Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Social 6:30 pm
Membership Meeting & Officer Elections 7:00 pm
Program 7:15 pm
Wood Lake Nature Center, Richfield MN
Join us for our Annual Business Meeting, Seed Exchange & Membership Appreciation Pizza Party!
Thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who help our chapter fulfill our educational mission throughout the year! Please join us so we can celebrate all you do!
If you have any photos from 2024 WOTC activities you'd like to share, please send them to Holley no later than Sunday, November 17th for inclusion in the slideshow.
During our brief Business Meeting we will hold elections for our 2025 Executive Board Members: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary & Membership Chair. If you are interested in serving in any of these positions, please contact Julia.
SEED EXCHANGE
Please bring any Minnesota native plant seeds you are sharing in labeled containers. Data should include Latin name, common name, date and location of where the seeds were collected. Any additional information on seed origin is welcome, such as which nursery you purchased your plants, etc. At the end of the evening, any seeds that remain will be collected by Wild Ones volunteers to be packaged for our January 18 Winter Sowing event.
Following the Business Meeting, we will have a short presentation:
Lessons Learned in Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity
Presenter: Bonnie Harper-Lore
"We have everything we need to begin solving this crisis, with the exception of the will to act. But in America, our will to take action is itself a renewable resource." (Al Gore, 2002)
Bonnie Harper-Lore will share an introduction to recently published book she and her husband, Gary Lore, have been working on for the past several years.
Lesson’s Learned in Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity, Conservation in Action is the book Bonnie wished she had in grad school before entering the real world of conservation work. This collaborative effort of 85 authors shares how they got things done, in other words the many ways they took action to bring about change and take care of the planet. Several of our local conservation pioneers and chapter members are among the contributing authors.
Earth’s biodiversity is threatened in many ways, including climate change, development and invasive species. That matters to our survival. The authors’ lessons learned explain why and how to take action, often across jurisdictional lines on a map. Building on their insights will save time and money for the generation that follows.
- mapping biodiversity
- adding plant species to the Endangered Species List
- taking nature-based solutions to the UN
- saving sage grouse, wolves, Carolina chickadees, monarchs, and mussels
- restoring and/or rewilding
- ecology and horticulture work together
- creating the monarch highway
- controlling terrestrial and aquatic invasives
- taking conservation issues to Washington D.C.
- partnering from the ground up
Authors include: Gary Paul Nabhan, Reed Noss, Janet Marinelli, Ted Williams, Curt Meine, and 80 more. All had the freedom to write in their own style or voice from academic, to research, to reporting, to op ed and/or story telling. I think the 647 page result is an eclectic and interesting read for students or anyone interested in conservation advocacy.
Students and professionals alike in applied ecology, wildlife biology, entomology, botany, land management, landscape architecture, horticulture, journalism, ethics and public policy benefit from these authorities’ stories. Lesson’s Learned in Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity, Conservation in Action is packed with actions already taken, to build on in the future. There is never enough time or money to waste on recreating the wheel.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND EDITORS
Bonnie L. Harper-Lore holds a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, in which she focused on the preservation, restoration and management of native plant communities. As a restoration ecologist, she spent 20 years with state and federal roadside programs, providing technical transfers, research oversight and policy support. She spent 15 of those years as Editor of the quarterly newsletter, Greener Roadsides. She is also the author of Roadside use of Native Plants, Roadside Weed Management and Vegetation Management, an Ecoregional Approach.
Gary K. Lore holds a BA in environmental ethics, economics, and communication from Metro State University, Minnesota, USA. For 17 years, he developed integrated vegetation management plans for Colorado’s highway rights-of-way and provided safety and operational training. He also worked as a consultant and regional manager for rights-of-way contractors and suppliers. Gary then spent 12 years as a federal public affairs officer. Over time he edited and wrote features and columns for The Metropolitan, Minnesota Vietnam Veterans Quarterly, Colorado Streamside Quarterly, Trout magazine, “Outdoor Lore” and more. Gary continues graduate studies at Metro State.
