Events

Feeders are fine, but songbirds need more than sunflower seeds to complete their epic journeys. Find out more when Michigan State University ornithologist Jen Owen presents “Health of Migrating Landbirds in the Face of a Changing Landscape: Importance of Native Plants,” at 6:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, Jan. 18.

Migrating birds make epic flights between their breeding and wintering areas. The success of their migration relies on their ability to find places to stop along their journey where they can rest and replenish their depleted fat stores. Fruits are an important source of nutrition for migrating landbirds each fall as they fatten up for their journey south. However, non-native fruit-bearing shrubs do not offer the same nutritional benefits for birds which has consequences for their migration as well as carry-over effects on bird’s reproductive success and survival.

Explore how native gardening can address climate challenges in our next Wild Ones national webinar, “Cultivating Change” with author and activist Lorraine Johnson. Johnson has been researching and writing about environmental issues for three decades. Learn about the pivotal role of gardening as an act of stewardship in the face of climate and ecological challenges. Discover the profound connections between individual gardens and the broader world and learn how these green spaces can serve as catalysts for positive ecological and social change.  Join Wild Ones for a practical and insightful discussion on gardening's positive impact on the environment and our future. 

Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch the talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

For more information, email [email protected] .

Keweenaw Wild Ones president Marcia Goodrich will discuss the value of native plants, focussing on their critical role in America’s ecosystems and the benefits they bring to homeowners and communities. She will include examples of local native gardens, sources for buying native plants, and more.

Registration for this event is now closed, and registrants have been emailed about attending. Please contact [email protected] if you have any issues getting in.

This will be a paid event for both in-person and remote viewing. Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch Dr. Kimmerer's talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Ecological restoration can be understood as an act of reciprocity, in return for the gifts of the earth. This talk explores the ecological and ethical imperatives of healing the damage we have inflicted on our land and waters. We trace the evolution of restoration philosophy and practice and consider how integration of indigenous knowledge can expand our understanding of restoration from the biophysical to the biocultural. Reciprocal restoration includes not only healing the land but our relationship to land. In healing the land, we are healing ourselves.

Wild Ones is excited to cohost this event with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's Earth Week 2024 and the Wild Ones Fox Valley Chapter. 

Naturalist, author, and media personality David Mizejewski shares how to create a beautiful garden or landscape that fits into the local ecosystem and supports birds, butterflies, bees and a whole host of other wonderful wildlife neighbors.

Plus, Dr. Sigrid Resh of Michigan Technological University will discuss the Go Beyond Beauty initiative, which promotes Michigan nurseries that refrain from selling invasive species. And Marquette County Conservation District director Maddie O'Donnell will describe the native gardens the agency has planted and managed.https://keweenaw.wildones.org/2024-keweenaw-native-plant-symposium/

We will discuss David Mizejewski's excellent primer on how to make your yard a wildlife magnet. You'll be able to hear David speak at the Keweenaw Native Plant Symposium on March 23 and then participate in book club discussions on April 10 and 17. Zoom discussions begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by in-person discussions at the Portage Lake District Library at 6:30 p.m.

Register here for the book club. Copies of the book are available at a reduced price from Keweenaw Wild Ones. Order your copy here.

Keweenaw Wild Ones president Marcia Goodrich will present "Why Natives?" to the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Marcia will discuss the importance of native plants in creating habitat that nurtures wildlife, including bees, butterflies, and birds. She will describe the special attributes of native plants and how to incorporate them into our gardens and civic landscapes. She will also share examples of local native gardens, sources for buying native plants, and more. A Q & A will follow the presentation.

Marcia was already a longtime gardener before she gave her heart to native plants about 20 years ago. She retired in 2014 from Michigan Tech, where she was a writer and editor.

The Forum is open to the public. The forum will only be on zoom starting at 10:30 AM on Sunday, April 14. Click here to join:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83975762265?pwd=TC9BcStaTDF4dFZOU2ZsUHhZTERoUT09

Members will carpool to Hanson's to shop for native plants. Hanson's is the largest seller in the region, with two greenhouses full of native plants. We will shop in the morning, enjoy a lunch in Rhinelander, and then head home with our vehicles full of plants.

HOUGHTON--Naturalist Alex Graeff will present “‘Interesting’ Flora and Natural Communities of the Keweenaw” at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 16, on Zoom. Visit keweenaw.wildones.org for a link to this free presentation. His talk is sponsored by the Wild Ones Keweenaw Chapter.

Graeff will include a brief description of geological features of the Keweenaw Peninsula that set the stage for some of our region’s natural plant communities.

Graeff will describe these communities, show some examples, and provide plenty of pictures of the lovely plants which are found here.

An ecologist by profession and botanist by inclination, Graeff currently works for the U.S. Forest Service at the Northern Research Station in Rhinelander, Wis. He is well-versed in the flowers, grasses, and sedges of the northern Great Lakes and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northern Michigan University, where he studied biology and plant community ecology.

After picking up an interest in plant identification during a Michigan Botanical Club foray in 2012, he spent much of the next decade focused on exploring and learning the region’s flora and natural communities.

We will discuss David Mizejewski's excellent primer on how to make your yard a wildlife magnet. You'll be able to hear David speak at the Keweenaw Native Plant Symposium on March 23 and then participate in book club discussions on April 10 and 17. Zoom discussions begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by in-person discussions at the Portage Lake District Library at 6:30 p.m.

Register here for the book club. Copies of the book are available at a reduced price from Keweenaw Wild Ones. Order your copy here.

Wild Ones volunteers joined KLT volunteers to pot trays of seedlings donated by Bay College. Wild Ones will sell their transplants during our sales; KLT will plant them on their properties.