By Linda Gary, Wild Ones River City President Several Wild Ones members had a chance to share their knowledge and excitement about native plants and biodiversity with 3 classes of 2nd graders at CA Frost Environmental Science Academy in March. Amy Paul, E-Lab Teacher at CA Frost coordinated the visit. Students learned why native plants […] Continue reading "Wild Ones Visit CA Frost Environmental Science Academy"
NOTES FROM PUERTO RICO By Joyce Tuharsky, Wild Ones member I recently returned from a trip to Puerto Rico! In addition, to learning about the people and culture of the island, I delighted in discovering its unique tropical plants. Everywhere I turned were “new-to-me” plants: huge, lush leaves with unusual shapes and veining; intricate, lacy […] Continue reading "Notes from Puerto Rico"
VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS, Mertensia virginica By Joyce Tuharsky Nothing signifies the arrival of spring more than the enchanting display of Virginia bluebells gracing a clearing within a moist woodland or along a riverbank. The flowers of this spring ephemeral start out as nodding pink buds that open into pendulant, trumpet-like, lavender-blue blooms–each about one inch long. […] Continue reading "Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)"
Natives to Know: Woolgrass bulrush – Scirpus cyperinus By Joyce Tuharsky, WORC Member Woolgrass bulrush is a large, emergent aquatic plant that grows 6-feet-tall in colonies along lakes, marshes, and streams, and in wet meadows or low woodlands. Native to much of the eastern U.S., it spreads by creeping rhizomes or self-sowing in wet soils, […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: Woolgrass bulrush"
WORC October 2023 Program Recap Medicinal Botany: Exploring traditional ecological knowledge and western laboratory science Over sixty people came to Calvin’s Bunker Interpretive Center on October 16 to hear Maisie Wiler, a recent graduate of GVSU and a masters candidate, speak on Medicinal Botany. In her presentation, Maisie talked about the role of plants in our […] Continue reading "WORC October 2023 Program Recap: Medicinal Botany"