The snow may be keeping us out of our gardens, but it’s not keeping us home! At least one representative of Gardenopolis will be attending each of the events listed below. Hope to see you there!
Bringing Nature Home
Garden as if life depends on it – Doug Tallamy, entomologist/author
This free series of talks about ecological gardening is presented by Friends of Lower Lake and Doan Brook Watershed Partnership. Partners include Gardenopolis, Gardenwalk Cleveland Heights, 2019 Cleveland Pollinator and Native Plant Symposium, and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes.
Go Wild in your Own Yard!
Date: Thursday, February 21, 7-8:30 pm
Location: Brody/Nelson Room, Heights Library, 2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights
Discover what local native flowers, ferns, sedges, and shrubs will thrive in your yard to benefit insects, birds, and life on earth.
Presented by Friends of Lower Lake co-chair Peggy Spaeth.
Plant This, Not That
Date: Thursday, March 21, 7-8:30 pm
Location: Room A-B, Heights Library, 2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights
Learn how to deal with garden thugs that take over your garden and our natural areas. Why are non-native plants undesirable? Where did they come from and why? Examples of what to plant instead will be discussed.
Presented by Friends of Lower Lake co-chair John Barber.
Not the Last Children in the Woods!
Date: Thursday, April 4, 7-8:30 pm
Location: Stephanie Tubb Jones Community Center Room 114, Shaker Heights
More than 100 children are growing up growing native plants in the Garden Clubs of Onaway and Lomond Elementary Schools in Shaker Heights. Tim Kalan, their art teacher who planted this idea, will talk about how a community as well as healthy habitat has grown up with the gardens.
The Powerful Partnerships of Plants and Pollinators
Date: Thursday, April 11, 7-8:30
Location: Room 1-2, University Heights Library, 13866 Cedar Road, University Heights
Learn what native plants are needed to supply a rich foraging habitat for pollinators and wildlife, in addition to plant communities that provide nest sites for native bees, host plants for butterflies and overwintering refuge for other beneficial insects.
Presented by Ann Cicarella, gardener, beekeeper, and landscape architect as well as the organizer of the annual Cleveland Pollinator and Native Plant Symposium.
Stewardship in our Backyards
Date: Monday, April 22, 7-8:30 pm – Earth Day
Location: Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, 2600 South Park, Cleveland
Join us to learn how the Nature Center maintains our natural areas in an urban environment and easy steps you can take at home to be a good earth steward. In our modern day, leaving nature “to take its course” isn’t enough to preserve healthy habitats. Mother Nature needs a little help from her friends. We’ll talk about the challenges, tools and techniques used to keep our habitats healthy. We will also discuss recent and upcoming projects at the Nature Center.
A Q&A session at the end will provide you with the opportunity to ask Nick Mikash, Nature Center at Shaker Lakes Natural Resources Specialist, your stewardship-related questions. A short hike will follow the presentation.
Other Ohio Events
Garden History: Thomas Jefferson – Landscape Architect
Date: Sunday, February 24, 2-4 pm
Location: Holden Arboretum
Cost: $5 members, $20 nonmembers
Speaker: Greg Cada, OSU Extension
A garden history presentation using the life of Thomas Jefferson to illustrate the horticultural influences that shaped him for producing his landscape architectural and garden projects. Extensive pictures include Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello, Poplar Forest and the University of Virginia. Historic garden restoration and design considerations are included.
Crooked Chronicles: A Century of River Clean Up in Cuyahoga Valley
Date: Friday, March 1, 7-9 pm
Doors open at 6 pm with drop-in tables about current environmental projects.
Location: Happy Days Lodge, 500 W Streetsboro St, Peninsula, OH 44264
Free admission; advance registration preferred
How was the Cuyahoga River transformed from a health hazard to the centerpiece of a national park? A panel of experts piece together the 100-year story within Cuyahoga Valley using historic photos, archival documents, and personal memories. Come join the discussion.
Moderated by the League of Women Voters Akron Area. Supported by West Creek Conservancy, Xtinguish Celebration, Ohio Humanities and Cleveland Humanities Festival.
Ohio Woodland Water and Wildlife Conference
Date: Wednesday, March 6, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm
Location: Mid-Ohio Conference Center, 890 West Fourth Street, Mansfield, OH 44906
Cost: $60 Early Registration, $80 Late Registration
Presentations for the day will cover a wide range of topics and include:
Missing Trees: Effects of the Loss of Ash and Chestnut on Forest Ecosystems
Glyphosate and Pesticide Safety Update
Harmful Alga Blooms in Ponds: Concerns and Mitigation/Management
The Ohio Credible Data Program: Certification Requirements and Training Opportunities
Bird Conservation in Ohio: Past, Present and Future Challenges
Using Social Science as a Tool to Inform Wildlife Management
Author Andrew Reeves Discusses the Asian Carp Crisis and Its Threat to the Great Lakes
Date: Monday, March 25, 7 pm
Location: Hudson Library and Historical Society, 96 Library Street, Hudson, Ohio 44236
Cost: Free with registration
Award-winning environmental journalist Andrew Reeves discusses his book, Overrun: Dispatches from the Asian Carp Crisis. In his book, Reeves traces the carp’s explosive spread throughout North America from an unknown import meant to tackle invasive water weeds to a continental scourge that bulldozes through everything in its path and now threatens to reach the Great Lakes.
Ohio Botanical Symposium
Date: Friday, March 29, 8 am to 4 pm
Location: Villa Milano Banquet and Conference Center, 1630 Schrock Rd. Columbus, OH 43229
Grasslands of the eastern United States, Huffman Prairie, Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative, bogs and fens, endangered species conservation, rushes, and best plant discoveries will be highlighted at the 2019 Ohio Botanical Symposium on Friday, March 29. The event also features a media show and displays from a number private and public conservation organizations, as well as vendors offering conservation-related items for purchase. More than 400 botanical enthusiasts attend this every-other year event.
Hosts:
The ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The Nature Conservancy — Ohio Chapter
Ohio State University Herbarium
Next Silent Spring?
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2-4 pm
Location: Cleveland Museum of Art Recital Hall
Cost: Free
The Northeast Ohio Sierra Club is holding this event to commemorate Earth Day 2019.
Rachel Carson raised the red flag years ago. Pesticides were not only killing insects, but also disrupting the delicate balance of nature. Now history is repeating itself.
Laurel Hopwood, Senior Advisor to Sierra Club’s Pollinator Protection Program, will show the outstanding documentary Nicotine Bees.
Pollinator populations are declining. How does this affect our food supply? How does this affect our entire ecosystem? A panel of experts will discuss how everyone can help move things forward.
● Dr. Mary Gardiner, Associate Professor in the OSU Department of Entomology, and her graduate students have been introducing pollinator pockets throughout vacant lots in Cleveland.
● Tom Gibson, principal of Green Paradigm Partners, uses his soil building and community organizing skills to help revive neighborhoods.
● Elle Adams, founder of City Rising Farm, helps people in underserved communities learn to grow fresh local food and create opportunities in their own neighborhoods.
For more info, please contact Laurel at lhopwood@roadrunner.com