The late Kathe Salmi, a member of Keweenaw Wild Ones, was remembered at a ceremony dedicating a garden bench in her honor June 20 at the Labyrinth Garden in Hancock. Wild Ones donated about $600 toward the purchase of the bench. The remaining funds were contributed by other donors and the city of Hancock, where […] Continue reading "In memory of a proud Wild One"
Keweenaw Wild Ones and friends go for a ramble at the Robert Brown Plant Preserve during the summer solstice, June 21, 2023, the longest day of the year. What we came for! One of many little stands of pink lady’s slippers. We were grateful they were still blooming, since it’s been a very dry June. […] Continue reading "A walk in the woods"
A total of 24 local gardeners—all of them interested in adding native plants to their landscape—attended WOK’s first discussion session of Owen Wormser’s “Lawns into Meadows” March 8, based at the Portage Lake District Library. We began with a Zoom meeting at 5:30 p.m., which drew about 16 attendees, plus moderators Marcia Goodrich and Karen […] Continue reading "WOK launches “Lawns Into Meadows” community read"
When WOK member Rebecca Glotfelty invited us to participate in the Keweenaw Storytelling Center’s Festival of Trees, there was no shortage of willing volunteers. But how to you decorate a tree without relying on all that fancy holiday bling? After all, Wild Ones is all about native plants, birds, and bugs. Shiny stuff? Not so […] Continue reading "O Tannenbaum: WOK Decorates for Festival of Trees"
The Hancock Beach bioswale, maintained in part by the Keweenaw Wild Ones, appears to be doing a great job keeping pollution out of Portage Lake, according to a recent test conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. Completed in 2011, this island of vegetation was built by the City of Hancock to capture runoff from the […] Continue reading "Test indicates Hancock Beach bioswale protecting Portage Lake from runoff"
Moments from our Lake Glazon adventure The Lake Glazon Nature Area, eight miles north of Eagle Harbor, has about 1,100 feet of Lake Superior shoreline. On its 26 acres, you can hike, explore, and scramble around on rocks. It features interesting geology, such as cobble beaches far inland, evidence that the big lake shoreline moves […] Continue reading "Pictures from an Expedition"
It was dirty, buggy work, but someone had to do it: fulfill the final chapter of Project Wingspan and plant dozens of common milkweed seedlings at the Keweenaw Land Trust Boston Pond Nature Area. Armed with shovels, trowels, and other implements from the gardener’s toolkit, Keweenaw Wild Ones volunteers joined KLT intern Kyle Naparala and […] Continue reading "Project Wingspan, Part 2: Planting Milkweed at Boston Pond"
by Marcia Goodrich, WOK president Jill Fisher and her husband, Casey Huckins, caravanned with me to Escanaba April 25 to pick up about 20 trays of seedlings from our benefactor Brian Black, master of the Bay College greenhouse. Many will be potted for our summer sales. The rest will go to the Keweenaw Land Trust […] Continue reading "Plant Pilgrimage to Bay College"
Pre-dawn on Oct. 6, WOK members Marcia Goodrich (me) and Valorie Troesch packed Marcia’s Honda Fit with the requisite food, water, garden clippers and bug dope and launched ourselves southwest at the barely tolerable hour of 8 a.m. Two chatty hours later, after missing two turnoffs and getting well-meaning-but-not-all-together-helpful directions from a very nice guy […] Continue reading "Plucking Seeds for Pollinators and Project Wingspan"
Keweenaw Wild Ones made appearances this summer at both the Houghton and Hancock farmers’ markets. While we sold a few plants—maybe $100 worth—the best part was connecting with members of the community who were unfamiliar with natives and our organization. Valorie Troesch, Kristine Bradof, Karen Cayce, Kathe Salmi and I (Marcia Goodrich) staffed the tables. […] Continue reading "Native Plants among the Turnips and Tomatoes"