John Nature Preserve, in Dayton, Ohio from July 27, 28 & 29, 2012.

Here are some great reasons why you should register for the Midwest Native Plant Conference:

• Learn about native plants and their ecosystems from professionals in their fields
  
• Shop our native plant vendors for the widest array of native plants available anywhere
  
• Meet other attendees and share your experiences with native plants
  
• Visit native areas rich in many species with an experienced guide
  
• Walk the restored prairie, woodland and meadows of Mt. St. John Preserve during your stay
  
• Join the morning bird walks and evening walks of discovery
  
• Meet and talk with our keynote speakers, David Wagner, Marielle Anzelone, Ian Adams and Cheryl Harner.
  
• Peruse the booths of nature-related arts and crafts for sale
  
• Buy a book and have it signed by the author
  
• Extend your stay and explore Greene County shops, nature areas, Air Force Museum, and towns
  
• Connect with nature

If you register early, you will reserve your spot, receive a discounted weekend rate, and help to ensure that you will be able attend your favorite field trip. We offer Friday and Saturday only options as well. The conference website offers a conference registration form, a lodging reservation form, bios and program descriptions for all keynote and breakout speakers, and field trip descriptions. Our vendors will be open to the public on Saturday, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Please join us to "Connect with Nature"!

The Midwest Native Plant Society
www.midwestnativeplants.org

Some Great Weekend Events

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, here are a few events that have popped up on my radar.

Those of you in the Indianapolis area, Garfield Park has an orchid show going on now until Sunday, Nov. 13th, 2011. Cost $3 per person or $8 per family. Check out the Indy Parks Nature blog here for more photos of these gorgeous flowers.

In Southern Ohio, Friday evening, November 11th at 7:30 pm at Avon Woods Nature Center, 4235 Paddock Road, Cincinnati 45229, Dr. David Brandenburg, author of  National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America will be presenting  Should I Have Eaten That? Allergies, Blisters, Convulsions, Delusions, and Other Adventures with Poisonous Plants”. Free and open to the public.
  

And, in Indianapolis on Sat., November 12th, Indiana Plant and Wildflower Society, INPAWS, will have their annual conference at the University of Indianapolis. Many great speakers on the subjects of native plants and their allies. Check it out!

Things to Do

If you know of any young naturalists, you might consider attending the Ohio Young Birders Conference. Supporting adults are welcome too. This is one of the best birding events around, because the presentations are by young birders! Everyone can learn a lot here..these young birders are truly amazing. Sign-up today and bring a young friend with you!

The Ohio Young Birders Club and
the Black Swamp Bird Observatory present:

5th Annual Ohio Young Birders Club Conference

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Hosted by
Columbus Audubon
and
Grange Insurance Audubon Center

505 W. Whittier Street
Columbus, OH 43215
614-545-5475
Directions
Google map of the area

Looking for ways to protect the environment?
Your "green umbrella"—those things you do to help protect our environment—is vital to sustaining your community. This website is the place to learn about ways to expand that umbrella and to track your green activities. You will be able to see your impact on the community and how that compares to your friends and neighbors. Plus, we'll show you how much money you are saving along the way! http://whatsyourgreenumbrella.org/

Things to do this September

Hard to believe that summer is coming to an end, but that certainly doesn't mean that there is any less to do outdoors. Plenty of work is needed in my garden right now to collect seeds, mulch beds, and all that stuff that comes with the joy of gardening for wildlife. I want to be sure that I have plenty of food, shelter and water for migrating butterflies and birds that are beginning to move through our area right now. Isn't this why most of us plant native plants? To attract insects that in turn, bring us beautiful butterflies and birds to enjoy?

Speaking of birds, on the weekend of September 15 to 18, 2011, hundreds of bird watchers will gather at Lakeside, Ohio, on the south shore of Lake Erie for what will surely be the highlight of the birding year. Hosted by Bird Watcher's Digest, The Ohio Ornithological Society, and the Lakeside Association, the 2011 Midwest Birding Symposium (MBS) is generating a lot of buzz and interest. Space for attendees, vendors, and sponsors is quickly filling up!More information can be found on the website at: https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/mwb2011/mbs2011-about-symposium.php.

On September 24, Saturday, please join us for a Butterfly ID workshop at Oxbow, Inc. Please RSVP to whocooksforyou@gmail.com. Join us in the field with trip leader and butterfly expert, Bob Nuhn. 1:00 pm at the entrance to Oxbow, Inc. (www.oxbowinc.org ).

On September 25, Sunday, 10 am, join the Cincinnati Wildflower Preservation Society for Wildflowers and Wildlife Along (and in!) the Whitewater River, Hamilton County, Ohio.

When other local parks are parched from drought, the Whitewater River corridor is green and alive. Starting at Campbell Lakes Preserve, our walk goes along and at times into the Whitewater, exploring the shore and the sandbars loaded with unusual plants, butterflies, dragonflies, and other insects. We’ll also see herptiles, fish, and lots of birds—maybe even the eagles that nest there. Our guides, Wayne Wauligman and Denis Conover, will take us through water up to 18 inches deep in search of wildlife, so participants must be prepared to get wet. We hope to see the host plant for the Dainty Sulphur, Carpetweed, that grows where the water recedes.

Directions: Take I-74 to Dry Fork Rd. exit #3, turn left (south), cross over the highway, turn right on Harrison Avenue. Turn left on Kilby Road, right on Campbell Road to park entrance on left. Meet in the Campbell Lakes parking lot. The address is 10431 Campbell Road, Harrison, OH45030. Map link online at www.cincywildflower.org

Wasp Workshop with Eric Eaton

We just returned from the EDGE Advanced Naturalist Workshop on Wasps, led by Eric Eaton, Principal Author of the Kaufman Field Guide to the Insects of North America. This was an informative and fun weekend, held at the Cincinnati Museum Center’s Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve. The Eulett Center, pictured left, is a great place to study and learn with large classrooms and the latest technology for viewing your subject.Although the focus of the workshop was on Wasps, we spent a lot of time in the field studying wasps and their prey. Caterpillars are often used as a nursery for parasitic wasp larvae. We had some great looks at wasps, but they weren't easy to photograph. I did learn that those drab moths that I see flying around my back door at night can be pretty spectacular in the caterpillar stage. Take a look at some of these photos: a Stinging Rose Caterpillar,

two larval stages of the Black-waved flannel moth on one leaf (the white fuzz is the 1st stage)

A Monkey-slug or Hag Moth.

and Red-humped caterpillars.

This tiny Purple-Crested Slug
looked great and made key identification features easy to see when Eric used the center's interactive microscope and display.

Adams County has some of the most diverse plant and animal life in Ohio, and many of these finds were located at Lynx Prairie.
Eric explains the Malaise trap and how it's used to collect specimens.

I now find it impossible to go outdoors and just look at one thing! Every living thing is related and has a unique purpose, even if at times it seems painful to watch. Once we became aware of the world of wasps, they were everywhere. Here a beautiful Orb weaver fell right before our eyes on to a picnic table after being stung by a wasp. The spider was paralyzed from the venom and most likely never to recover. If we hadn't interrupted the hunt, the wasp would have dragged it off to its chamber to be food for its larvae when they emerge.
In addition to wasps and prey, we had some good birds, butterflies, plants and many other species to entertain us. Stepping outside proves to never be a dull moment!
Here a caterpillar is busy eating his lunch.
Many thanks to Eric for sharing his vast knowledge and making this weekend so enjoyable.
Of course, Chris Bedel and Mark Zloba, our "edge" hosts, made sure that we were well fed, and keeping us on schedule. I'm looking forward to more workshops in the future.
For more information on Caterpillars, be sure to mark your calenders now for the next Midwest Native Plant Conference, July 27-28-29, 2012 at Bergamo Center in Dayton. David Wagner, author of "Caterpillars of Eastern North America" will be the Saturday night keynote.
Hope to see you in the field soon!

3rd Annual Midwest Native Plant Conference Recap

Here is a great recap of our recent conference held at the Bergamo Center in Dayton, Ohio by Jim McCormac. Stay tuned for our 4th Annual conference, July 27, 28 & 29th, 2012, again at Bergamo Center. For updates, visit www.midwestnativeplants.org.