SWC 00-01

Revised 02/27/08

2001 Meetings

Monday, April 16th at 7:00PM at the Oshtemo Library
on M-43 west of Ninth Street.
Dennis Woodland will be bringing us student botanists from Andrews
University. Their talk will be entitled "The Flora and Ecology of Arthur
Dodd Park, Pokagon Tshp., Cass County, Michigan." The speakers
will be Amy Byerley on the flora and Naomi Balduff on the ecology.
Amy is a high school student from Niles H.S. attending the Berrien
County Math and Science Center, and Naomi is a senior biology
major here at AU. Her part of the project has been funded by a grant
from the McGregor Foundation for undergraduate research to the Biology
Department, Andrews University. We will be welcoming back Dennis
from Iquitos, Peru and the upper Amazon where he spent 10 days.

2001 Field trips

May 16th, at 5:30 pm. Fischer's Woods which is a majestic mature
deciduous forest on the near-North side of Kalamazoo. Some of the very
large trees are among the largest for their species in the state! It is situated
on a rolling site, with a stream, hence it contains upland and wetland plants.
There is a nice variety of Spring Ephemerals and a diverse understory of
shrubs. Meet at the back (West end) of the Centershot Lounge parking lot,
located at the intersection of Douglas and Old Douglas Avenues. Emma
Pitcher will be our leader. This is a joint field trip with Kalamazoo Wild Ones.

Sat June 16, at 9:00 am. Hampton Fen ( located in Portage MI)
Meet at the small dirt parking lot, 0.25 mile South of Center Ave, on the East side of Angling road. From US-131, exit onto Center Ave, East. After exiting onto Center, immediately turn south onto Angling Road. Leader Ken Kirton. The fen contains many interesting plants, including the (disjunct) Climbing Fern. (Ken and Kim checked this one out Monday and the fern was there, along with many mosquitos).

Sat July 21 at 9:00am. Bishops Bog (located in Portage MI)
Meet at the Bishops Bog Trail parking lot. From US- 131 exits onto Center Ave East. Go East to Westnedge Ave. then turn south about 1.0 mile to the Bishops Bog Parking lot sign (immediately south of ball diamonds on the West side of Westnedge). At the sign, turn west to the parking lot (about 0.2 mile) on the right (marked by a sign, Bishops Bog Parking). Leader TBA. This bog contains a nice variety of plants, including Pitcher Plants and Sun Dew. Emma Pitcher will be one of our leaders.

Sat August 18, at 8:30. Meet in the parking lot of one of the guest hotels in Chesterton Indiana (location to be announced). You have an option of spending Friday evening, Sat all day, and Sunday am (or any parts thereof, depending on your schedules and ambition, exploring the interesting plants of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and other nearby preserves. More detail will follow, as to accommodations, and trip locations and schedule.

Sept 26th, Marcs Marsh (this is a Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
preserve located on Lyons Lake, on the East side of Kalamazoo). The striking
fen plants should be at their prime at that time! This will also be a joint field trip
with Kalamazoo Wild Ones.This is a SWMLC preserve on Lyons Lake (near
east side of Kalamazoo). A fen/marsh, with a rich flora that should be good at
that time of year.

"Many thanks to our members who voluntarily gave of their holiday time to lead field or assist leaders for the MBC Foray last Memorial Day weekend. It wouldn't have been a success without you." - Lynn, Becky, Ken

The near record attendance of 110, and their enthusiast feedback, are indicative of the huge success of the 2001 Foray that our chapter hosted. My utmost thanks and appreciation to everyone involved, but especially Barb, Becky, Lynn, Ilse, Russ, and Donna. Working with them was a pleasure and joy! Without their talent and hard work the Foray would have been vastly more difficult to put on and the quality would have been much less.
Amenities of the Lodge at Yarrow (the spacious facility, excellent food and service) were especially enjoyable in view of the in climate weather. Evening programs were well done and appreciated, and Donna did a great job of obtaining and distributing door prizes (nearly one for 50% of attendees)! Al Kehew set the stage with a scholarly presentation on the geologic background of many of the field trip locations, on Friday evening. Richard Brewer followed on Saturday with a summary of the evolution and present status of Land Trusts. Tony Reznicek presented an entertaining and informative talk on the quest for Botanical gems on Sunday.
The variety and number of field trips resulted in many enjoyable hours in the field. Some highlights were: a Log Fern found on the Augusta Flood Plain, a Twayblade Orchid (and many other wonderful bog plants) on one of the Yarrow trails, walking thru Kellogg forest in a pouring rainstorm , and teetering on a slippery board walk with Emma seeing beauty everywhere.
The opportunity to renew old and form new acquaintances was, as always, enjoyable. We were especially fortunate to have Neil Harriman, the new editor of the Michigan Botanist, in attendance. Neil has a difficult job, and will need all of our help and support, but seems up to the challenge.

The Foray 2001 was a great experience, and I truly enjoyed the time and effort that it required. However, I am glad it is behind us and that we can now look forward to our summer chapter field trips. - Ken

Peg Mohar of The Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund has asked us to let you know about a book they have published, "A Congenial Fellowship: A Botanical Correspondence between Charles C. Deam and Floyd A. Swink, 1946-1951," which Peg has edited. The book and the introduction were written by Dr. Barbara Plampin, one of our chapter members and a friend of Emma Pitcher's. The book contains exchanged letters between Deam & Swink, two botanical giants, filled with references to collecting spots in the dunes region, plants they found, discussions on ecology, questions about plant variations, opinions of other botanists, and more. It also abounds with humorous "Deamisms". The book was printed by Xlibris and is available from the Fund for $18 plus S&H. Call 879-4725 or write to 444 Barker Road, Michigan City, IN 46304. For a copy of a complete press release/review of the book call or e-mail your chapter treasurer, Lynn Steil, lsteil@remc11.k12.mi.us.

Conservancy Stewardship Days and Field Trips
For more information call: (616) 24-1600

Saturday June 30th, 9:00 am to noon
Consumers Power Prairie Preserve, Topic: Stewardship Day

Saturday August 4th, 9:00 am to noon
Jeptha Lake Fen Preserve, Topic: Field Trip

Saturday, September 9th, 9:00 am to noon
Marc's Marsh, Topic: Dedication

For more information please contact: Barbara Perkovic, phone: 375-9061 or by email:
bperkovi@remc11.k12.mi.us

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