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Huron Valley ChapterUpcoming MeetingsApril 16 – “ROLE OF PLANTS IN ANCIENT ENVIRONMENTS” by Dr. Selena Smith General Information about Meetings
Field Trips Spring 2012 Field Trips are open to the general public unless otherwise indicated. Members who are interested in attending a "members only" field trip should register with field trip coordinator, Robert Ayotte, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (tel: 734-718-6114). Members planning to Car pool should bring directions and leave in plenty of time to arrive at field trip sites at the designated time.
Saturday 07 April 10:00 am: The Hunt for Harbinger of Spring
Trip Leader: Sylvia Taylor Please dress for physical, outdoor work. Sturdy closed-toe shoes are required. We provide tools and orientation.Minors are welcome with permission forms; those under 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Meet in the west lobby at Matthaei Botanical Gardens 1800 N. Dixboro Rd. to caravan to Horner Woods.
Saturday 12 May 10:00 am: Flora of Ives Rd Floodplain
Join volunteers from the Michigan Botanical Club as they continue to remove invasive garlic mustard at Horner Woods, a wildflower sanctuary NE of Matthaei Botanical Please dress for physical, outdoor work. Sturdy closed-toe shoes are required. We provide tools and orientation. Minors are welcome with permission forms; those under 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Meet at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., near the back horticulture entrance (due to the second spring plant sale that will be held partly in the west lobby), to caravan to Horner Woods. .
25-28 May: Spring Foray, U Mich Biological Station, Pellston, MI
Summer 2012 Saturday 23 June 10:00 am: Kirk Fen This foray is limited to 12 people. Please register with Robert Ayotte at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Join Connie Crancer as she gives us a tour of Kirk Fen, a newly restored prairie fen at the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens. We will explore and compare the intact sites to the newly opened sites for typical and special prairie fen species, Cypripedium candidum associates, and calcareous species. Meet at the West Lobby at MBG – remember we now pay (or use our MBGNA membership number) for parking. Knee high boots are needed to get out to the site. The "getting there" is challenging – crossing a incised creekbed and deep muck.
Saturday 21 July 10:00 am: Ives Rd Fen and More A return trip to Ives Preserve. This fen will be the focus of this trip. It is a globally endangered hillside fen of almost 200 acres. The oldest plant specimens from Lenawee County are from this site from 1832. Included will be a discussion of current efforts to maintain this habitat. After a break, those that are interested will visit a site near Blissfield on the River Raisin floodplain. We will meet at 5909 Raisin Center Hwy, south of Tecumseh. Follow M-50 into Tecumseh, and turn south onto Evans St, which becomes Raisin Center Hwy. The trip will be led by Bob Smith, a local botanist. Boots are required; the walk is strenuous. Car poolers leave from the Park-N-Ride at M-52 and I-94 (exit 159) in Chelsea at 9:00 am sharp. Bring lunch.
Saturday 18 August 10:00 am: Botany of Shiawasee NWR The trip will focus on NWR native plant refuge programs, including lakeplain prairie restoration and the plant amplification program with the Saginaw Correctional facility. We will also demonstrate some of the challenges we face such as Phragmites and buckthorn control and the effects of poor water quality effects on ecosystems. Plants to be seen = Silphium perfoliatum, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Spartina pectinata, Helenium autumnale, Vernonia fasciculata, Cassia hebecarpa, Rudbeckia triloba, Lycopus americanus, Scutellaria lateriflorus, Aster umbellatus. The refuge headquarters is 0.7 mi west of M-13 on Curtis Road at the intersection w/ Mower Rd. http://www.fws.gov/midwest/shiawassee/ Car poolers should leave from the Park-N-Ride at M-14 and Miller Rd at 7:45 am sharp. Bring lunch.
Saturday 25 August 10:00 am: Fungi of Silver Lake Area Saturday 1 September 10:00 am: Botany of YMCA Storer Camp – Black Oak Savanna YMCA Storer Camps is a 1200 acre site southeast of Jackson, Michigan. According to the General Land Office survey of 1825, about 600 of those acres were Black oak barrens before settlement. As in the rest of Michigan, the vast majority of the various oak savannas were cleared as farmland, or were allowed to convert to Oak-hickory forests for use as woodlots. As a result, savannas, are one of the rarest ecosystems in the state. Small remnants of those early savannas can be found in places that were not totally cleared, not plowed, not herbicided, and not heavily grazed and trampled by domestic livestock. Fencerows, tree bases, farm lane borders, steep slopes, isolated and odd areas, and the previously mentioned woodlots often contain remnant savanna plants. Wide-spreading oak and hickory trees indicate savanna remnants. Storer has all of those types of places, inhabited by indicator species including numerous open-grown oak trees that were part of the pre-settlement savanna over 200 years ago. There will be a short introduction at the Environmental Studies Center building. We will then visit some of the best savanna remnants, continue the discussion of savannas, and see classic savanna forbs, grasses, sedges shrubs and trees. It is most likely that we will discover savanna plant species new to Storer, and possibly new to Jackson county. Wear sturdy walking shoes, dress for the weather, and be prepared for September insects.
The Environmental Studies Center of YMCA Storer Camps is located southwest of Napoleon, Michigan. Just south of the flashing light on M-50 in Napoleon. Head west on Stony Lake Road; the road splits into N & S Stony Lake Roads. Stay left, in spite of the Storer sign that points you to their main entrance on N Stony Lake Road; go about two miles to the south entrance. Enter the camp and drive north on the entrance road. Follow signs to the Environmental Studies Center building. Parking is by the building. Garmin GPS address: 7260 S Stoney Lake R, Jackson, MI (may need to use Napoleon MI as city). Car poolers should leave from the Park-N-Ride at M-14 and Miller Rd at 9:00 am sharp. Bring lunch.
Sunday 16 September: Fall Wildflowers of King Rd Prairie (Brownstown Twp.) Fall 2012 Saturday 29 September: Goldenrods and Asters Saturday 13 October 10:00 am: Botany of YMCA Storer Camp – South Fen Fens are another of the rare and special ecosystems of Michigan. Moist, calcareous soils support a special association of plant species that are rarely seen. The fens at Storer developed on marl flats that were exposed when the lake level was dropped in 1868 by the development of a drainage ditch at the outlet of the lake. The marl had previously been deposited in the shallow areas of the lake by the algae Chara. Sand ridges within the marl flats add to the diversity. A rich prairie-fen flora has been developing in those relatively-undisturbed wetlands since that time. In 2005, members the Huron chapter of the MBC surveyed the species in the South Fen in May, July and September. 144 species of native plants were recorded, and a FQI of 57 was derived. Four other fen areas exist around the lake, and we will visit as time allows. There will be a short introduction at the Environmental Studies Center building. Then we will walk through the South Fen, observing and discussing the fen ecosystem and the species seen, and possibly discovering some species not previously recorded. After a bag lunch, those who wish will be able to visit another of the fens. Wear footwear that can get wet, especially if it has rained recently. Dress for the weather. DIRECTIONS TO YMCA STORER CAMPS: 7260 South Stony Lake Rd, Jackson MI. The Environmental Studies Center of YMCA Storer Camps is located southwest of Napoleon, Michigan. Just south of the flashing light on M-50 in Napoleon. Head west on Stony Lake Road; the road splits into N & S Stony Lake Roads. Stay left, in spite of the Storer sign that points you to their main entrance on N Stony Lake Road; go about two miles to the south entrance. Enter the camp and drive north on the entrance road. Follow signs to the Environmental Studies Center building. Parking is by the building. Garmin GPS address: 7260 S Stoney Lake R, Jackson, MI (may need to use Napoleon MI as city). Car poolers should leave from the Park-N-Ride at M-14 and Miller Rd at 9:00 am sharp. Bring lunch.
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