Volunteer and Docent Newsletter

Transcription

1 ANNUAL FUNDRAISER BUTTERFLY AFFAIRE A Royal Night Saturday, October 9 It is slated to be the Affaire of the Year!!! There are still some tickets available, so if you are looking for the Royal Treatment on a Sunday evening, tickets are only $150 per individual. There are also Raffle Tickets for sale for those of you who can t make the event. All the information and payment is available to you on-line or stop by and see Michelle, Darlene, Cassandra or Marianne and we can help you out! VOLUNTEER MEETINGS ALL-VOLUNTEER MEETING Thursday, November 10 9:30-11AM, Porter Hall The first meeting of the season will feature speaker Elizabeth Willott, Interpreting in the Gardens. Also, there will be a speaker from the Arizona Cancer Center. In collaboration with a grant obtained by the Skin Cancer Center for which the Botanical Gardens was a recipient, please join Heather Hiscox as she talks about sun safety and the Project Your Skin Program. Horticultural Therapy Outreach Meeting Wednesday, October 5 Education Classroom, 10AM Tour Guides/Signature Classes/Proctors Meeting Wednesday, October 12 Education Classroom, Noon October 2011 Volunteer and Docent Newsletter 2150 North Alvernon Way, Tucson, Arizona FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR This is my favorite time of the year at the Gardens our entire family of volunteers are together, each getting ready to greet visitors, work in the gardens, help with events and deliver programs on site and out into the community. What can you expect this season? More Visitors: Our media support for all of our major events has more than doubled. Your Input: Member, visitor and volunteer surveys have been developed and will be sent out over the course of next few months. The Return of a Spring Event: Blooms & Bites, a new twist on an old event (Art in the Garden). New Seasonal Exhibit: Utilizing the mineral collection of Harrison Yocum, INDICATIONS will open in the Friends House in November. A New Window! The Friends House now has a view of the Cactus and Succulent Garden. Taking Programs for Kids on the road: Thanks to a grant from the Wallace Research Foundation, the Desert Plants and People Program will be in 64 classrooms. The Return of Old Friends: We welcome back Cindy Cook Keller as the new Assistant Gift Shop Manager. Stella Lopez, our past membership manager, will be working on a Barrio Garden project, and it s a thrill to see our own John Terrell pitching in when needed. Thorneville Expanded: Take some time to check out the second train and the new construction in our miniature town of Thorneville. There are even more plans which will be revealed later this season. I recently read in the book, A Conservationist Manifesto, What all of us long for is to love the places in which we live and to live in places worthy of love. The time you spend at the Gardens is a clear expression of your love for the place in which you volunteer. Deep gratitude to all of you, and here s to a great season! Michelle Conklin, Executive Director

2 BUTTERFLY MAGIC RETURNS OCTOBER 10! It s coming quickly. Please feel free to contact me or Carol Tepper (Assistant Butterfly Curator) at butterflyexhibit@tucsonbotanical.org or call , ext. 38, for scheduling or other issues. We d love to have you involved. There are still opportunities, so please recommend volunteering for Butterfly Magic to your friends. On Wednesday at the Pot-Luck, information packets will be available. If you have already been volunteering and have seen the DVD, you can just pick up the packet of sheets without the DVD. If you haven t seen the Introductory DVD, please pick up a packet with the DVD. There will also be some business-card-sized info-cards with info about volunteering for Butterfly Magic. Assistant Butterfly Curator: Carol Tepper joins us for the season. She has a strong background in interpretation with the National Parks and I m sure will prove to be a great asset for us. She has provided a short article for this newsletter. Chrysalises arrive this coming Friday: Our chrysalis boards will soon be full and butterflies will be in the exhibit. We expect to have at least the diversity we had last year. Although we have been refused more species, there are still species that we can receive that are likely to become more readily available. Sign up to receive the Weekly Butterfly Exhibit Like last year, I will send an approximately weekly with the ID sheets for the butterflies we received in the week s shipment and notices about any upcoming (within the next two weeks) classes, volunteer opportunities, and some educational material about the butterflies or interpretation of the exhibit. Contact us (Elizabeth Willott and/or Carol Tepper, Assistant Butterfly Curator) to be included. to butterflyexhibit@tucsonbotanical.org or call us at (520) , ext. 38. Outreach Opportunities: This year gives us several opportunities to be out in the community advertising Butterfly Magic and the Gardens. We were represented at the Insect Festival this past weekend on at the UofA. We can also exhibit at Pima College Earth Science Days, the Bio-Blitz, (continued next column) (continued) the Desert Museum s Wings Over the Desert Festival and likely others. If you wish to be part of this, please contact either Elizabeth Willott or Carol Tepper. Sonoran Butterfly Kits: We have kits available for minimal costs. Kits include a manual with lots of educational material, sample dried butterfly, butterfly wings, empty chrysalis exoskeletons, 3-5 live Gulf fritillary caterpillars, a net if you need it, and much more. The kits can be purchased at the Gift Shop. Classes: There are several butterfly-relevant classes offered this month. Please check the listing in this newsletter. If you are a butterfly volunteer, I strongly encourage you to come to at least one of the classes. Additional education is provided in the weekly s, the info-sheets that will be present on the front cart, and, of course, by observing for yourself and by asking fellow volunteers and us about butterflies. Meetings: The Southeast Arizona Butterfly Association (SEABA) meets in the Education Bldg on October 18 from 7-9 PM. The topic is The Butterflies of Madera Canyon, presented by Gary Jue. Admission is free. Refreshments provided. THE BUTTERFLIES ARE BACK! 2

3 GREETINGS, GARDENS VOLUNTEERS! My name is Carol Tepper, and I am the new Assistant Butterfly Curator. I grew up in Tucson, and earned a bachelor s degree from the University of Arizona. After college, I spent fifteen years with the National Park Service, starting as a volunteer naturalist at Saguaro National Park, then taking assignments as an Interpretive Park Ranger at Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, and Lake Mead National Parks. I came back to Tucson five years ago to care for a family member. In the last five years I have been an Environmental Educator and Offsite Community Events Coordinator for Pima County s Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, and, more recently, I have been assisting the curator of the University of Arizona Entomology Department s insect collection. I am excited to be working at the Gardens with all of you volunteers and the butterflies. As background, my interests include traveling, hiking, birding, and performing and listening to music. My thought for this month is to reflect on the mission of the Tucson Botanical Gardens, especially the second part: The Tucson Botanical Gardens promotes responsible and appropriate use of plants and water in a desert environment through education and demonstration and provides a place of beauty and tranquility for Tucson residents and visitors. Many people come to the Gardens simply for peace and inspiration and we want to assist them when we can. Sometimes that means we do nothing, for some will prefer to explore the Gardens on their own, quietly. Our informal the (continued next column) (continued) contacts with our visitors should be driven by visitors wants and needs. If we pay attention to the verbal and non-verbal cues they provide, they tell or show us whether they want a conversation or not. Hopefully something we say sparks their curiosity or imagination, and our visitors will want to understand more about a subject. Sometimes they just want us to briefly answer one orientation question for them or to hear us say, I hope you are having a nice visit. FROM THE GROUNDS CREW G r e e t i n g s, c o u r a g e o u s horticulture volunteers! To the spirited workers who stayed with us through the dog days of summer, a big Thank You for your dedication. Welcome back to returning volunteers who escaped the Tucson heat. The Grounds crew is happy for those who continue to support the gardens with the gift of your time and effort. There is plenty to do and new things to plant now that fall has arrived (on the calendar, at least) and temperatures are beginning to lower. When you visit the gardens, hopefully you notice the fruits of your labors as things bloom and push out new autumn growth. Also, a special thanks to all volunteers who assisted with Mad about Orchids in the tropical greenhouse. The exhibit (now closed) was wellreceived and enjoyed by visitors, volunteers and staff. All assistance, encouragement and kind words were much appreciated. We especially extend our gratitude to those who volunteered on a weekly basis during the exhibit. Emily Rockey, Curator , ext. 21 Major Volunteer Opportunity!!! Our Luminaria Nights 2011 is fast approaching! This year, it s December 2, 3 & 4. We need A LOT of volunteers to make this another successful event! If you ve helped out before, you know how much fun this evening event is don t you?!! Sign-up sheets were circulated during the Potluck on September 28 and are now available in the Volunteer Lounge. If you have any questions, just ask Marianne ext 24. Thanks! 3

4 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TREES AND HUMANS Saturday, October 15, 12:30-2:30PM Trees and humans have had a symbiotic relationship throughout the ages. Trees have also had a symbolic meaning for various cultures throughout the centuries. Come and explore tree meanings from the Bible, mythology and folklore. Also various cultures have designated a certain tree as the tree of life. Learn about some of these trees. We will also delve into the tree magic and learn the history of tree hugger. Finally, we will look at trees in literature and movies, including Lord of the Rings and Avatar. Join Manny Cuen, Tucson Botanical Gardens horticulturist for this fun and exciting look at trees, culture, and mythology. $20, $15 members BUTTERLFLY BASICS 2 Tuesday, October 18, 4:30-6:30PM Join Elizabeth Willott, curator of Butterfly Magic, for this basic introduction to butterfly biology. Along with showing some great shots of butterflies of the Gardens and Butterfly Magic, we ll introduce you to butterfly biology. Includes entrance to Butterfly Magic afterhours. $12, $7 members ARIZONA BUTTERFLIES PART 4: SKIPPERS Thursday, October 20, 6-8PM In the final installment of the Butterflies of Arizona series, we study skippers. Fast-flying dynamos, some skippers present serious identification challenges to butterfliers. Other skippers are stunningly beautiful and easy to recognize. This class, taught by Jeff Babson of Sky Island Tours, will explore these fascinating butterflies and tackle the many identification hurdles that these butterflies present. $20, $15 members BIRDS AND B UTTERFLIES OF MADERA CANYON Friday, October 21, 8AM-3PM Nestled in the scenic Santa Rita Mountains, Madera Canyon is a world famous location for nature lovers. On this trip, we explore the birds and butterflies of Madera. Jeff Babson of Sky Island Tours leads us as we search for Elegant Trogons, hummingbirds, Painted Redstarts, Redbordered Satyrs, Two-tailed Swallowtails, Arizona Sisters, and many, many other birds and butterflies. At Madera, there is always the possibility of rare strays from the south to add excitement to any visit. Transportation and water provided. Bring lunch, snacks, sunscreen, and a hat. $70, $60 members (register early, limit of 10) OCTOBER CLASSES 4 BUTTERFLY PHYLOGENY Saturday, October 22, 2:30-4:00PM Butterflies have a really rich natural history; their classification also has a rich human history. Yes, we ll cover some basics. We ll also cover some more interesting aspects of all this splitting and lumping and categorizing and whatnot. Join Elizabeth Willott, curator of Butterfly Magic, for this interesting look at butterflies. Includes entrance to Butterfly Magic afterhours. $14, $10 members POCKET SKETCHING October 25, 26, 27, 10AM-4PM Unleash your creativity and awareness. For travel, this is a perfect way to add far more pleasure by interacting with the locale. Using a very small format (4 x6 ) and very inexpensive materials, anyone can learn to create watercolor sketches of excellent quality, anywhere. Technique is ideal for journaling and field sketches, taking about 25 minutes, done in any location, from ship cruises to standing in line. The results are delightful and have vitality. All supplies fit in a pocket, purse or fanny pack and are very inexpensive. No previous experience is needed. Advanced artists will gain a new, quick, expressive field technique with little equipment. Critiques are very frequent. Much one-on-one support. A fabulous gift for yourself and friends. Learn enough to play for a lifetime! Three (3) sessions $260, $240 members This Session is full. This class is also being offered January 10, 11, and 12! Call to register (online registration will become available in mid-october). BATS, BATS, BATS Thursday, October 27, 6-8PM Just in time for Halloween, join Jeff Babson of Sky Island Tours for a close-up look at these remarkable creatures. Bats are a much-maligned, much-misunderstood group of mammals. In reality, bats are fascinating, diverse, and highly beneficial. This class will explore the diversity, importance, and ecology of these amazing animals. We will also dispel many of the misconceptions that humans have about bats. We will pay particular attention to bat species found in Arizona. $20, $15 members Family Friendly! MORE CLASSES, NEXT PAGE!

5 OCTOBER CLASSES (con t) COOKING THE WILD SOUTHWEST: DELICIOUS RECIPES FOR DESERT PLANTS Saturday, October 29, 10AM Book signing to follow The desert produces an abundance of healthy food and with a little imagination you can turn these plants into tasty dishes for family and friends. Join Carolyn Niethammer for a morning of cooking, tasting and discovery with cactus fruits, mesquite and some other lesser known treats. Carolyn is the author of the just released Cooking the Wild Southwest:: Delicious Recipes for Desert Plants, The Prickly Pear Cookbook and other books on Southwest cooking. $14, $10 members TUCSON S BUTTERFLIES Saturday, October 29, 2:30-4PM What butterflies are you likely to see in the Tucson area? What can you do to promote their well-being in your yard and community spaces? Why should you care about doing that? $14, $10 members Family Friendly! To register for classes by phone with a credit card, or for more information, call , ext. 19. If you have a question about a class, contact Ron Bridgemon at , ext. 39, or education1@tucsonbotanical.org YOUTH PROGRAMS Fall Family Fun Fest is a single-day event that requires people to man a few different stations, supervise activities, and provide guest assistance. It s an evening event on the weekend before Halloween, so it s recommended for volunteers who feel comfortable among rambunctious, sugar-crazed tots. Here s the description for guests: FALL FAMILY FUN FEST Saturday, October PM The leaves have changed, the crops are ready, and costumed characters come out to play. It s fall! Bring the whole family to help us celebrate autumn with music and refreshments, games (including a Gardens-wide scavenger hunt), and activities to bring out your inner ghoul. Bring your camera to enjoy our costume-ready photo backdrop. The other very important item is Desert Plants, Desert People. This is the youth education component to the Native Crops initiative. We need loads of volunteers to become familiar with material about Native uses of plants and then deliver programs to school groups. We need to have 64 onsite and 64 outreach programs to meet our commitment, so having a large team of volunteer instructors willing to visit area schools is crucial. The education department and docents have spent a lot of time compiling material for this program, and we re brimming with excitement to get it off the ground! Ben Collinsworth, Youth Programs Coordinator , ext. 31 5

6 2150 North Alvernon Way Tucson, Arizona 85712