Events

Our monthly meeting via Zoom will include viewing of a webinar from the Pollinator Habitat 101: An Introduction and Refresher series produced by The Ohio State University Bee Lab in Fall 2022.   Followed by live Q&A. Register to receive the Zoom link for our meeting.  Click "Read more" to access more info on the OSU series.

Monthly chapter business meeting and 2023 planning session.

Monthly Board Meeting

What is a Weed? A plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Join us for a live virtual presentation via Zoom by Debbie Dekleva, aka Milkweed Maverick, to explore the past, present and future uses of milkweed, the monarch butterfly’s larval host plant. Her goal is to utilize milkweed’s  attributes in consumer and industrial products to increase biodiversity, support the monarch migration, and invigorate the economy of rural communities.  Debbie is a second generation milkweed entrepreneur whose innovations based on milkweed are implemented by engaging communities in the responsible collection of milkweed materials and creating novel business ventures that fund the protection and restoration conservation of nature while creating economic vitality in UNTAMED AG communities.

Monthly Board Meeting

Wild Ones 2022 Photo Contest Winner David Silsbee will share tips and tricks for photographing insects in your garden. 

Monthly Board Meeting

Invasive exotic plants threaten biodiversity and degrade habitat for wildlife. Spring is a good time to assess the invaders on your property and develop your management plan.  Learn how to identify several commonly encountered types of invasive plants and control their spread with habitat restoration volunteer and Mountain Laurel Chapter President Lydia Pan.  For the past several years, Lydia has led a team of volunteers at Coogan Farm, who work to eliminate or reduce invasive plants at selected sites and replace them with native alternatives that support a diversity of pollinators and wildlife.  A variety of weed control methods will be discussed that homeowners can employ in their own yards.  The program will start with a short talk followed by a walk to see a variety of habitats on the Farm property that are being managed and restored.

Meet at the JX Art Barn.  Program is free but advance registration is required. This program is offered in partnership with the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center at their Coogan Farm campus.

Monthly Board Meeting

The nationally accredited Nancy Moss Fine Azalea Garden displays 18 different types of deciduous azalea indigenous to eastern North America. At least one species can be found in bloom from late April through mid-August. This tour coincides with what we anticipate will be peak bloom time, so you are sure to experience a variety of fragrance and color.

The Nancy Moss Fine Azalea Garden displays 18 different types indigenous to eastern North America. At least one species can be found in bloom from late April through mid-August. This tour coincides with what we anticipate to be peak bloom time, so you are sure to experience the variety of fragrance and color.

Monthly Board Meeting

Participants will tour the Native Plant Collection with Arboretum Assistant Director Maggie Redfern and learn techniques for how to collect, stick and successfully root softwood cuttings including how to apply these practices at home. Registration will be required.

Lauren Brown, author of “Grasses, Sedges, Rushes: An identification Guide”, will guide us to identify many native and naturalized grasses and grass-like plants in the field.  The walk will take approximately 90 minutes and will be followed by 30 minutes for Q&A.

This program is free but requires registration since the group size will be limited.  Wild Ones members receive preference if registered before June 14.  Non-members who are interested will be placed on a waiting list for any remaining slots on June 14.  If the program is not full, registration will remain open after that date.  To register, contact Susan Kinsman at [email protected].

Monthly Board Meeting

DESCRIPTION: Visit two urban sites in New Haven where welcoming habitat has been created for people, pollinators and other wildlife. First we will visit Urbanscapes Native Plant Nursery and the Newhallville Learning Corridor with Dennis Riordan and Doreen Abubakar, respectively. Then we will go to nearby Beaver Pond Park where Nan Bartow will lead a tour of their habitat gardens including the Urban Oasis. THIS PROGRAM IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC (NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED). 

You can support Urbanscapes by purchasing plants available for sale at the nursery. You can also pre-order and pay online to save time at pickup. If you pre-order plants, mention that you will pick them up on July 9.  Plant Sale Link: https://menunkatuck.org/plants-for-sale

DIRECTIONS: Meet at Urbanscapes, 133 Hazel St, New Haven (across the street from the Learning Corridor.) Your best bet is to park on Hazel Street (one-way). The entrance to Beaver Ponds Park is on Fournier St near Crescent St in New Haven. We will walk or carpool over from Urbanscapes--the distance is less than 1 mile.

Monthly Board Meeting

Learn where to find and how to identify insects all around us with Pamm Cooper.
Pamm works at the UConn Home and Garden Education Center which provides information free of charge on gardening, wildlife, lawn, insect, plant disease and other and aspects of residential landscape plant culture and issues. She has also worked for Dr. David Wagner raising lepidoptera for publications and for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on property evaluations. She is an accomplished nature photographer and have had many images used in publications. She teaches the UConn Master Gardener entomology (study of insects) class.

Bring your bug nets, hand lens and macro camera and what you will need for a field walk. You will be around ticks and mosquitos, please dress appropriately.

Registration limited to 12 people. Wild Ones members will be given priority for registration until Aug. 11th. Please contact Susan Kinsman @ [email protected]

Monthly Board business meeting.  Final meeting before plant sale.

Fall is the best season to plant many native plants. This year’s sale will be slightly different: only woody plants need to be pre-ordered online.  We are selling an expanded selection of 1-2 gal pots of trees and shrubs, all locally grown. Flowering perennials, grasses and other member-grown plants for sale during pick-up hours.  We are not able to publish an exact list of the plants that will be for available, but expect to have an interesting and diverse selection. Check back soon for pre-ordering information.

Fall is the best season to plant many native plants. This year’s sale will be slightly different: only woody plants need to be pre-ordered online.  We are selling an expanded selection of 1-2 gal pots of trees and shrubs, all locally grown. Flowering perennials, grasses and other member-grown plants for sale during pick-up hours.  We are not able to publish an exact list of the plants that will be for available, but expect to have an interesting and diverse selection. Check back soon for pre-ordering information.

Monthly Board Meeting

Join Wild Ones Honorary Director Heather Holm as she explores the nesting habitats, life cycles, pollen collection, brood rearing, and general characteristics of some of the most common native bees in eastern North America, while highlighting the pollination of native plants and the mutualism between native plants and native bees.

When creating and managing thriving habitats for native bees, many factors such as seasonal phenology, nesting strategies, and flower preferences must be considered—and with approximately 3,600 species in North America (north of Mexico), there are many unique aspects to keep in mind when managing successful landscapes for bees. 

Join us for a guided walk at Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge (Salt Marsh Unit). Wildlife biologist Kris Vagos will introduce the refuge and talk a little about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Wildlife Refuge System before leading all participants on a short hike to learn about native plants and their role in bird migration. She will also talk about pollinators and native plants and answer any questions you may have about plants you see along the way. 

To Register, please email Sue S at [email protected]

PROGRAM DETAILS:

The route is less than a mile long but has hills. Kris will open the building before and after the walk for restroom use (but will lock up before she leaves). Wear good walking shoes and bring water   If you want to enjoy more of the refuge after the walk with Kris, feel free to bring a picnic lunch (take out what you bring in) and explore on your own.  For kayakers, a small boat launch at Kirtland Landing on Rt. 145 in Westbrook (outside the refuge), provides public access without charge.

REGISTRATION

This program is free and open to the public, but we ask that you register at the link below because group size will be limited.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM LEADER:

Kris Vagos has been a Wildlife Biologist at Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge since 2011. Her main focus at the refuge is creating and enhancing habitat for threatened and endangered species such as the roseate tern on Falkner Island, managing habitat for at-risk species, and fostering a better understanding of the refuge and the natural world. Before coming to Connecticut, Kris worked at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge along the southern coast of Maine, did research on the endangered white-winged guan in Peru, helped reintroduce the aplomado falcon to Texas, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania with Retezat National Park, and was an Americorps volunteer in the Adirondacks where she taught environmental education and worked on a trail crew. She got her undergraduate degree in Biology from Boston College and received her Master's degree in Natural Resources from the University of New Hampshire where she was a research assistant. Kris loves to travel and visits a new country every year.

To Register, please email Sue S at [email protected]

For those wanting to make positive environmental change, join us at the SALT Conference to learn about planting native trees to make our landscape more biodiverse and ecologically resilient while supporting social and environmental justice. In person presentations and lunch included. 

Co-Sponsored by Connecticut College Arboretum

Presentations: 

Native Trees for Northeast Landscapes
Heather McCargo, Founder, Wild Seed Project
Planting a diversity of native trees into our human dominated landscapes is a powerful act that each of us can take in our communities to support diverse wildlife and buffer local ecosystems as the climate changes. In this presentation Heather will help you think like a forest with its layers of vegetation above ground to the diverse soil community below, and to also understand the importance of planting seed grown trees to support the genetic diversity of our native plants as we bring more of them into our landscapes.

Keystone Trees for the Songbird and Pollinator Conservation
Desiree Narango, Conservation Scientist, Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Across every ecosystem, trees vary in the resources they provide and the wildlife they support. In this talk, Desiree will speak about coevolutionary relationships between plants, insects and birds. She'll provide information about which native trees are the 'power plants' that support local food webs based on her research across New England and beyond. Desiree will also speak about steps you can take to conserve biodiversity at home and how your backyard observations can contribute to advancing our understanding of plant-animal interactions.

Forest De-vining
Chris Ozyck, Associate Director, Urban Resources Initiative
Chris has been leading the charge with invasive removal in New Haven and has been involved in native tree plantings in parks. He invites volunteers to identify and prune invasive vines that, when cut back, will promote a healthy forest canopy. This hands-on approach to “de-vining” our trees is intended to empower everyone to help maintain natural areas, public greenspaces and your own backyard.

Leafed Out: Growing Connecticut’s Urban Canopy through Community Leadership
Drew Goldsman, Urban Conservation Director and Tim Clark, Southeastern CT Program Director, The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut
Within the past year alone, over $1.5 billion has been made available to communities to steward and expand their urban forests. The Nature Conservancy and partners will discuss urban forestry initiatives across Connecticut, including in New London and Bridgeport, to engage the audience in a discussion of the future of trees in our communities.

Join us for an enlightening webinar featuring authors, Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox, as they present their latest book, "The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants." This comprehensive compendium is a treasure trove of knowledge for gardeners looking to incorporate native prairie plants into their landscapes. Neil and Hilary will delve into the making and application of this essential guide, sharing rich historical and ecological insights about prairie ecosystems, all while showcasing stunning images of prairie flora. 

Wild Ones members and their guests are invited to our Mountain Laurel Chapter’s annual holiday meeting & potluck lunch. 
1 PM:  Potluck and socializing
2 PM:  Business Meeting & Open Floor
3 PM:  Native Seed Exchange
3:30 PM:  Raffle Drawing
 
 
Hear the “Year in Review,” financial report and election results.  Share Wild Ones related ideas and information.
 
Bring seeds to swap at the seed exchange. Even if you don’t have seeds, you can get seeds for a small donation.  See our guidelines and add to the species list.  Contact Lydia ([email protected]) with seed questions.
 
Please RSVP here.  
To make this a low-waste event, we ask that you bring your own reusable mug, plate and utensils. Everyone who complies will get a free raffle ticket!
 
Join us to end the year with
good food, conversation and camaraderie!

Monthly Board Meeting