Boston Flora

Tag: Grow Native Massachusetts

  • Wednesday, March 2, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Restoring Nature’s Relationships at Home

    If we are to make our residential landscapes truly living ecosystems once again, we need to understand the specialized relationships that make plants and animals interdependent. Who better to take us on an in-depth journey into this fascinating and complex world than Doug Tallamy? On Wednesday, March 2 at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, he will give us detailed examples of these co-evolutionary relationships, showing us how they determine the stability and complexity of local food webs providing birds with insects and berries, dispersing bloodroot seeds, pollinating goldenrod, and much more. This knowledge equips us to knowingly select plants and to construct landscapes that restore nature’s relationships at home.

    Doug Tallamy is a Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Biology at the University of Delaware. His groundbreaking book, Bringing Nature Home, was published in 2007 and continues to have national impact; it was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers Association. In 2014, he co-authored The Living Landscape with Rick Darke. Doug’s conservation work and science-based advocacy for native plants has earned him numerous awards. Sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts – admission free.

  • Wednesday, February 3, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Native Plant Gardens: Learning By Example

    Landscaping with native plants is becoming the rule rather than the exception, but good examples can be hard to find. Come to the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, on Wednesday, February 3 at 7 pm for a visual tour of some truly instructive native plant gardens, large and small, public and private. A diversity of styles, ranging from formal to naturalistic, will illustrate the usage of native plants in both residential and public landscapes. Our tour will travel from Sara Stein’s garden in Pound Ridge, NY, to the New World Garden designed by Larry Weaner, to the High Line in NYC, and include many others along the way. Accompanied by design and how-to tips, this talk will be valuable for everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned professionals.

    Carolyn Summers is author of Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East and an adjunct professor at Go Native U, a joint project of Westchester Community College and The Native Plant Center. She and her husband recently opened their country home, Flying Trillium Gardens and Preserve, for public tours and to showcase the importance of native plants to all landscapes. This free program is sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts. For more information visit www.grownativemass.org.

  • Wednesday, May 6, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Land Stewardship for Pollinator Conservation

    Pollinators are essential to our ecosystem — more than 85 percent of the world’s flowering plants and two-thirds of our agricultural crops depend upon them for reproduction. In many places, however, their essential service is at risk. Loss of habitat due to urbanization and use of pesticides are causing declines in both managed honey bee colonies and native pollinator populations.

    Come to the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway on Wednesday, May 6 at 7 pm and learn about the fascinating and diverse world of New England’s native pollinators — bees, butterflies, flies, beetles, and wasps — and about the latest science-based approaches to reversing pollinator declines by protecting and managing habitat for these vital insects.

    Kelly Gill, the speaker, is the Pollinator Conservation Specialist for the Xerces Society and a Partner Biologist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

    The Xerces Society has worked for over 40 years on pollinator conservation and is well known for its best-selling book Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies. The lecture is free. For more information visit http://grownativemass.org/programs/eveningswithexperts.

  • Wednesday, March 4, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Wild Orchids of New England

    On Wednesday, March 4, from 7 – 8:30, Grow Native Massachusetts will sponsor a free talk by Bill Brumback, Director of Conservation, New England Wild Flower Society, to be held at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge.

    Did you know that New England is home to more than 50 species of native terrestrial orchids? Although not so showy as the tropical orchids of the florist trade, our hardy species have fascinated botanists for centuries.

    Adapted to specific habitats from Maine’s northern woodlands to the sands of Nantucket, these orchids are fascinating in their diversity and their adaptations. Discover more about our New England orchids, their haunts, their peculiar lifestyles, their rarity, and their pollination systems. Learn which ones are cultivated in the nursery trade and adapted to gardens, and how we can conserve all of these species.

    Bill Brumback has worked for the New England Wild Flower Society for several decades. His contributions to the conservation of our region’s flora are extensive, and his work to propagate and protect Robbin’s cinquefoil in New Hampshire’s White Mountains led to its recovery and subsequent removal from the U.S. Endangered Species list. He has been studying the rare native orchid, small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides), for thirty years and claims that he still doesn’t understand it.

  • Wednesday, February 4, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Humans and Wildlife: The New Imbalance

    Jim Sterba, author of Nature Wars, will give a free talk at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, on Wednesday, February 4, from 7 – 8:30, sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts.

    By the late 19th century, North American forests and wildlife were in dire straits. For nearly 400 years, arriving Europeans had removed trees and killed off wild birds and animals to the point that a few enlightened leaders sounded the alarm, and the conservation movement was born. Three slow but remarkable transformations followed. Forests reclaimed huge swaths of abandoned cropland. Many threatened wildlife populations, restocked in refuges and protected, slowly grew back to health. Then, people moved out of cities after World War II, creating a mosaic of suburban, exurban and rural sprawl where family farms once thrived.

    Now, this new habitat is filled with people who want to leave nature alone, and many wildlife populations are proliferating out of balance. We have mounting community conflicts over what to do, or not to do, about deer, beavers, Canada Geese, and other species. As the dominant player in our ecosystems, it is time for us to overcome our reluctance and embrace our stewardship role.

    Jim Sterba is an internationally recognized author and correspondent who has reported for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for more than four decades. His book, Nature Wars, published in 2012, has earned critical acclaim and catalyzed an important national conversation about wildlife management.

  • Wednesday, June 4, 7:00 pm – Scentless Spring: Ecosystems Under Siege by White-Tailed Deer

    The overabundance of white-tailed deer is a growing problem. As a keystone species of forest ecosystems, they have a disproportionate impact on other species – wildflowers, tree seedlings, songbirds, and insects. Learn about the extensive damage caused by deer overpopulation on the Blue Hills Reservation and in other forests throughout our region, on Wednesday, June 4 at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, at a free program sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts. We can solve this by restoring the predation that once kept deer populations in check.

    Speaker Tom Rawinski is a US Forest Service botanist in Durham, NH. For more information visit www.grownativemassachusetts.org.

    http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/images/mammals/WhiteTailDeer2.jpg

  • Wednesday, May 7, 7:00 pm – Managing Invasives: From Garlic Mustard to Tupperweed Parties

    The cooperative management of invasive species requires creative new approaches, whether working with your neighbors or town hall.

    Grow Native Massachusetts will explore innovative ways to start grassroots control efforts, discussing effective outreach methods and the importance of public education, in this talk by Julie Richburg to be held Wednesday, May 7 at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, beginning at 7 pm. The Westfield River Watershed Invasive Species Partnership will illustrate effective organizational collaboration and coordinated control methods.

    Dr. Julie Richburg is Regional Ecologist at The Trustees of Reservations. The program is free.  For more information visit www.grownativemass.org.

    http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/04.27/photos/12-invasive2-450.jpg

  • Wednesday, April 2, 7:00 pm – American Oaks: A Genus to Love

    American Oaks are diverse, display complex ecological relationships, and play an important role in ecosystem stability.  Join Grow Native Massachusetts on Wednesday, April 2, at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, to examine this wonderful genus, with an emphasis on the oaks of eastern North America.

    Tim Boland, Director of the Polly Hill Arboretum in Martha’s Vineyard, will discuss their evolutionary history, importance to flora and fauna, and challenges in a rapidly changing climate. They also have a deep connection to humanity, and are revered for their resilience, age, and multiple uses. Admission is free.  Image from www.forestertreeservice.com. For more information visit www.grownativemass.org. 

    http://forestertreeservice.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/OAK-1.jpg

  • Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 pm – Landscape Design as Ecological Art

    Explore how ecology can inform landscape design – creating environments that are rich, ecologically sound, and “of their place” – while they are dynamic systems that change over time, on Wednesday, March 5, beginning at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge. The lecture is free and is sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts.

    Darrel Morrison, the speaker,  has been inspired by Jens Jensen, Aldo Leopold, and the native landscape with its patterns and processes.  Learn about his exceptional projects: the Native Plant Garden at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, the recent Native Flora Garden Extension at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and others.

    http://lalh.org//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Arboretum2.jpg

  • Wednesday, June 5, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Restoration of Consecration Dell

    Grow Native Massachusetts wraps up its 2013 Evening with the Experts at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge on Wednesday, June 5, from 7 – 8:30, welcoming Dave Barnett, President of Mount Auburn Cemetery, who will speak on The Restoration of Consecration Dell.  At the heart of Mount Auburn, Consecration Dell is a landscape of great beauty and a hot spot for birding. Yet not long ago, it was overrun by invasive species and suffering from erosion. With their commitment to stewardship, Cemetery staff have spent over a decade restoring this special place, establishing a thriving community of native plants and improving vital habitat for wildlife. This story is full of lessons about the significant challenges and rewards of ecological restoration. Dr. Barnett is a respected ecologist and horticulturalist, as well as the President of the Cemetery. Free and open to the public.  Photo from www.inktalks.com.