Daily Archives: May 7, 2012

Friday, May 25 – Saturday, May 26 – Relevance: National Plant Societies in the 21st Century

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Leadership from every major national plant society has been invited to a summit meeting in Shreveport on May 25-26. The meeting is hosted by the American Rose Society and is intended to gather leaders from similar plant organizations in order to share common challenges and solutions. The theme of the meeting is “Relevance: National Plant Societies in the 21st Century.”

Both the American Camellia Society and the American Horticultural Society are taking major roles in the meeting through planning and participation. We expect members of the National Garden Clubs, American Orchid Society, American Dahlia Society, American Daylily (Hemerocallis) Society, and others to join us. ARS Executive Director Jeff Ware states, “I hope this meeting proves to be so valuable to our participants that it becomes an annual event hosted at the headquarters of various national groups on a rotating basis.”

The event begins with a Get Acquainted Reception sponsored and hosted by the American Horticultural Society on Friday evening, May 25, at 7:00 p.m. at the Gardens of the American Rose Center. The Summit itself will take place on Saturday, May 26, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at Klima Rose Hall: The American Rose Society Education and Visitor Center. This meeting will provide opportunities for everyone to share ideas and best practices around 3 major topics: membership, volunteerism, technology and social media. Harry Rissetto, Chairman of the Board for the American Horticultural Society, will present the keynote address on Saturday, “Social Capital – Challenges for Plant and Flower Clubs and Societies.” A luncheon will be provided.

There is no fee to attend the National Plant Society Summit. However we ask that you RSVP to Jeff Ware, execdirector@ars-hq.org. We hope to make this meeting financially accessible for all groups, both large and small. The event is held at Courtyard Marriott at the Shreveport Airport. Call the hotel directly at 318-686-0102 for reservations. Ask for the American Rose Society Center rate of $84.

Thursday, May 17, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – More Ticks in More Places

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Several local green space organizations have joined together to present the following educational program about tick awareness and tick bite prevention.  More Ticks in More Places: How the ever-changing ecology of tick-borne diseases in the Northeastern US affects you! will be presented by Thomas N. Mather, Ph.D, Director, The University of Rhode Island Tick Encounter Resource Center, on Thursday, May 17, 6:30–8:00pm in the Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston.

In New England, 2011 was an exceptionally “ticky” year, and there are predictions for a possible 20% increase in the tick population in 2012. Dr. Thomas Mather will discuss current trends in tick encounter risk as well as his efforts to help individuals and communities prevent tick bites and Lyme disease. Learn about tick life cycles, environmental factors contributing to Lyme disease, and what you can do to protect yourself so that you can continue to enjoy the green spaces in and around Boston. Reserve now. Space is limited.

Free, but registration requested.

Register online at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or by phone at 617-384-5277.

Sponsored by Boston Natural Areas Network; Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center; Brookline Parks & Open Space; Emerald Necklace Conservancy; Franklin Park Coalition; Friends of the Blue Hills; New England Mountain Bike Association; Olmsted National Historic Site, NPS; and Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.