WELCOME TO MY GARDENS!
"What? In the dormant season of winter?" You are probably wondering.
Yes, in the winter, too! If I had only grown petunias and fretted over a perfect lawn, it would be boring. But, look here! The goldfinches have come to feast on the seeds of my prairie plants...and the purple finches, the chickadees, the downy woodpeckers.... A wild turkey wanders through, a red-tailed hawk soars past. (Thank you, Hawk, for keeping the rabbit population down!)
My various prairie gardens (and a woodland garden at the back under the sugar maple) make life interesting to watch from our windows. A planned native garden can provide interest and a parade of bird and animal life through the seasons. Look up the nurseries that feature native prairie plants (native woodland plants, if you have shade) and plan something interesting for next spring.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Getting Reacquainted
When I talked about "The Importance of Saving Natural Areas" at the Sierra Club John Muir Chapter, the members fully recognized all the values natural areas have, no only for us as people, but for the survival of all life on this planet. Yes, I've talked to Wild Ones members, Ice Age Trail members, Audubon members, and Sierra Club members. But what about all the rest of our citizens? Do you know how your life is more survivable because of natural resources? Do you relate to the natural world as a part of your life or as an alien environment to be tolerated? As speaker and writer I'm happy to reacquaint you with the natural environment.
Bernice Popelka, 11/13/12
When I talked about "The Importance of Saving Natural Areas" at the Sierra Club John Muir Chapter, the members fully recognized all the values natural areas have, no only for us as people, but for the survival of all life on this planet. Yes, I've talked to Wild Ones members, Ice Age Trail members, Audubon members, and Sierra Club members. But what about all the rest of our citizens? Do you know how your life is more survivable because of natural resources? Do you relate to the natural world as a part of your life or as an alien environment to be tolerated? As speaker and writer I'm happy to reacquaint you with the natural environment.
Bernice Popelka, 11/13/12
Monday, October 1, 2012
October 1
October 1: Readers, you haven't heard from me because I've been out in the prairies and gardens. I hope you have enjoyed nature, too. The prairies are beautiful even now (especially that gem I worked so hard to save)!
Report on the May 12 field trip: Twenty-five Wisconsinites car-pooled down to Peacock/James Woodworth Prairie. We entered the Nature Center to find a wall full of outstanding photography of the prairie flowers provided by photographer/author, Frank Mayfield. He is continually taking pictures of prairie life, giving showings of his wonderful photographs, and composing yet more books about what he sees on the James Woodworth. We were also greeted by Charlotte Adelman with her new book, "Native Alternatives to Non-Native Flowers and Plants"...this for all you gardeners out there.
Dr. Dennis Nyberg, Curator, greeted us and took us on a tour of the Prairie. To our delight, we found the white lady slippers among other flora in bloom. Several of the group had never seen how lush a virgin prairie can be. Just by inspecting it, we learned a lot.
After a brown-bag lunch we drove up Milwaukee Road about four miles to The Prairie Grove. It is the Kennicott place that I wrote about in my book, and it is now a National Heritage site with much history. Extensive natural areas surround what are now public environmental education buildings. The efforts to return some places to prairie that used to be there revealed to us once again how important and valuable the James Woodworth Prairie is for us all.
Our final tour of the day in Glenview was four miles to the Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie, thirty-five acres that remains of Dr. William Beecher's Prairie that I also mention in my book. Yes, circumstances change. Now the Village of Glenview Park Board is proud of its support of this (AND The Grove)! And now we can visit the energy-efficient Evelyn Pease Tyner Interpretation Center and look over the expanse that invites birds, bees, and butterflies.
You might ask what good does saving these areas do for people. (1) The public and private schools now have curriculum and field trips to these places so future generations may understand the importance of their environment. (2) Scientists may study the interconnected webs of life and the possible and yet undiscovered gifts of resources. (3) The public can assimilate the unique and aesthetic beauty of natural areas. (4) Gardeners can learn about the hardiness of a whole array of native plants and expand their visions beyond petunias.
Visiting Iowa: In June I visited a friend in Decorah, Iowa. This community has a Community Prairie! My friend took me to the Hayden Prairie west of there. I had heard much about it, and now I finally could see this 200-acre site that was saved in 1947. The highlight was finding a whole colony of Turk's cap lilies in bloom.
My gardens: Drought is no stranger to prairies, and this year we had a drought. My butterfly weed became a mass of orange, my bottle gentians spread to new places in the garden, and now the asters are a froth of purple, white, and blue.
Presentations: Life is short. I'm willing to give presentations about The Importance of Saving Natural Areas, especially to people who have not, but would like to become acquainted with their environment. Contact me.
 |
| Source: Frank Mayfield (gmayfield10)/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) |
Dr. Dennis Nyberg, Curator, greeted us and took us on a tour of the Prairie. To our delight, we found the white lady slippers among other flora in bloom. Several of the group had never seen how lush a virgin prairie can be. Just by inspecting it, we learned a lot.
After a brown-bag lunch we drove up Milwaukee Road about four miles to The Prairie Grove. It is the Kennicott place that I wrote about in my book, and it is now a National Heritage site with much history. Extensive natural areas surround what are now public environmental education buildings. The efforts to return some places to prairie that used to be there revealed to us once again how important and valuable the James Woodworth Prairie is for us all.
Our final tour of the day in Glenview was four miles to the Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie, thirty-five acres that remains of Dr. William Beecher's Prairie that I also mention in my book. Yes, circumstances change. Now the Village of Glenview Park Board is proud of its support of this (AND The Grove)! And now we can visit the energy-efficient Evelyn Pease Tyner Interpretation Center and look over the expanse that invites birds, bees, and butterflies.
You might ask what good does saving these areas do for people. (1) The public and private schools now have curriculum and field trips to these places so future generations may understand the importance of their environment. (2) Scientists may study the interconnected webs of life and the possible and yet undiscovered gifts of resources. (3) The public can assimilate the unique and aesthetic beauty of natural areas. (4) Gardeners can learn about the hardiness of a whole array of native plants and expand their visions beyond petunias.
Visiting Iowa: In June I visited a friend in Decorah, Iowa. This community has a Community Prairie! My friend took me to the Hayden Prairie west of there. I had heard much about it, and now I finally could see this 200-acre site that was saved in 1947. The highlight was finding a whole colony of Turk's cap lilies in bloom.
My gardens: Drought is no stranger to prairies, and this year we had a drought. My butterfly weed became a mass of orange, my bottle gentians spread to new places in the garden, and now the asters are a froth of purple, white, and blue.
Presentations: Life is short. I'm willing to give presentations about The Importance of Saving Natural Areas, especially to people who have not, but would like to become acquainted with their environment. Contact me.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Presenting "The Importance of Saving Natural Areas"
I've been busy! On April 14 I presented my book at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago.
On April 15 the vital and enthusiastic members of Menomonee Falls Wild Ones as well as additional visitors heard my presentation at the Menomonee Falls Public Library. They are people who realize that, if we overpopulate the world and don't save the variety of gene pools from plants (humans depend upon the chloroplasts of plants to convert energy from the sun for us to live), we are creating our own disaster. We need these dedicated volunteers to increase our awareness of the natural world that we too often ignore. There are Wild Ones chapters throughout the country, and I feel honored to be a Wild Ones member.
On April 19 I presented my program to the Southeastern Wisconsin Sierra Club at their annual dinner held in Burlington, WI. Another enthusiastic group of dedicated, hard-working people fighting to save our environment and natural resources!
April 28 I'll be giving a presentation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. I enjoy meeting new and old friends and helping to spread enthusiasm for appreciation and preservation of our natural environment.
On April 15 the vital and enthusiastic members of Menomonee Falls Wild Ones as well as additional visitors heard my presentation at the Menomonee Falls Public Library. They are people who realize that, if we overpopulate the world and don't save the variety of gene pools from plants (humans depend upon the chloroplasts of plants to convert energy from the sun for us to live), we are creating our own disaster. We need these dedicated volunteers to increase our awareness of the natural world that we too often ignore. There are Wild Ones chapters throughout the country, and I feel honored to be a Wild Ones member.
On April 19 I presented my program to the Southeastern Wisconsin Sierra Club at their annual dinner held in Burlington, WI. Another enthusiastic group of dedicated, hard-working people fighting to save our environment and natural resources!
April 28 I'll be giving a presentation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. I enjoy meeting new and old friends and helping to spread enthusiasm for appreciation and preservation of our natural environment.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Special Award
On March 10 I felt honored to receive a 2012 Grassroots Conservation Leadership Award from Audubon Chicago Region, Chicago Wilderness for saving Peacock Prairie (now called the James Woodworth Prairie). As you read in my book, Ev Tyner was one of my companions in this odyssey, and she, too, received this award. The Audubon annual dinner was attended by about 200 people, all ages, active in conservation in the Chicago area. Others received awards for their heroic grassroots efforts. Conservation is certainly active there; I was truly impressed. Through my book and presentations, hopefully, many other people will become more interested and informed about the importance of saving growingly rare natural areas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)