Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum Educational Programs April 2012 to March 2013 Working With Highway Departments to Minimize the Spread of Invasive Plants Kelly Kearns Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 7 pm There are several ways we can help to control the spread of invasive plants. This talk will address how and why they are spreading along our highways and ways that we can work with our highway crews to manage our roadsides. The Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum has endorsed this program for Fond du Lac County and we encourage any interested persons to come. Kelly has worked at the Bureau of Endangered Resources for WI Dept of Natural Resources since 1984. She is responsible for coordinating DNR activities on ecologically invasive plants which include education, outreach, policy and rule revisions. She also works with partners and researchers, sharing control information, and supervising the Wisconsin Early Detection Project for invasive plants. She helped to develop and implement the comprehensive invasive species rule, NR 40. How to Manage your Land to Help Birds Vicki Piaskowski Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 7 pm Vicki will be presenting practical hints on simple ways to make your yard bird-friendly, how you can provide food for birds during all seasons and other ways to help birds. She will explain some of the research findings of the Birds Without Borders project and how you can use this information to make your yard a bird haven. Vicki completed her graduate studies at UW-Milwaukee and conducted research on birds at the UW-M Field Station and the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in Michigan s Upper Peninsula. From 1996 to 2009 she was the International Coordinator of the Birds Without Borders Aves Sin Fronteras project. Wildflower Identification
Connie Ramthun Wednesday, June 20, 2012, noon or 6:30 pm About one hour each session Meet at the Gottfried Arboretum Shelter We will be using Newcomb s Wildflower Guide to identify native wildflowers in the prairie. This guide uses a simple key system to take the guesswork out of wildflower identification for the nature lover with no formal botanical training. Connie is the Education Coordinator for the Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum. She has owned her own native plant nursery since 1983 and has been part of the Prairie and Arboretum since its inception. Digital Nature Photography Workshop Jerry Kiesow Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 6 pm until dark Jerry will discuss how the different features of digital cameras work and cover the basics of composition. We will then go outdoors to do some photographing with help from our instructor. Bring your camera, tripod if have one and owner s manual. Jerry calls himself an outdoor communicator as he has enjoyed the outdoors all of his life. His photo background goes back to when shooting with a 4x5 view camera and using a hand held light meter was required for calendar and magazine covers. He writes regular outdoor columns, conducts outdoor workshops, and has a stock photo file with thousands of images. Interactions Between Plants and Insects Gretchen Meyer Wednesday, August 15, 2012 7 pm Plants and insects are linked in many ways. Plants with colorful flowers rely on insects for pollination, but plants also must contend with the numerous insects trying to eat them. In the case of carnivorous plants, plants have turned the tables on insects and can trap and consume them! In this presentation, Gretchen will cover these links between plants and insects, including pollination, herbivory and carnivorous plants, focusing on plants of Wisconsin. Gretchen Meyer is the Manager of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station, located at the Cedarburg Bog in Ozaukee County. She is an ecologist who studies the interactions between insects and their host plants. Much of her research has been focused
on goldenrods, and she has also explored how release from insect herbivores contributes to the success of introduced, invasive plants. Learning from a Native Plant Garden Sue Carpenter Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 7 pm The Wisconsin Native Plant Garden at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum is 10 years old this year. This presentation will trace the development of the garden, from Darrel Morrison's inspired design to our present diverse native woodland, prairie, savanna and rain gardens representative of southern Wisconsin. These gardens are a rich learning environment for students, community volunteers, and visitors with many take-home lessons about what everyone can do to create essential sustainable landscapes. Susan Carpenter is the Native Plant Gardener at the University of Wisconsin Madison Arboretum. She combines an academic background in science and education with practical experience in gardens and ecological restorations. She enjoys caring for the land and learning with many people of all ages and is particularly interested in fostering native pollinator populations. Seed Collection Workshop Connie Ramthun Saturday, October 20, 2012, 9:30 to noon Meet at the Gottfried Arboretum Shelter Participants will learn how to identify wildflowers and grasses in the seed stage while hiking through the prairie. We will collect and clean several kinds of wildflowers in the shelter and learn how to store and propagate the seed for growing plants. Create a Winter Wreath and Swag Jackie Scharfenberg Tuesday, November 8, 2012, at 1 pm to 3:30 pm and 6 pm to 8:30 pm @ IAC Wednesday, November 14, 6-8:30 pm @ Lakeside Park Pavilion Please note that this class will be offered at three separate times. Because of limited space, the first two will be at the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest Ice Age Center near Dundee and the other at Lakeside Park Pavilion in Fond du Lac. During the class
you will create a beautiful wreath and swag that will enhance your home s winter décor. A variety of natural materials will be provided. Jackie is a Forest Naturalist/Natural Resources Educator with the Wisconsin DNR at the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest. She enjoys teaching all aspects of environmental education. There will be a $15.00 supplies fee. Learning to Think Like a Bluebird Kent Hall Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 7 pm Dr Kent Hall, aka Dr. Bluebird, will show us colorful photographs of the different nest box species. We will learn about nest box styles that attract bluebirds, tree swallows, chickadees and wrens, and where and how to place them for success in our own yards. Dr. Kent Hall is V-P and Coordinator of Data Collection and Analysis for the Bluebird Restoration Association of WI. Under his direction, Wisconsin has led the nation for bluebird production from artificial nest boxes for 5 consecutive years. In addition, he has coordinated the Aldo Leopold Audubon Bluebird Trail (ABT) for 10 years. It is the largest bluebird trail in WI (1,300 nest boxes, 63 monitors) and has produced about 38,000 songbirds during this time, 30,000 of which were bluebirds. The ABT was selected as the outstanding bluebird trail in North America by the North American Bluebird Society in 2008 Wisconsin Native Orchids: Their Biology, Conservation, and Cultivation Scott Weber Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 7 pm Scott will talk about orchids in general and discuss several kinds of orchids he has been researching. Participants will learn the science behind the special conditions needed to grow them, including information from some of the latest research. We will learn which orchids are difficult to grow from seed and if for sale, are unfortunately dug from the wild. Scott is a member of the Orchid Growers Guild (Madison) and lectures on native orchids and prairie restoration. He also leads tours for the Prairie Enthusiasts and WDNR while working part time as a conservation biologist with DNR Bureau of Endangered Resources. He and his wife, Martha Barrett, own and operate Bluestem Farm, a native plant nursery, apple and pear orchard, and vineyard.
Plants in Winter: Surviving the Big Chill Jim Reinartz Wednesday, February 20, 2013, 7 pm The plants of temperate and boreal regions have many adaptations that allow them to survive the extremely low temperatures and drought of winter. Jim will explore a wide variety of topics related to plant life in winter, particularly our woody plants that can t escape freezing and drought associated with extreme cold by living under the snow or soil. Dr. Jim Reinartz is the director of the UWM Field Station, where he has worked for over 30 years. He is a plant ecologist, wetland ecologist, and evolutionary biologist, who teaches about the vegetation of Wisconsin, wetland ecology, grassland ecology, and plant adaptations for surviving the winter, among other topics. Wetland Restorations: Are They for the Birds? Jill Hapner Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 7 pm Thousands of wetlands have been restored on private land throughout Wisconsin over the past 25 years. A primary goal of this restoration effort is to improve wildlife habitat. Despite decades of interest in wetland restoration there have been surprisingly few studies of the characteristics that make a restored wetland good habitat. Jill will describe her southeastern Wisconsin research on how bird use of small created and restored wetlands changes over time. She will also discuss the effects of wetland design and land use impacts to wetlands; revealing whether restored wetlands are indeed for the birds. Jill conducted her graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee earning an M.S. and Ph.D. in Wetland Science/Landscape Ecology. She is owner of GeoBotany Systems Consulting Services and has previously held positions with the US Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Bureau of Land Management, and Washington County. Jill also serves as Executive Director and co-founder of the Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium, Inc.