Pasque flowers

Chapter Meetings Program Schedule has information about upcoming meetings. All Wild Ones meetings take place at the Wehr Nature Center and are free and open to the public, so bring your friends and family! Thank You to all who volunteer! If you're at all interested in helping, call Pat at (414) 529-4101.

The Beauty of Rain Gardens Watersheds in the US are being damaged by the soil particles, pesticides, and herbicides in stormwater runoff. President of Earth and Water Works, Ellen Rulseh, explained how rain gardens temporarily hold stormwater and prevent some of the problems caused by stormwater runoff. Ellen explained that native plants help water to infiltrate the soil because the roots of native plants go down five feet or more into the soil. About a third of the root mass dies each year. The roots that die leave small channels in the earth that water flows through to go more deeply into the underground water. When planting a rain garden, Ellen suggests that you test the soil to see if it is porous. The test is simple. Dig a hole about a foot deep and pour a bucket of water into the hole. If the water sinks into the ground within 24 hours, the soil is good for building a rain garden. When planting a rain garden, Elen suggested using plant plugs. She said that the plugs grew fast and some even bloomed the first season they were planted. Many people worry about mosquitoes breeding in their rain gardens. This is not a concern because the water does not stay long enough in the rain garden to allow the mosquitoes to breed.

Sharing Knowledge Everyone who attended chapter meetings was asked to share some of their knowledge. To read the results click on Wheel Enhancements

    Feb 13, 2010 (Sat)    

1:30 pm
Ready for an adventure?
Come dressed for a winter walk in the woods as Wild Ones North member Joe Di Frances takes us on a tour of Wehr's trees in winter. Joe is a most enthusiastic tree lover, and should give us some great insights as we look for clues to identification

    Mar 13, 2010 (Sat)    

1:30 pm
Ever ask yourself: "Why am I doing this natural landscaping thing?"
Mariette Nowak returns to Wehr to share an excellent program which documents the increase in butterfly & bird species in a naturally landscaped yard in comparison with a traditionally landscaped yard of similar size in the same neighborhood. Lots of good information will be presented on the positive impact of natural landscaping

    Apr 10, 2010 (Sat)    

1:30 pm
Wondering which plants to choose for spring planting this year ?
Mike Yanny brings his signature enthusiasm back as we prepare for another native plant sale at Johnson's Nursery, where he is the head native propagator. Mike will be describing "Habitat Groupings", selections of plants that belong together in certain habitats or to produce certain results. Take the guess work out of choosing plants

Other items for your calendar:

The Wehr Wild Ones Board meets every other month to plan programs and discuss chapter issues. ALL members are welcome and encouraged to come to these meetings. The next meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, February 3 and Wednesday April 7. Meetings start at 6 pm and are held at the Hales Corners Library, in the main floor conference room. We need participation and input from our members to continue our chapter's success.

Conferences:

The Fox Valley Chapter presents the 14th annual "Toward Harmony With Nature" Conference in Oshkosh from 8:45 am to 4 pm on January 30, 2010. See the Wild Ones website for more details or go to www.for-wild.org/chapters/foxvaHev/Harmonv%20Brochure%2010.pdf or call Karen at 920-987-5587.

The Milwaukee Audubon Society presents the 30th annual Natural Landscapes Conference at Concordia University in Mequon from Sam to 3:30 pm on February 13, 2010. This year's theme is "The Year of the Niagra Escarpment". Call 414-352-2437 for info or go to www.milwaukeeaudubon.org/conference/2010/lndex.htm.

February 1, 2010 is the deadline for registering for the Wisconsin Landscape Pesticide ApplicationAdvance Notification List for 2010. You submit the addresses in your neighborhood and if there is to be a commercial application of pesticides to that property, the pesticide applicator is required to notify you in advance of the application. This is important information so you can be aware of what is being done on adjacent properties, and it makes more work for the pesticide companies (heh-heh ;). Call 608-224-4616 to register or go online to http://datcp.state.wi.us/arm/agriculture/pest-fert/pesticides/lndscp reg.jsp.