Fieldtrips and Events

• Saturday, May 6- Dec. 2010:  Losing Paradise?  Endangered Plants Here and Around the World - an exhibition and blog

Losing Paradise? Endangered Plants Here and Around the World is a project of The American Society of Botanical Artists.  At the convergence of art, science, conservation, and education, the exhibit includes 44 works of botanical art portraying endangered plants in a variety of media.

The exhibit will be at the New York Botanical Garden on May 6th through July 25th.  On August 14th through the remainder of this year it will be at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution.

If you can't make it to one of the exhibitions, you can enjoy it "virtually".  Visit www.asbalosingparadise.blogspot.com , a blog site dedicated to "Losing Paradise?" 

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• Thursday, July 15 at 7-9 pm:  Chapter Meeting: Mountain Disjuncts

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.  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. 

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Ralph Will and Donna Ware tell about the calcareous ravine at Freedom Park in James City County.

Photo by Helen Hamilton

• Sunday, August 8 at 1pm:  State Arboretum of Virginia Plant Walk

Join VNPS President Sally Anderson for a leisurely walk through the 30 acre meadow at the State Arboretum of Virginia near Boyce. Bring friends and family and a picnic. The walk will follow the picnic. FREE.

To RSVP and for more details, please contact Sally at rccsca@comcast.net.
 

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• Monday, November 1 at 2pm and 7pm:  Doug Tallamy to Speak in the Richmond - "Bringing Nature Home"

Doug Tallamy, chair of the department of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, will present his talk: "Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens."  This talk is for everyone - including suburban and urban residents, educators, planners, volunteers, Master Gardeners, and Master Naturalists.  Two times to choose from.  Free but must RSVP.

Here is the foreword from Doug's book (foreword by Rick Darke):

"As development and subsequent habitat destruction accelerate, there are
increasing pressures on wildlife populations.  But there is an important and
simple step toward reversing this alarming trend: Everyone with access to a
patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining
biodiversity.  There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and
native wildlife - native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants.  When
native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food
source for birds and other animals.  In many parts of the world, habitat
destruction has been so extensive that local wildlife is in crisis and may
be headed toward extinction.  Bringing Nature Home has sparked a national
conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human
well-being, and the new paperback edition - with an expanded resource
section and updated photos - will help broaden the movement.  By acting on
Douglas Tallamy's practical recommendations, everyone can make a difference."

A great article on Doug Tallamy can be found in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/garden/06garden.html?_r=1

and his website is http://bringingnaturehome.net/

Reserve your seats NOW -we expect a full house!  Call 804-751-4401.

This talk is free of charge, but reservations are required.

Two times to choose from:

* November 1st, 2:00 - 3:30 PM

* November 1st, 7:00 - 8:30 PM

Location:  Meadowdale Library (Chesterfield County Public Library System), 4301 Meadowdale Blvd., Richmond, VA 23234

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