HVC Events 05-06

Revised 02/27/08

2005 Fall Field trips

Sunday, 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
Saturday October 1. Humbug Marsh. Meet at 8:45 am in the west parking lot at Matthaei Botanical Gardens to carpool of meet at 10:00 am in the open field north of the Humbug preserve, 5437 W. Jefferson, Detroit. Field trip leaders Bruce Jones and Larry Nooden 734-663-5667.
Sunday, November 20. Horner Woods late season survey, Leader Sylvia Taylor.

2005-2006 Meetings

Monday September 19. “A Michigan Prairie Odyssey” - Aunita Erskine speaker. The "Prairie Lady" is also a docent atMatthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, an Advanced Master Gardener, and a Steward for Natural Area Preservation at Furstenberg Nature Area. Aunita has given talks and workshops about gardening with native plants and prairie plants. This talk will be a light-hearted tale of Aunita'sodessey throughout the State discovering different types of prairie ecosystems. Along the way, she will show photos of different prairie plants in their natural environments and tell what she has learned about the management of some of these areas. She will also touch on the trials and tribulations of searching out some of these spots, and how these plants connect us with nature and history at the same time. Aunita was recently featured in "A Passion for Prairies," a wonderful Detroit Free Press article written by Marty Hair. See http://www.freep.com/features/living/prairie9e_20050909.htm
Saturday September 24. Annual Fall Meeting, Bengel Wildlife Center, Bath, MI
Monday October 17. "The Diversity of Amazonian Rainforest Trees: Origins, Biogeography and Conservation" by Paul Fine, University of Michigan
Monday November 21. “Metzger Marsh Restoration: Vigilance to Maintain the Benefits” - Douglas A Wilcox, Ph.D., Chief for the Coastal Wetlands Ecology Branch - USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor
Monday January 16. Pot luck and program, " Implications of Recent Ecological Theory for a New Paradigm in Conservation" John Vandermeer, University of Michigan. Recent ecological theory emphasizes the way in which ecological systems are distributed non-randomly in space and how that distribution creates or destroys the integrity of the system, especially with regard to the maintenance of biodiversity. With this new understanding, old para-digms of constructing large biological preserves may have to be rethought. Most reserves are too small for conservation in the long run if they are isolated by low-quality agricultural matrices. The only solution is to re-focus attention on the matrix itself. While there are sociopolitical ramifications of this observation, the conclusion stems from our recent understanding of how ecological communities work, not from sociopolitical considerations.

Monday February 20. "North Country Cache: The National Scenic Trail" Joan Young, University of Michigan. SNRE Graduate and author. See http://www.booksleavingfootprints.com
Monday March 20. Asa Gray and the University of Michigan” Edward G. Voss, University of Michigan Professor Emeritus of Botany, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Curator Emeritus of Vascular Plants, UM Herbarium.
Monday April 17. “The New Humbug Preserve: Plans for the Future” - Bruce Jones, Grosse Isle Conservancy and John Hartig, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

2006 Spring & Summer Field trips

Saturday April 22. 1:00 pm. Horner Woods Earth Day. Eradication of invasive species and field trip. twinleaf blooming time. Meet at Matthaei in west parking lot and carpool. Leader Sylvia Taylor 734-461-9390.
Saturday May 6. 10:00 am. Tour of Tony Reznicek's rock garden. Meet at 890 Wickfield Ct., Ann Arbor, MI
June TBA. Grassy Island, Detroit River Wildlife Refuge. Leader Bruce Jones.
Saturday July 15. 8:00 am. Walpole Island, Canada. Botanical survey. Leaders Sondra Gunn and Clint Jacobs. limit 20 people. Sign up in advance with Sondra Gunn sgunn@umich.edu or call 734-994-3975. Valid passport or photo ID with birth certificate required for customs. Meet at Matthaei at 8:00 am to carpool.
Saturday July 29. 8:30 am. Kitty Todd Preserve, TNC, Toledo, Ohio. Leader Gary Haase. Meet at Matthaei at 8:30 am to carpool. Limit 20 people. Email Ron Gamble to register rgamble@visteon.com

General Information about Meetings

Members of the public are welcome to attend meetings which are held on the 3rd Monday of the month, September-April, excepting December.
Meetings start at 7:45 pm and are held in the auditorium of Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor, MI
For field trips, participants meet at Matthaei Botanical Gardens (unless otherwise noted) and carpool. No preregistration is necessary. Be prepared for rain or shine or snow, etc.

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