Copyright © 1999, 2001.  
Michigan Botanical Club. 
All rights reserved.

Revised 04/08/10

Fall 2008 Meetings

• MONDAY, 7:45pm, September 15, 2008 at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

“Nature through the eyes of artist Charley Harper"

Please attend a special Michigan Botanical Club program featuring the life and art of Charley Harper (1922-2007) by his son Brett Harper.  Charley was known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters, and magazine and book illustrations over a long career.  He called his style “minimal realism” and the results were bold, colorful and often whimsical.  He also wrote amusing, pun-filled captions for his artwork.  He illustrated the Golden Book of Biology (1962), The Animal Kingdom, Ford Times, Ranger Rick and the National Park Service.  Charley and his artwork were featured in an article in the Jan/Feb. 2008 issue of Audubon magazine, as well as in a recently published book entitled “Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life” by Todd Oldham.  Prints of his artwork will be for sale at the program.

For more information on Charley Harper see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Harper

http://fabframes.com/charley.aspx?gclid=CL_lk7_MqZUCFQcmIgoddDFjaA

• Tuesday, September 9 -  Shanghai Prairie St. Joe's employee walk,  5:15 p.m.
     See the Newsletter for more information.
• Sunday September 28 -   The WALPOLE ISLAND visit is cancelled.  Instead of Walpole Island, we will visit Shanghai Prairie near St.  
  Joe's Hospital in Ypsi.  This a great site site with some interesting things to see.  In addition to seeing some of the rarities that we  
  know are there, we will try to relocate the extremely rare (around here) western prairie outlier Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama  
  grass).  We plan to meet at the parking area nearest to the Prairie at 9:15 am  on Sunday.  The  parking lot is across the street from staff parking D, at the  
  very TOP of the page, directly to the right of the box that says "Patient Towers Area". There is a 3 way stop there.   
  http://www.sjmercyhealth.org/documents/CampusMap.pdf
  Contact person- Aunita Erskine 734 668 6354, cell 734-660-1359 for the day of the trip
   
• Wednesday, October 1, 2008.  A new volunteer group called the Stewards of Shanghai Prairie will be having their first organizational meeting on October 1, 2008 at
  7:00 p.m. at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.  The group is formed  with the cooperation of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, the Stewardship Network, City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation, U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum,  and U-M environmental steward Aunita Erskine.  The first meeting  will be a short slideshow and discussion of the importance of the prairie and its specific habitat.  Past history of restoration and future efforts will also be explored.  Materials for a shrub-cutting workday to take place on November 1, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. have been donated by the City of Ann Arbor and U-M.  Work by the volunteer group will continue into the winter as future funding sources are identified and a plan to move forward with restoration can be formed.  Please come and help lend your special talents to help preserve this rare ecosystem which helps form the string of prairies already under restoration and conservation in the Huron River Valley.  For more information about this meeting and effort, please contact Aunita Erskine at (734)668-6354, or email aunitafl@umich.edu.
• Sunday October 12, 2008.  State Meeting.  Gerald E. Eddy Center, Waterloo state recreation area.
• Monday October 20, 2008. "Natural Features Highlights of Washtenaw county Parks and Preserves - Plants, Animals and habitats"  speaker: Faye Stoner, Naturalist, Washtenaw county parks & Recreation.
• Monday November 17, 2008.  "Climate Change at the Poles and at Home:  Choices for Alternative Futures"  Speaker: Knute Nadelhoffer, Director, University of Michigan Biological Station,  Professor, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary biology.

Winter 2009 meetings

• Monday, January 19, 2009
• Monday, February 16,2009.  SIX MONTHS IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAVID BROOKS, conservation activist.  Dave Brooks, well-traveled naturalist and conservation activist, will talk about working in Yellowstone National Park, including a discussion of the effects of the fires.  Dave will provide scenic views and interesting stories about his six month work assignment in Yellowstone National Park. In addition, during the past 15 years, he has provided volunteer work at Yellowstone Ecological Research Center.  Come experience the geology, flora and fauna of a premier National treasure.
   
• Monday, March 16, 2009.  "Spring Flora of the Great Lakes and Midwestern U.S."   -  Brad Slaughter, Ecologist, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, MSU Extension
• Monday, April 20, 2009.  "International Trade, Invasive Plant Pests, and Forest Health:  Can We Save Our Ash?"Leah S. Bauer, Ph.D., Research Entomologist,  USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.

Field trips and Events

•  POSTPONED UNTIL MARCH 28TH.  Saturday, February 21, 2009.  Hidden Lake Gardens Conservatory, Tipton, Michigan.  Karen Gentry, Educational Director will lead the field trip.  Meet 12 noon at Matthaei Botanical Gardens west parking lot, or 1 p.m. at MSU's Hidden Lake Gardens Visitor Center.  First, we will view a video on conifers, then go outside, followed by a tour of the 8000 square foot conservatory, containing  arid, temperate and tropical  houses.  Admission: $3.00/person*.  RSVP to Sondra Gunn,  sgunn@umich.edu or call  734-994-3975.  *A tip from Irene Eiseman- Hidden Lake Gardens and Matthaei Botanical Gardens are part of the Reciprocal Admissions Program sponsored by the American Horticultural Society. What this means is that any member of The Friends of Matthaei Gardens has the privilege of free admission to Hidden Lake Gardens.  Presentation of a valid Membership Card may be required. (I plan to just make a donation.)  A national list of gardens, arboreta and conservatories participating in the Program (several in Michigan) can be found at the websit http://www.ahs.org and a printable pdf file.

• Saturday, March 14, 2009 – University of Michigan Exhibit Museum tour of paleobotany exhibits. Leader Larry Noodén (This field trip was postponed from January 10). Meet 1 p.m. at the museum rotunda lobby.  Optional - Meet 11:30 for lunch before the tour at Beansters in the Michigan League.  Contact Sondra Gunn - <sgunn@umich.edu> or call  734-994-3975.

• Saturday, April 25,  2009, 1:00 p.m.,  Horner Woods I with Sylvia Taylor

• Saturday, May 2, 2009 Love Creek, Berrien County with Wild Ones and MBC's Southwest Chapter.

• Saturday, May 16, 2009 1:00 p.m., Horner Woods II with Sylvia Taylor

• Sunday, May 17,2009  1-4 workday and field trip,  Hankerd Road Oak Savanna , Laurel Malvitz, DNR Stewardship coordinator, and Sally Rutzky

• May 22 – 25, 2009 MBC Spring Foray at East Lansing, Red Cedar Chapter host.

• Saturday, May 30, 2009  Sedges!  SEMLC LeFurge Woods, Tony Reznicek, leader, and Ruth Hart, coordinator.

• Saturday, July 11, 2009  King Rd. Lakeplain Prairie Tour, part of the Great Sibley Prairie Complex, Andy Hartz, of MDEQ, Leader. Lakeplain Cluster of The Stewardship Network field trip.

• August 28 – 30, 2009 Miniforay:  University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, Michigan 

If you have any questions about the field trips, please contact the HVC field trip coordinator Sondra Gunn,  <sgunn@umich.edu> or call  734-994-3975.

 

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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