HVC Events 04-05

Revised 04/08/10

2005 Field trips

Saturday, May 7. Horner Woods Plant Sanctuary.Work trip to remove garlic mustard. Meet at the west parking lot at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens at 1:00 PM. This beautiful woodlot, which contains a large population of twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) and a lot of other interesting things, was purchased by the Michigan Botanical Club and donated to the University in 1965. The property provides a greenbelt along the south side of M-14 between Domino Farms and Dixboro Rd. and is accessed from a private road on its south side. Optional- Bring gloves, a few bags and your favorite recipe for "Greens". Trip leader: Sylvia Taylor (734) 461-9390

May 21, July 9 and September 25th, Plant Inventory of YMCA Camp Storer fen. Bev Walters and Jim Mohr, Leaders . Last summer, HVC member Jim Mohr talked with me about Storer Camp, which is located 10 miles SE of Jackson, and is affiliated with the Toledo branch of the Ohio Metropolitan YMCA. They are very much involved with outdoor-environmental education and many children in SE Michigan attend the Camp as part of their school curriculum. Jim is active in guiding Storer Camp in their land use planning, and last November he took me on a tour of their holdings - at least I saw part of the 1200 acres - and two fen areas at their edge of the 220 acre Stoney Lake caught my eye. The camp has limited resources to direct to conservation and I thought, since they're educating people about the environment, it would be worthwhile for our Club to assist them by doing a plant survey of the fens. The lake and fens are quite undisturbed, other than some past grazing, and have minimal invasive species, so this will be a good opportunity for us to get into some high quality habitat less than an hour's drive away. You don't need to be an expert to join in - the more eyes, the better! Bring lunch, bug spray, sunscreen, boots optional. We'll be departing from the MBG parking lot 9am on May 21, July 9 and September 25, or depart 9:15 a.m. from the M-52 carpool lot northside of I-94 at Chelsea for some fun in the fen. Bev Walters, (734) 358-2946.

JUNE 25, 2005, Saturday, Oakland County Golden Prairie. Visit this OaklandLand Conservancy heritage prairie with the OLC executive director, Donna Follard and Aunita Erskine. We hope to see the lovely lupines and other prairie flora. Learn about the role of remnant prairies as "banks" for special plant species and the value of prairie plants in gardens. See what pre-settlement landscapes looked like. There is a perched fen, oak barrens and a dry prairie in the preserve. If we are lucky we may see white lady slipper (or remnants thereof).There is a really interesting, heavily glaciated prairie- fen system in that area of Oakland County, which also includes Big Valley prairie. It may be part of the Defiance Morraine. This type of habitat may begin near Brighton but there it is as intact as it is in Golden prairie. Railroad tracks running through both sites which may be a factor, along with gravelly soil, for relatively minimal disturbance. Let's hear it for the glaciers!!! There will be slow walking over mostly level terrain for 2-3 hours. Meet at Matthaei Botanical Gardens' west parking lot at 9:30am for carpooling. The prairie is in northwestern Oakland County, on the north side of Indian Springs MetroPark.Maps/directions will be provided. A donation to OLC is suggested. It is a conjoint outing with South East Michigan Group (SEMG) Sierra Club. Contact Joanne Cantoni, 248-932-5370, field trip coordinaor or Sondra Gunn, 734-994-3975.

AUGUST 6, Saturday, Big Valley Prairie. Michigan Nature Association, Oakland County. Meet 8 a.m., west parking lot Matthaei Botanical Gardens to carpool. Maps provided. Big Valley in northwestern Oakland County, near Golden Prairie, is a prairie fen with elements of tall grass and dry prairie adjacent. Those who missed Golden Prairie will especially appreciate this site. The prairie flowers should be great now. The weather is supposed to be great. Aunita Erksine, Leader. Phone (734) 668 6354

August 20, Saturday. Humbug Marsh unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.Meet at 9 a.m., west parking lot, Matthaei Botanical Gardens to carpool for an end-of-summer look, to explore and identify interesting areas. Its recent purchase by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service saved it from development. In sight of industrial smokestacks, it is one of the last undeveloped areas along the Detroit River. Leader Bruce Jones, Grosse Isle Conservancy and leading force behind the acquisition. Contact: Sondra Gunn, <sgunn@umich.edu> or 734-994-3975.
You can find more information (including maps) about this remarkable area on the following webasites:
www.fws.gov/midwest/detroitriver/
www.detroitriver.org/PDF_Files/REFUGE%20GATEWAY3.pdf

2004-2005 Meetings

Monday September 20. "Nature--What Good Is It? , or, The Ten Best Reasons to Protect Land" by Richard Brewer, a founder, president, and long-time board member of the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, professor emeritus of Biology at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo and author of Conservancy: The Land Trust Movement in America. Dr. Brewer will talk on some of the less well understood reasons why natural lands should be protected. Examples are the value of ecosystem services and the low cost to taxpayers of preserved open space compared with development. Books will be available for purchase with cash or check at $28.50 (This is a 10% discount over list and includes sales tax) and signing, from 7:15 to 7:45, and again after the talk and question-and-answer session. For more information, see: http://www.richardbrewer.org/ .
Saturday October 9. Annual Fall Meeting, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI.
Monday October 17. "Wildflowers of the Endangered Lake Plain Prairie" - Mary LaFrance, Conservation Chair, SE Michigan Group of the Sierra Club.
Monday November 15. “Chocolate” – Patrick Fields, PhD., Lecturer Olivet College, Researcher at Michigan State University, Department of Plant Biology.
Monday January 17. 6:15 P.M. POTLUCK DINNER followed by “Sex in Plants”- Beverly Rathke, Professor Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan
Monday February 21. “The Diverse Wildlands of Brazil: Wetlands, Forests, Mountains, and Waterfalls” - Laura Kumler, Graduate student, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan.
Monday March 21. “Land Plant Phylogeny: Insights from Genes and Genomes” - Yin-Long Qiu (YQ), Assistant Professor Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Monday April 18. "The Mystery of the Rotting Fruit: The Pleistocene Megafauna and Plants You Know" - William Luitje.

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