September 2011 Volunteer and Docent Newsletter VOLUNTEER MEETINGS Horticultural Therapy Outreach Wednesday, September 7, 10AM Tour Guides/Proctors/ Signature Classes Meeting Wednesday, September 14, Noon-1PM Youth Education Fall Programs Meeting Monday, September 12, 10AM-Noon Interested in volunteering for programs in Youth Education this Fall? Please consider attending this open meeting where we will discuss these programs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALL VOLUNTEER MEETING The first meeting of the season will be on Thursday, November 10, 9:30-11AM Porter Hall Speaker, Elizabeth Willott -on interpreting at the Gardens- WELCOME BACK POT-LUCK For All Volunteers and Staff Wednesday, September 28 11:30AM, in the Pavilion There will be a sign-up sheet in both the Volunteer Office and back in Sycamore House. We here on the staff are SO looking forward to your return!!! FROM BEN COLLINSWORTH, Youth Education Coordinator Desert Daze September 25 (RESCHEDULED from Sept. 9) School-age guests are specially invited to the Gardens to enjoy a day of fun and discovery focused on our amazing Sonoran Desert. We ll have games, tours, and activities, a bilingual story event and a special visit from some desert wildlife. Fall Family Fun Fest Saturday, October 29 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. Desert Plants, Desert People An onsite and outreach program presenting information about Sonoran ethnobotany. If you cannot attend the meeting but would like to be involved or know more about Youth Education programming, please contact me at BCollinsworth@tucsonbotanical.org or 520/326-9686, ext. 31. 2150 North Alvernon Way, Tucson, Arizona 85712 326-9686 www.tucsonbotanical.org 1
Elizabeth Willott, Butterfly Exhibit Curator The Butterflies are Coming Back! Butterfly Magic starts October 10. We have numerous volunteer opportunities. The exhibit is open 7 days a week, 9:30 until 3, except for a few holidays. Exhibit shifts run 9:15 until 12:30 and 12:15 to 3:30. We provide training and resources. If the greenhouse is too hot, humid, or peopleoriented for you, you can be involved in other ways: greeting groups, interpreting outside the Chrysalis Exhibit, food preparation, butterfly kit preparation, and more. I (Elizabeth) have just started filling the volunteer shifts for Butterfly Magic. Please f e e l f r e e t o e m a i l m e a t butterflyexhibit@tucsonbotanical.org to get the opportunity you wish. Also, please invite your friends and acquaintances to spend some time volunteering and learning about the butterflies. We have several education classes scheduled for the fall. Please check the class schedule. Butterfly Magic volunteers are encouraged to attend these classes (for no fee). Members and the public will pay a nominal fee. One set of classes is offered the third Tuesday of each month. This class will give some of the basics about butterflies and new or potential volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend. This fall, Butterfly Magic is lucky to have Carol Tepper as a new assistant curator. Carol comes to us after several years with the National Park Service. More recently, she has been working with the insect collection at the University of Arizona Entomology Department. She will be starting September 8. I hope that any of you feel free to introduce yourself to her and help make her feel welcome. She will be working part-time, several days a week. If you haven t been into the greenhouse lately, you ll likely be in for a pleasant surprise. Numerous volunteers have contributed time and effort to cleaning the plexiglass and walls, caulking, and generally making it look better. Others have worked over the summer maintaining the plants. Of course, the orchids are fabulous. Although some of the orchids were on loan and will be returned to their owners at the end of the exhibit, others will remain to enhance the greenhouse through Butterfly Magic. * * * * * * * * * * * This butterfly is our native Giant Swallowtail. As a caterpillar it resembles bird excrement and, when disturbed, the caterpillar releases a very stinky compound that is certainly offensive enough to most people. Presumably it deters birds and other predators. The butterfly can be seen outside at the Gardens for much of the year. We also sometimes receive some, as pupae, in our Butterfly Magic orders from Costa Rica. 2
LAST CALL FOR DOCENT TRAINING! Become a Docent at Tucson Botanical Gardens! Looking for an opportunity to learn more about the Sonoran Desert and connect with others who have like interest? Then register for the upcoming docent training class at Tucson Botanical Gardens! During the nine-week course you ll learn about the history of the Gardens, dive into botany for gardeners, wildflower identification and gardening for birds and butterflies, discuss water resources and conservation, principles of xeriscaping, desert ecology and ethnobotany as well as learn solid presentation skills to become a qualified tour guide. Once the coursework is completed, docents at the Gardens lead garden tours, present educational outreach programs for adults and children, staff educational carts, implement horticultural therapy programs, teach Gardens signature classes, participate in training and planning for Gardens educational and outreach programs and provide gardens information to visitors as a gardens interpreter. ABOUT DOCENT CLASS: Class meets in the Gardens Saturdays, 9:00 AM-Noon Sept. 17 to Nov. 19 (skipping Oct. 8 due to Gardens-wide event) Cost: $120 (includes individual membership for 1 year), $70 for current members Class size is limited. Contact Ron Bridgemon at 326-9686, ext. 39, or email at education1@tucsonbotanical.org to reserve your space. PALM WORK AT THE GARDENS Michael Chamberland, Director of Horticulture The Tucson Airport Authority is working to build a memorial to Harrison Yokum at the Tucson Airport. Harrison was a longtime Airport employee who maintained their landscaping. Heavy equipment was brought in to extract some of Harrison s palms a favorite group of plants for him. A particularly attractive palm was removed with their help and transported to the Gardens. It is now planted in the back end of the Zen Garden. You can find it by following with your eye where the rock path in the Zen Garden leads. It makes a nice focal point at the end of the path. A long skirt of dead leaves had built up on the palm tree in Nuestro Jardin. This was removed with some daring tree climbing and chainsaw work by arborists with Brijer Resources. We no longer need worry about the old dead leaves coming down in a wind storm. 3
SEPTEMBER CLASSES GROWING ORCHIDS Sunday, September 11, 1-3PM Don t think you have to be crazy to grow orchids if you live in Tucson! With a little know-how, you too can succeed at growing orchids at home. There is no better time to learn and go nuts over these plants, during our Mad about Orchids exhibit. Orchids are not as difficult to grow as some might think when basic light, temperature, humidity, soil media, and water/ food requirements are met. Learn about basic orchid care and maintenance with Emily Rockey, Curator of Horticulture at the Gardens, in this hands-on course. You will leave knowing how to care for the small orchid you can take home with you. COMPOSTING TEAS Saturday, September 17, 1-3PM Aerated compost tea is a true revolution in organic gardening. By amplifying the amount of beneficial microbes, aerated compost tea gives a powerful nutritional boost and pathogen resistance to your garden. The class will discuss the science behind aerated compost tea, equipment needed, brewing methodology, trouble-shooting, and applications. BUTTERFLY BASICS 1 Tuesday, September 20, 4:30-6:30PM Join Elizabeth Willott, Curator of Butterfly Magic, for this 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 after-hours. $12, $7 members ARIZONA BUTTERFLIES PART 3: BRUSH-FOOTS Thursday, September 22, 6-8PM Did you know that Brush-foots are so named because of their specialized front legs? In this class, we introduce the largest family of butterflies in the world. Brush-foots includes such familiar butterflies as Monarch, Queen, Painted Lady, and Red Admiral, as well as such magical creatures as satyrs, fritillaries, and buckeyes. Join Jeff Babson of Sky Island Tours for the third installment of the Butterflies of Arizona series as we explore these colorful and well-known butterflies. BUTTERFLY STRUCTURE AND F U N C T I O N F R O M A F U N PERSPECTIVE Saturday, September 24, 2:30-4PM Why are blue morpho wings blue? How does a female butterfly know that plant A is where he should lay her eggs? What do butteflies see? And more. Join Elizabeth Willott, Curator of Butterfly Magic, for this fun look at butterflies. Includes entrance to Butterfly Magic after-hours. FAMILY FRIENDLY! $14, $10 members To register for classes by phone with a credit card, or for more information, call 326.9686, ext. 19. 4
2150 North Alvernon Way Tucson, Arizona 85712