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Eden Prairie Community Center
16700 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55346 7 pm social, 7:20 pm program Free and open to the public |
Wednesday January 9, 2019
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The Universe Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Soil Ecosystems
Soil is one of the last truly uncharted territories. It is also the key to solving most of the problems we face today. Healthy soils clean and hold water, re-mediate pollution, sequester carbon, and grow resilient plants. Healthy soil is built by countless microbes working 24/7 - and they need our help! This presentation is for anyone interested in learning more about the vast and complex ecosystem beneath our feet. It will be led by Renaissance Soil, a St. Paul based non-profit dedicated to regenerating soil through education, outreach, and action opportunities.
Kassie Brown, Founder and Educator of Renaissance Soil A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Kassie has always been passionate about reconnecting people, food, and nature. After studying the soil food web in courses taught by leading soil microbiologist Dr. Elaine Ingham, Kassie decided to make the amazing complexity of life below ground her primary focus. Kassie lives in Saint Paul with her partner and their six chickens, one cat, and innumerable microbes. |
Wednesday March 13, 2019
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Native Landscapes for Bird Enthusiasts One of the best ways to bring birds to your feeders is to grow native plants. Adding native plants to your garden will attract and protect the birds you love while making your space beautiful, easy to care for and better for the environment. Join us as Kaitlyn walks us through the best, most bird-friendly trees, shrubs and perennials to plant in our region, along with how to establish a native garden that birds will love in your backyard. Kaitlyn O'Connor is the education and outreach coordinator at Prairie Moon Nursery in Winona, Minnesota. |
Wednesday April 10, 2019
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Earthworm Invasion in Northern Forest Ecosystems The northern forests from Minnesota to New England have no native earthworms. European earthworms have invaded many of these forests, where they transform soil structure by consuming the organic horizon (aka duff layer) and compacting the A horizon. These changes in soil structure lead to alterations in nutrient and water cycles within the soil. There are many important ecological cascades emanating from these invasions, including concerns for conservation of native plant and wildlife species, losses of forest and crop productivity, facilitation of invasive plant species such as buckthorn and garlic mustard, and soil and water quality. Lee E. Frelich is Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology. He received a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986. Frelich teaches courses in Forest Fire Ecology and Landscape Ecology on St.Paul Campus, and has advised 23 graduate students. Frelich has authored more than 110 publications with 90 coauthors from 14 countries, including major works for Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. He is listed among the top 1% of all scientists in the world in the Thompson-Reuters Essential Science Indicators, Ecology and Environment Category. Current research interests include fire and wind in boreal forests, old-growth hemlock and maple forests, invasive earthworms in forests, deer and moose browsing, patterns of tree height, and impacts of climate change. |
Wednesday May 8, 2019
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Wholistic Design with Native Plants
After a brief introduction to how to design with native plants, this presentation will use a range of case studies to illustrate by example how to design with native plants to:
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Through her education, professional history, and leisure pursuits, Nathalie has built the solid foundation in both science and design that equip her to provide state of the art sustainable landscape architecture services. Her passionate love of the environment, the life in it, and its regional beauty, combined with her analytical bent, persistence, and out-of-the box thinking, further equip her to provide clients with exceptional services uniquely suited for their projects.
Nathalie began working in sustainable design in 1994 after graduating from Hope College, Michigan, with biology and chemistry majors. She was a member of one of the first Wild Ones chapters in the Chicago area in the mid 1990’s. Before going back to school to earn a Master’s in Landscape Architecture, she earned a Naturalist’s certificate from Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, in Michigan. After finishing her Master’s degree in 1999, she enjoyed providing sustainable landscape architecture services at The Kestrel Design Group for many years and continues to consult with Kestrel periodically. She also had the privilege of designing landscapes for Energyscapes for a year. After Energyscapes closed its doors in 2016, Nathalie started Pasque Ecological Design so she could continue to do the kind of work she loves to do.
Nathalie began working in sustainable design in 1994 after graduating from Hope College, Michigan, with biology and chemistry majors. She was a member of one of the first Wild Ones chapters in the Chicago area in the mid 1990’s. Before going back to school to earn a Master’s in Landscape Architecture, she earned a Naturalist’s certificate from Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, in Michigan. After finishing her Master’s degree in 1999, she enjoyed providing sustainable landscape architecture services at The Kestrel Design Group for many years and continues to consult with Kestrel periodically. She also had the privilege of designing landscapes for Energyscapes for a year. After Energyscapes closed its doors in 2016, Nathalie started Pasque Ecological Design so she could continue to do the kind of work she loves to do.