rightframemeetings

Donna Ware, Jerre Johnson and Ralph Will will do a joint presentation about the planning and installing of the calcareous ravine display at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden in Freedom Park, James City County. The completed display is now home to a selection of “mountain disjunct” plant species found growing in scattered ravines in our area. Join us as the speakers explain why populations of mountain plants like wild coffee, alternate leaf dogwood and American bellflower are established in habitats of the coastal plain. Free and open to the public. Refreshments served.

Thursday, May 20 at 7:00-9:00 pm: Chapter Meeting: Insects and Native Plants

Join us as guest speaker Dr. Deborah Waller speaks about how the reproductive success of native plants depends on their interactions with insect pollinators and seed dispersers. These insects are threatened by habitat loss and competition with introduced species. Herbivores may feed on native plants, but healthy ecosystems support parasites and predators that keep herbivores in check. This presentation will focus on the insects associated with thriving native plant populations.

Deborah Waller is Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University. She received a BS degree in Zoology from George Washington University and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Texas, Austin. Her research focuses on insect-plant interactions, including the foraging ecology of ants and termites and mosquito attraction to plant volatiles.

"Ferns are very adaptable in the landscape. Ferns can be used as specimen plants as well as well as understory plants in the landscape. Ferns are deciduous as well as evergreen with a palette of frond color that is very appealing in the garden. This talk is about ferns that are adapted to our hardiness zone." Fern Handouts

Please join us for this wonderful presentation! Free and open to the public. Refreshments served.

Jim Orband recommends these fern books:
-A Field manual of the Ferns and Fern-Allies of the United States and Canada, David B. Lellinger, Smithsonian Institute, 1985.
-Ferns- Wild Things Make a Comeback in the Garden, C. Colston Burrell, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, 1995.
-Ferns for American Gardens, John Mickel, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1994.
-Ferns to Know and Grow, F. Gordon Foster, Timber Press, Inc. 1984.
-Success with Indoor Ferns, Susanne Amberger-Ochsenbauer, Landoll's Inc. 1997

Emily Francis, Outreach & Advocacy Manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, will discuss the effects of coal pollution on the health of the Bay, while Patti Gray of Williamsburg Climate Action Network will discuss the effects on the Hampton Roads area. Free and open to the public. Refreshments served.

The guest speaker will be Larry Griffith, the curator of plants at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, will be speaking on the native species treated in his book that was published last year: Flowers and Herbs of Early America.

Larry Griffith conducts ongoing research in dating of period plants, their cultivation, and their use. He presents historical plant data to tour guides, volunteers, and master gardeners and is involved in the development of the annual Garden Symposium. He is a former columnist for the Newport News Daily Press. He lives on the Middle Peninsula of Virginia.

Thursday, September 17 at 7:00-9:00 pm: Chapter Annual Meeting and 25th Birthday Party

Guest speaker Professor Doug Gill of the University of Maryland will present "A FIELD OF DREAMS: Restoration of Atlantic Coastal Prairie for Native Grassland Plants, Birds and Butterflies" during our annual chapter meeting and 25th anniversary celebration party. More details about Doug's presentation below.

There will be a silent auction to benefit our Nature Camp Scholarship Fund. Members are welcome to bring plants to exchange with other members. 757-564-4494

Location: Williamsburg/James City County Community (Recreation) Center located at 5301 Longhill Road in Williamsburg Please note different location.

More details about Doug's talk - A FIELD OF DREAMS:

Doug Gill will be sharing results from comprehensive ecological studies on 228 acres of native grasslands in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. The restoration project focused on the growth performance of the planted native Warm Season Grasses and invasive alien species under alternative management protocols for effective grassland establishment, the responses of wildlife, the potential of these grasslands to serve as reservoirs, and developing management protocols.

The experimental design divided the 228 acres into ten 20 + -acre fields that were assigned to five treatments. The five treatments were recommended mixtures of three different native grass species and their recommended protocols of sustainable management. We have developed effective field methodologies for random sampling and ecological measurement of the vegetation, both the native bunch or Warm Season Grasses and the invasive alien forbs and grasses (Weeds). In just 5 years we had recorded over 260 species of flowering plants in the experimental grasslands. We have rediscovered some species listed as extinct for Maryland.

The Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), (GRSP), a federally listed species of Special Concern, readily invaded the grasslands, established territories, and successfully nested. By the end of the 2008 field season we have banded over 2800 GRSP! Return rates of breeding adults and hatch-years are astounding. Other first sightings of birds of Special Concern include nesting Dickcissels (Spiza americana), Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris), Vesper Sparrows (Pooecetes gramineus), and flocks of migrant Bobolinks, Dolichonyx orizivora). For photo of Doug Gill, visit "Fieldtrips and Events".

Don't miss the 25th anniversary of the John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society and this exciting presentation!

Thursday, July 9 at 7:00-9:00 pm: GROWING YOUR OWN: A cheap and easy way to get more plants! (Please note date change.)

Native plant landscaper, and long-time member of the John Clayton Chapter, our own Denise Greene will be the presenter at the July meeting. Denise will be demonstrating propagation by division and root cuttings and collecting and stratifying seeds, and will also discuss which methods work best for which species.

We are fortunate that Denise has found time for us in her busy schedule. She owns her own native plant nursery, Sassafras Farm, where she grows and propagates natives for wholesale and retail sales, is a landscape designer specializing in native plants, and she is a past board member of the Virginia Society of Landscape Designers, a statewide non-profit association of professionals.

We are sure to come away from this talk newly inspired to collect those seeds, and grow our own for next year!

The John Clayton Chapter annual potluck picnic will be held at New Quarter Park in York County (near Queens Lake area in Williamsburg). A short native plant walk will occur at 5:00 pm followed by a picnic at 6:00 pm. Mountain laurel is expected to be in bloom. The walk and picnic are free and open to plant lovers. Drinks, plates and plastic ware will be provided. Please bring a dish to share. Call (757)566-3646 for more info.

Directions to New Quarter Park: Take the Queens Lake exit off the Colonial Parkway and turn Right onto Hubbard Lane. Take a quick Right onto Lakeshead Drive and go to end of road to the large park parking lot. (Before entering the parking lot, note the walking entrance just to the right on the parking lot.) To get to pavilion #1 enter park through path between hedges that heads toward restrooms on the left and a playground straight ahead. Pass to the left of the playground and continue on dirt road to pavilion #1 on the left.

The Rue Anemone is a favorite early spring wildflower. Depending which manual you check, you may find two different scientific names for this delightful species: Anemonella thalictroides (L.) Spach and Thalictrum thalictroides (L.) Eames & Boivin. How can this be? Isn't a species supposed to have only one valid scientific name? And why do those names of people follow the Latin names? We know that "L." is shorthand for "Linnaeus", but why is Linnaeus' name inside parentheses? What is the origin of the name "Thalictrum"? And what does "thalictriodes" mean?

Learn the answers to these questions and delve into other mysteries of the process of giving valid scientific names to plant species and the meanings of frequently used Latin names at our March membership meeting. Latin scholar Lee Bristow and plant taxonomist Donna Ware will present the program, which will be moderated by Clayton Chapter President Helen Hamilton. Free and open to the public. Refreshments served. For more info call (757)564-4494.

Join us for a photo-illustrated talk by chapter president Helen Hamilton on the habitat, the history, the people, and the plants of Iceland. Land of steam vents, roiling mud holes, lava landscapes, glaciers, and yes, green agricultural lands. Plus a great variety of flowering plants tolerant of arctic winters. Share the experience of a 17-day driving tour around the rim of the island, walks to waterfalls, and snowfalls, and across lava fields yielded many photographs of buttercups, campions, daisies, lupines, ground-hugging willows, figworts, mustards, roses, and sea lavenders, among others. Helen reports they even found a few orchids! And grasses, of course! Helen tells about many adventures: a visit to Leif Ericson's home, a Saga Museum, whale-watching, rift zones, and an airplane ride to the Westman Island which underwent a five-year addition to the landscape from a long-running lava flow.

The meeting takes place at Yorktown Public Library on Rt. 17 and Battle Rd. in Yorktown. For more info call (757)564-4494.

Dr. Randy Chambers, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the W.M. Keck Environmental Field Laboratory at the College of William and Mary, will be our guest speaker at our November meeting. Dr. Chambers will discuss recent research in watershed biology.

Dr. Chamber’s research is focused on the environmental effects of pollution and invasive species on wetlands. Water quality studies will be the primary subject of his talk, including the work of his graduate students on monitoring stormwater retention ponds and the work of the College Creek Alliance—a volunteer citizen-student group that monitors water quality in ponds, streams, and tidal creeks in Williamsburg and James City County. Please join us for this informative talk!

Friday, September 19 at 7:00 pm: Chapter Annual Meeting: Remarkable Trees of Virginia

In this Power Point presentation, Nancy Ross Hugo describes the Remarkable Trees of Virginia Project, an initiative to locate and celebrate Virginia’s finest trees. Using photographs by fine art photographer Robert Llewellyn, Nancy describes her four-year search, with Dr. Jeffrey Kirwan, to find Virginia’s most remarkable trees. Trees illustrated and described include a sample of Virginia’s oldest, largest, and most historic trees, as well as important community trees, unique trees, fine specimens, and culturally significant trees. The program includes species-specific information about the trees described and provides insight into what trees are and why they matter.

Please note that this year's annual chapter meeting will be on a Friday.

Experience the beauty of the Tallgrass Prairie as chapter members show pictures and tell us about their Virginia Native Plant Society trip to the National Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Chase County Kansas, the Konza Biological Station and Tallgrass Prairie, and the Coblentz Prairie Kansas. The meeting takes place at Yorktown Public Library on Rt. 17 and Battle Rd. in Yorktown. For more info call (757)564-4494.

The John Clayton Chapter annual potluck picnic will be held at New Quarter Park in York County (near Queens Lake area in Williamsburg). A native plant walk will occur after the potluck. The walk and picnic are free and open to plant lovers. Drinks will be provided at pavilion #1. Please bring a dish to share.

Please note that this Picnic/Walk is in place of our regular meeting usually held on the 3rd Thursday of May.

Thursday, March 20 at 7:00 pm: Mountaintop Removal: Its affects on Plants, Animals and Humans

Speakers from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Williamsburg Climate Action Network will present a film and information about mountaintop removal in Southwest Virginia and other Appalachian regions. Join us to learn why our mountains are being blown up and how this affects plants, animals and humans. The meeting takes place at Yorktown Public Library on Rt. 17 and Battle Rd. in Yorktown. For more info call (757)566-3646. Click here for photo of mountaintop removal. (scroll down to March 20, 2008)

The Mountaintop Removal Road Show, which includes a stunning 22-minute slide show about the impacts of mountaintop removal on coalfield residents, communities and the environment, and features traditional Appalachian mountain music and shocking aerial photos of decapitated Appalachian mountains, will be shown.

Mountaintop removal is occurring in Southwestern Virginia and will increase if the proposed coal-fired power plant is built in Wise County, Virginia. This area of the Southern Appalachians is particularly vulnerable - as one of only six regions in the country that contain unusually rich, biological diversity as well as the homes of numerous rare and threatened species. The ecosystems in the Clinch, Holston, and Powell watersheds which run through Wise County are of particular concern. These rivers harbor more at-risk fish and mussel species than any other river in the nation, as well as the highest concentration of imperiled species in the mainland United States. Coal mining and burning would endanger and, in some cases, destroy these wildlife habitats and the species that live in and around them. Not only is mountaintop removal a threat to habitats and rare and endangered species, but the burning of the coal acquired from these mountains will further endanger and, in some cases, destroy the wildlife habitats and species that live in and around them. In addition, the burning of coal significantly adds to the greenhouse gases causing global warming. Jan Newton

Byron Carmean and Gary Williamson, big-tree hunters who have contributed many records to the Virginia Big Tree List, will give a presentation about their discovery of an ancient water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) and an ancient bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in a swamp forest located near Courtland, Virginia in Southampton County. Carmean and Williamson report that these trees are 1500 years old and that there is a forest full of these big trees. In a recent visit to the site, eight John Clayton chapter members where able to enter the cavernous hollows that had formed in some of these ancient trees and found themselves dwarfed by the height of the cypress knees! The meeting begins at 7:00 pm and takes place at the James City/Williamsburg Community Center located at 5301 Longhill Road in Williamsburg. Refreshments served. Free and open to the public. For more info call (757)564-4494. For pictures and links for Cypress Bridge old-growth forest visit Chapter News (scroll down to "Cypress Bridge," October 29, 2007).

Thursday, November 15 at 7:00 pm: Williamsburg Farmers Market on its Fifth Anniversary

The November meeting will take place at the Quarterpath Recreation Center on Quarterpath Road in Williamsburg. Libbey Oliver will speak about the challenges of sustainable agriculture in today’s world. Refreshments served. Free and open to the public. For more info call (757)564-4494.

Directions: Quarterpath Road is about a mile south of the convergence of Lafayette Street, U.S. 60 Bypass, and York Street (Rt. 60). Heading east on York St. from that intersection, turn right onto Quarterpath Road at the Yorkshire Steak and Seafood Restaurant; the Quarterpath Recreation Center is on the right, just a short distance down that road.

Friday, September 14 at 7:30 pm: Using Native Plants of the Mid-Atlantic States for Shoreline Planting and Stabilization (John Clayton Chapter Annual Meeting - part of VNPS Annual Meeting)

The 2007 John Clayton chapter Annual Meeting will be held during the VNPS 2007 Annual Meeting/Conference: "Where the Water Meets the Land" (Click on 2007 State Conference for details.). Members not attending the conference are invited to attend the Friday night Keynote Presentation by Dr. Jim Perry of VIMS at 7:30pm and stay after for a short chapter meeting to elect John Clayton officers for the 2007-2009 term. The Keynote Presentation and chapter meeting will be held in the Watermen's Hall auditorium at VIMS. For directions to VIMS click on "2007 State Conference."

Ann Messick of the Northern Neck Chapter of VNPS will present “Spring Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge” for our summer membership meeting at the Yorktown Public Library on U.S. Rt. 17 and Battle Road. Come out of the swelter to enjoy cool photographs of mountain plants and mountain scenes. Trillium, goldenseal, Oconee Bells, gay-wings, dwarf ginseng, and bishop’s cap, will be among the species she will feature. She will also highlight some “critters” and other aspects of mountain slopes, such as types of rustic fencing.

Ann was a devoted member of the John Clayton chapter for many years, faithfully traveling the distance from her home in Kilmarnock on the Northern Neck to participate in our meetings and programs. About five years ago, with mentoring by the Sterlings and Lorna Wass, she was instrumental in founding the Northern Neck chapter and served as its first president. She also played a key role in the successful effort to save the Cabin Swamp area on the Northern Neck from development. Ann is an avid photographer, and she is eager to share her joy in the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province with us through her photographs. Please put July 19 on your calendar for a breath of fresh mountain air! Donna Ware

The John Clayton Chapter annual potluck picnic will be held at New Quarter Park in York County (near Queens Lake area in Williamsburg). A short native plant walk will occur at 5:00 pm followed by a picnic at 6:00 pm. The walk and picnic are free and open to plant lovers. Hamburgers, hotdogs, and drinks will be provided. Please bring a dish to share. Call (757)564-4494 for more info.

Thursday, March 15 at 7:00 pm: Meeting to highlight Powhatan Indian Native Plant Uses

Guest speaker Lisa L. Heuvel of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will present a program on “Exploring the Powhatan Indian Landscape: 1607-2007.” The presentation will discuss seventeenth-century Powhatan Indian plant uses from both colonial and modern perspectives. Among the native plants she will discuss are tuckahoe (Peltandra virginica), groundnuts (Apios americana), and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadense).

Ms. Heuvel works in educational media for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and was previously employed by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. She received her MA in American Studies from the College of William & Mary in 2005. Her current doctoral research in the William and Mary School of Education is in educational policy, planning and leadership, with an emphasis on Indigenous Studies.

The meeting is free and open to the public and will be held at the York County Library on Rt. 17 and Battle Rd in Yorktown. Refreshments will be served. For info call (757)564-4494.

During the January meeting, guest speaker Dr. Stewart Ware, Biology Professor at William and Mary, will lead a workshop on Tree Leaf Shape. Participants will look at garments that nude trees cast aside and learn how leaf shape is not purely decorative and how it can help us in tree identification. Refreshments served. Free and open to public. A follow up Nude Tree Walk to take place in James City County is scheduled for February 17; details will be published at a later date. The meeting will take place at the York County Public Library on Rt. 17 and Battle Rd., Yorktown. For more information please call (757) 565-0657.

Dr. Ware notes, “Last winter we took a "nude tree walk" (which we will do again in February ’07). This winter we also will take a look at the garments those nude trees cast aside. The leaves that clothed those trees are not all the same. Some are plain and simple, while others are fancy and frilly. But variation in leaf shape is not purely decorative, as is often in human garments. Instead, leaf shape is closely linked with leaf function, the pinkings, scallops, and reinforced “seams” providing some advantage. These shapes provide an advantage for humans, also, for they help us to identify trees even when we have no flowers or fruit to help us. At the January meeting we will take in our hands recently shed, still colorful leaves of common local trees, and look closely at the variation in leaf shapes among species. We will trace how each is constructed by a series of step by step modifications of a simple basic pattern.”

The John Clayton Chapter meets every third Thursday on odd numbered months at 7:00 pm. Except for the months of May and September, the meetings are held at the York County Public Library on Rt. 17 and Battle Rd., Yorktown. Meetings include guest speakers and are open to the public. For more information please call (757)564-4494 or visit this web site for upcoming meetings, news, fieldtrips and events.

John Clayton Chapter of the VNPS, P.O. Box 1128, Williamsburg, VA 23187, www.claytonvnps.org