Steve Parrish of the Master Eradicator/Controller at MBG/NA
When you go to a nursery to buy plants for your landscape this year, do you know if they have been treated with insecticides that may actually kill the bees, butterflies, and birds that you wanted to attract to you yard. While there has been an outcry that neonics should not be used by the Big Box Store companies and they are heading the demand to stop using. Many plants by law are required to be treated with a pesticide if they are crossing state borders to prevent the spread of noxious/invasive pests.
It’s important that the nurseries hear that we are interested in pesticide free plants being sold, particularly native plants. You can participate in an Earth Day Action sponsored by Xerces Society to learn more about Buying Bee-Safe Plants. Take an additional action step to sign-up to go to your local nursey and talk to the plant manager about their IPM (integrated pest management) practices and share why it is important that you purchase pesticide free plants. You can also share with them the information about Offering Bee-Safe Nursery Plants: A Guide for Nurseries
Learn more on the topic here: Bee-Safe Nursery Plants | Xerces Society
Talk to you Nursery! They are more motivated to sell pesticide free plants, if they hear from their customers that this is desired.
Xerces is organizing two Days of Action in 2022: Saturday April 23 and Saturday May 21. Gardeners like yourself are taking just a few minutes to ask nursery managers for plants free of pesticides that might harm pollinators. The idea is to turn out in force asking for bee-safe plants – wherever you live. Since February 2021, pollinator advocates have committed to contact their nurseries in nearly 60 cities! Join us – we need your voices!
You can visit, call, or write to your local garden center or nursery, to ask for plants free of pesticides that could hurt pollinators. Let us know if you plan to talk to your nursery at this link.
This event is not sponsored by NorthOakland Wild Ones or Wild Ones National, but we wanted to share events happening in the area with a similar mission.
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.
Western Reserve Land Conservancy of Ohio recently hosted this virtual symposium, consisting of 5 sessions with 3 speakers each.
There is something for everyone in this Symposium – the last session with the Caterpillar Lab could be great to watch with kids!
Session 1: Selecting & Sourcing Plants to Create Ecologically Vibrant and Resilient Gardens
The first of five, this session covers the integrity of plants species in our gardens. Our presenters addressed the native vs. cultivar dilemma and how to choose and locate the most ideal species for your garden. Participants began to create a foundation for gardens that are both pleasing to our eyes, as well as beneficial to local wildlife.
Session 2: From Lawn to Garden: Successfully Transforming Your Landscape for Increased Biodiversity
The second of five, this session addressed our devotion to lawns and the importance of rethinking these landscapes. Our presenters covered the long-term environmental effects of maintaining lawns and offered sustainable alternatives.
Session 3: Forests and Pollinators: Sustaining a Close-knit Ecosystem
The third of five, this session will focus on the integral role trees play in attracting pollinators to our gardens. Our presenters will address oaks and other woody species in our landscape, and how pests are affecting our forests, and in turn pollinators.
Session 4: Nature Connections: Creating Functional Ecosystems in Urban Settings
The fourth of five, this session will address the connectivity of greenspaces in more densely populated areas. These small but mighty sites can provide critical habitat for pollinators and other wildlife as they navigate through the natural world.
Session 5: The Little Things That Run the World
This event is not sponsored by NOWO, but we wanted to share events happening in the area with a similar mission.
Did you miss this webinar with one of Michigan’s Native Plant Growers, Vern Stephens of Designs by Nature?
You can watch the recording here Watch on YouTube
Be sure to check out Vern’s presentation slides by clicking here.
This event is not sponsored by NOWO, but we wanted to share events happening in the area with a similar mission.
If you are interested in participating in the Vernal Pool Patrol, you must register for and attend all three parts/sessions. The Michigan Vernal Pool Patrol is a statewide community science program to map and monitor vernal pools in the field using a standard protocol. Data collected will contribute to the Michigan Vernal Pool Database. Vernal pools are small, seasonally-flooded wetlands that provide critical breeding habitats for amphibians and invertebrates and are important for maintaining healthy ecosystems. Information on the status, distribution, and ecology of vernal pools in Michigan is limited. Given their small size and seasonal nature, vernal pools can be challenging to locate in the field and from aerial imagery. They also are vulnerable to climate change and various land use practices and are not well protected. We need the help of community scientists to verify and collect more information about vernal pools across the state to enhance understanding of these wetlands and better inform their management and conservation at local and statewide levels.
This virtual training (via Zoom) will provide information and resources to those interested in participating in the Michigan Vernal Pool Patrol or just interested in learning more about these important wetlands.
The training will consist of three parts/sessions presented on Wednesday evenings, March 9, 16, and 23 from 6:00-8:00 pm:
• Part 1 – Introduction to vernal pools, what they are, their key characteristics, their ecological importance, and conservation efforts in Michigan including the Vernal Pool Patrol and how you can get involved. Wednesday, March 9 – 6:00 – 8:00 pm
• Part 2 – Overview of vernal pool ecology in Michigan focusing on plants and animals commonly found in vernal pools, how to identify them and their ecology, particularly vernal pool indicator species. Wednesday, March 16 – 6:00 – 8:00 pm
• Part 3 – In-depth training on the Michigan Vernal Pool Patrol program, including program components, data collection protocol, survey data form/mobile application, how to monitor and collect quality data on a vernal pool(s) in your area, supplies needed, and available resources. Wednesday, March 23 – 6:00 – 8:00 pm
If you are interested in participating in the Vernal Pool Patrol, you must register for and attend all three parts/sessions. Training sessions will be recorded and made available to all registered participants. Those who cannot attend the live trainings can watch the recordings. Current Vernal Pool Patrol community scientists and local program coordinators also are welcome to attend the trainings if you would like to get a refresher on the training and learn about updates to the program. Participants just interested in learning more about vernal pools and/or the Vernal Pool Patrol are welcome to attend one or as many sessions as you would like!
For more information about the Michigan Vernal Pool Patrol and/or these training sessions, please contact Yu Man Lee ([email protected]) or Courtney Ross ([email protected]) with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI), or visit https://vernal-pool-patrol-mnfi.hub.arcgis.com/
This event is not sponsored by NOWO, but we wanted to share events happening in the area with a similar mission.
Scott Tiegs, Ph.D., Ecologist and Professor of Biological Sciences at Oakland University. Invasive jumping worms have been found in a number of areas in Michigan. They are much more destructive to habitat and ecosystems than other earthworms. He and his colleague Holly Greiner-Hallman first found Jumping Worms in the Oakland University Biological Preserve in 2008. Join us on Zoom for this interesting and important talk, to learn what to look for and how to avoid moving them around.
If you are a member of North Oakland Wild Ones you will be sent a link to the Zoom meeting. For non-members and friends, email <[email protected]>.
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 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.
Speaker Lisa Olsen is Wild Ones’ Chapter Liaison, a member and former president of the Wild Ones Front Range (Colorado) Chapter, a Colorado Native Plant Master and Certified Nursery Professional and a homegrown conservationist
How do we marshal human and community resources to incorporate native plants into our gardens, parks and communities? This recording was a part of the Tending Nature speaker series sponsored by The Ohio State University and has been shared with permission
So many great ideas, that could be applied to any organization trying to garner community support!
