We are pleased to present our February program online, however, we will be limited to 100 participants. Please check back here for registration information.This program will be available for viewing on our chapter's YouTube channel a few days afterward. Thank you!
Connecting Community and Native Habitat—
Growing a Sense of Place
Vicki Bonk, Nokomis Naturescape Stewardship and Outreach Lead
Within all our neighborhoods, there are likely natural amenities that spark a nature connection for the residents. Building on these assets can help generate the “Homegrown National Park” Douglas Tallamy forwarded in “Nature’s Best Hope”. What features in your community encourage more native plantings? This presentation will focus on one southeast Minneapolis community’s twenty-five history of ongoing habitat projects where one endeavor lead to another and in the process created corridors and in-roads! These ventures are promoted with workshops, plant sales, online presentations and a large celebration. The outreach model for community participation became - demonstrate, educate and celebrate.
Community outreach will grow this year by highlighting the native plants at home in the area surrounding Lake Nokomis Park, within Minnehaha Park and also the Mississippi River National Park and Recreation Area that includes Coldwater Spring. In the summer of 2021, people will have an opportunity to visit the Nokomis East Neighborhood projects, homes and nearby parks on a the WOTC Garden Tour.
A lively 2020 scene along the Monarch Mile* provided the public with a vision of what can be.
*A Nokomis East Neighborhood Association native boulevard plantings project of a street corridor connecting two larger habitat gardens. Neighborhood habitat projects help connect people, wildlife and the land to nearby nature reserves.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Vicki's commitment to native plant gardening was activated in 1995 when she suggested a community project of a butterfly garden at Lake Nokomis Park in Minneapolis. Thus, the Nokomis Naturescape (NN), came into being in 1998. Since then, Vicki has served as the NN volunteer stewardship and outreach coordinator, working with the local neighborhood association, green team and park board. The NN mission is to "encourage people to connect with nature by growing native plant habitat gardens." With this focus, the Grow Monarch Habitat Workshops were created in 2006. The beloved monarch butterfly, a flagship species, was chosen as an ambassador to inspire people to plant livelier home landscapes that beckon many beneficial creatures. The workshops were a catalyst for the Minneapolis Monarch Festival, a popular annual event since 2009.
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Congratulations to two of our Wild Ones Twin Cities members, John Arthur and Roz Johnson, who's photographs were featured in the 2021 9 Mile Creek calendar! You can watch the video presentation here.
We are pleased to present our January program online, however, we will be limited to 100 participants. This presentation will not be recorded, so if you would like to participate you will need to pre-register. Click here to register on Eventbrite. Thank you!
Restoring Ecosystem Functionality and Biodiversity
How can humans benefit from green infrastructure and ecological landscape restorations? Heather will discuss ways we can achieve a sustainable coexistence with the rest of life on earth. Models of restorative landscaping including residential and community opportunities will be highlighted as well as thoughtful plant selection, ecosystem functionality, and how biodiversity can be maximized. A focus on pollinator habitat and outcomes, troubleshooting and monitoring of restorations, and funding opportunities will also be included in the presentation.
Heather spends much of her time passionately educating audiences about the fascinating world of native bees and the native plants that support them. Her first book, Pollinators of Native Plants, was published in 2014, and her latest book, Bees, published in 2017, has won six book awards including the 2018 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Heather's expertise includes the interactions between native bees and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees occurring in the upper Midwest and Northeast.
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If you missed our Annual Membership Meeting in November, you can see the WOTC Year in Review presentation here, and videos of the three Art and Nature presentations below. Thank you!
We are pleased to present our fall programs online, however, we will be limited to 100 participants for each presentation. The November 17th meeting is our annual Membership Business meeting, and we will be electing chapter officers for 2021. If you are a current member of Wild Ones Twin Cities, you will receive an email with registration information for this meeting. The program presentation will be recorded and posted here and on our WOTC YouTube channel a few days afterward. Thank you!
Art & Nature —Naturally
A sampling of garden art made by Wild Ones Twin Cities members
My current spiritual-art explorations have generated the MandalArt Healing Image process. As part of this tech- nique an “informational snapshot” is taken of a person or object. Original sources may be as varied as a sound or voice recording, writing sample, biofeedback or medical file, email, computer file, text, drawing or photo, which is then transformed into raw data in the computer, then run through a series of art filters, or layered until an archetypal pattern emerges. The resultant image is a unique aesthetic representation of the “parent.” This im- age can be “tweaked,” i.e., altering colors, forms, etc., to generate an energetic reaction or specific state of con- sciousness in its viewer, by-passing the inner cognitive judge to appeal more directly to intuitive aspects of self. In turn this process can encourage transformative insight and stimulate personal healing.
Designed with Doug Benson, these beautiful, durable and educational native plant signs help identify as well as promote use of native forbs, grasses, and shrubs in both public and private gardens. With 98 different species available, there is a sign to mark the planting of your habitat garden favorites, from spring blooming Pasque Flower (Anemone patens) and Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum), to mid-summer Monarch Butterfly must-haves like Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis), to late season stunners New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) and Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa).
Garden Variety Art began with my growing fascination with native plants and the wildlife they attract and support. Planting just a few MN wildflowers, grasses, trees and shrubs invited a diversity of bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects into my yard. After taking countless photos of these small but critical interactions happening all around me, I realized that native plants were ‘pretty useful things’ and started making images that attempt to express both the beauty and utility of habitat gardens. Over the last year I've been using the process of dye sublimation to print my photos and art patterns on a variety of items, including face masks, garden signs, coasters, magnets, jewelry, ornaments, and metal art panels. I'm currently working on a coloring book of designs illustrating the 'everyday nature' that can be enjoyed in our own yards when we plant native species.
Thanks to Leslie Pilgrim, Andy Scott, Doug Benson, and everyone who contributed to the making of this beautiful and educational publication!
READ, LEARN, ENJOY, SHARE!
In Wild Ones Reflections, we tell the stories of people who are making change in their own yards, as well as their communities. We offer useful resources, creative ideas, and thoughtful answers to frequently asked nativescaping questions. We hope to connect with those of you we don't get to see often--either because of busy schedules or our new socially-distanced world.
At Wild Ones our focus is to educate the public about the benefits of preserving and restoring biodiversity of our native plant communities, beginning in our own yards and gardens. We do this out of respect and hope for our shared planet.
As we head into the winter months and plan for a new season of growth and community in 2021, we express thanks to all of you and all you do to strengthen the biodiversity of this one beautiful planet we all share. Collectively, we can make an impact.