Events

Buzz, Hum and Hover: Insects and Native Plants  

Speaker Maud Lyon

Insects are essential to the web of life - yet we rarely notice most of them. Why do we need them? Why are insect populations crashing around the globe? How can we help insects to survive? Learn how your home garden can make an important difference in biodiversity - and the connection to native plants.

Explore how native gardening can address climate challenges in our next Wild Ones national webinar, “Cultivating Change” with author and activist Lorraine Johnson. Johnson has been researching and writing about environmental issues for three decades. Learn about the pivotal role of gardening as an act of stewardship in the face of climate and ecological challenges. Discover the profound connections between individual gardens and the broader world and learn how these green spaces can serve as catalysts for positive ecological and social change.  Join Wild Ones for a practical and insightful discussion on gardening's positive impact on the environment and our future. 

Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch the talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Talk Title and Description
Inspiring Conservation: The Great Lakes Gardens at Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Speaker: Michael Kost, Associate Curator at University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum

The Great Lakes Gardens was established in 2013 to showcase a diverse array of the Great Lakes region’s natural communities and their associated flora. The gardens serve as an important place for the general public and University community to learn about these natural communities and native plants and be inspired to care about their protection and stewardship. In addition to the educational and inspirational benefits to conservation, the gardens play an
important role in the ex situ conservation of numerous uncommon and rare native plants and the insect fauna that rely on them. Challenges to curating and caring for the Great Lakes Gardens include acquiring and establishing representative native plants, maintaining adequate interpretive signage, and controlling non-native plants.

Bio
Mike Kost serves as Associate Curator at University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum and as a Lecturer in the School for Environment and Sustainability. As a curator he focuses on the conservation and stewardship of natural areas and native plants. Before joining U-M, he served as the Lead Ecologist and a Senior Conservation Scientist with Michigan Natural Features Inventory at Michigan State University, where he focused on documenting and describing natural communities and rare species and identifying key sites for biodiversity conservation and management. He has coauthored over 80 publications, including four books on the natural communities of Michigan

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Registration for this event is now closed, and registrants have been emailed about attending. Please contact [email protected] if you have any issues getting in.

This will be a paid event for both in-person and remote viewing. Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch Dr. Kimmerer's talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Ecological restoration can be understood as an act of reciprocity, in return for the gifts of the earth. This talk explores the ecological and ethical imperatives of healing the damage we have inflicted on our land and waters. We trace the evolution of restoration philosophy and practice and consider how integration of indigenous knowledge can expand our understanding of restoration from the biophysical to the biocultural. Reciprocal restoration includes not only healing the land but our relationship to land. In healing the land, we are healing ourselves.

Wild Ones is excited to cohost this event with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's Earth Week 2024 and the Wild Ones Fox Valley Chapter. 

Talk Title and Description: Dealing with Invasives

Speaker: Patrick Canniff, Oakland County CISMA, Coordinator

(oaklandinvasivespecies.org)

Patrick Canniff (Oakland County CISMA/Parks Outreach Coordinator) presents a talk on Oakland County priority invasives species and ornamental garden species identification, impacts, and management. Attendees will walk away with knowledge on resources available to train their identification of common invasive species, an understanding of invasive species and their impacts, and common management techniques and resources to implement control options on their own property.

Patrick is the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Outreach Coordinator for Oakland County Parks and Recreation. He holds a M.S. in Conservation Ecology/Environmental Informatics from University of Michigan, and a B.S. in Environmental Science from Loyola University Chicago. Patrick has come to the CISMA from the Great Lakes Commission supporting their Aquatic Invasive Species program

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NON-MEMBERS: We hope you become a member of Wild Ones with North Oakland as your local chapter. (wildones.org) Note that our programs are open to the public free of charge, but if you are a member of Wild Ones, part of your membership fee returns to the local chapter and helps pay for our programs. Your membership affirms your own commitment to ecological landscaping practices.

Talk Title and Description - Gardening for Biological Conservation and Connected Communities

Speaker - Mary Jamieson

Scientists have documented six mass extinctions events over geological time. In this current period, unlike previous times, human activity is a key driver of species loss. Now more than ever, collaborative community efforts in conservation, restoration, and sustainability are needed to protect biological diversity. This session, led by Dr. Mary Jamieson, will discuss ways we can
help support biodiversity through simple activities such as gardening. A message that is gaining traction worldwide: we can conserve wildlife in our own backyards—on campus and in our local communities. Flower and food gardens provide habitat for pollinators as well as other critically important fauna and flora. Ecological communities are connected through complex, everchanging food web dynamics. Similarly, human communities are connected through intra
and interspecies interactions that can work to support one another. This presentation will highlight community projects aimed at advancing the science and conservation of at risk species, especially plants and pollinators. Join in on a discussion about best practices for creating and maintaining habitat for biodiversity conservation.

Bio - Dr. Mary Jamieson is an Associate Professor in Biological Sciences at Oakland University. Through research, education, and community engagement, her work aims to promote and protect biological diversity, ecological restoration, and sustainable agriculture. Research and education projects in her lab involve diverse collaborations with students and community partners. These projects focus on understanding the causes and consequences of anthropogenic environmental change for plants and insects. She is an active member of the Pollinator Partnership’s North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Taskforce. Her work has been supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, National Science Foundation, and Oakland Township and County Parks.

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NON-MEMBERS: We hope you become a member of Wild Ones with North Oakland as your local chapter. (wildones.org) Note that our programs are open to the public free of charge, but if you are a member of Wild Ones, part of your membership fee returns to the local chapter and helps pay for our programs. Your membership affirms your own commitment to ecological landscaping practices.

Native Plant Sale - Save the date

Details and information Here: 2024 Native Plant Sale 

Pre-Orders Open Now!

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