IN-PERSON FALL MEETINGS
Meeting Schedule: 7:00 pm Welcome 7:15 pm Announcements 7:20 pm Program/Presentation |
New Meeting Location!
In-person meetings will be held at the Eden Prairie City Hall in the Heritage Room (on lower level) 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 All of our meetings and garden tours are free and open to the public. Please invite a friend! |
Wednesday, April 10th - 7 pm
Deep Savanna, Catastrophic Regime Shifts,
Restoration and Why it Matters
Stephen Thomforde
In person at Eden Prairie City Hall in the Heritage Room
(on lower level)
8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344
or zoom
wildones-org.zoom.us/j/81093983159?pwd=elU4cjlZK2Z0S0lZVDF4MHpoYVQwdz09
This presentation features a restoration in progress, an enchanted landscape, near the
confluence of the Hahawakpa (Mississippi) and Wakpaminisota (Minnesota) Rivers. We begin
by painting a picture, titled 1491, featuring keystone species and associated processes, such as
landscape heterogeneity and connectivity, energy flows and nutrient cycles, in pulsing rhythms
that of constant renewal of the most powerful (Maximum Power Law) terrestrial ecosystem ever:
Savanna. The vison provides sun-drenched short grass savanna escarpments with shaded
coulees following spring streams that feed crystal-clear lakes teeming with life, and indigenous
encampments and gardens, with bison-traces under open grown oaks, in a land where people
have lived for thousands of years. This vison is abruptly contrasted with the current state of
depauperate flora and fauna, eroding soils, nitrogen eutrophication, and carbon off-gassing. We
blame invasive species and too many deer, but we ask ourselves, are not these symptoms of a
higher contextual change and social myths that reinforce current catastrophic conditions? We
employ Catastrophic Regime Shift modeling (CRSM) to help understand how and why the
historic ecosystem collapsed and the emergence of current catastrophic condition. We begin by
modeling the impacts of losing keystone species, mega (in size or numbers) -herbivores and
humans, that resulted in the collapse of foodwebs and nutrient cycles, a period of eutrophication
and afforestation, a period of great sadness. CRSM also helps us develop viable restoration
scenarios for both near-term removal of undesirable species and their catastrophic reinforcing
processes and long-term restoration of keystone processes that reinforce the desirable state.
The presentation ends by painting another picture, titled 2040, where humans and animals are
restored as part of the land, working in ways that maximize native biological diversity, function,
and integrity.
Stephen Thomforde has 28 years and 10,000 acres experience in design, implementation and maintenance of ecological restorations throughout the Midwest. This includes a decade of post graduate research at UW-Madison from which emerged a framework for ecological restoration in the 21st century and the first regional concepts based on State Transition Models, Working Lands, and Restoration of Ecosystem Services. For the past 15 years, his passion, work and research has focused on savanna ecosystems, from the scale of lawns to a model for future agricultural production. Stephen lives in Minneapolis, farms in Zumbrota, and plays outside throughout the Midwest.
Deep Savanna, Catastrophic Regime Shifts,
Restoration and Why it Matters
Stephen Thomforde
In person at Eden Prairie City Hall in the Heritage Room
(on lower level)
8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344
or zoom
wildones-org.zoom.us/j/81093983159?pwd=elU4cjlZK2Z0S0lZVDF4MHpoYVQwdz09
This presentation features a restoration in progress, an enchanted landscape, near the
confluence of the Hahawakpa (Mississippi) and Wakpaminisota (Minnesota) Rivers. We begin
by painting a picture, titled 1491, featuring keystone species and associated processes, such as
landscape heterogeneity and connectivity, energy flows and nutrient cycles, in pulsing rhythms
that of constant renewal of the most powerful (Maximum Power Law) terrestrial ecosystem ever:
Savanna. The vison provides sun-drenched short grass savanna escarpments with shaded
coulees following spring streams that feed crystal-clear lakes teeming with life, and indigenous
encampments and gardens, with bison-traces under open grown oaks, in a land where people
have lived for thousands of years. This vison is abruptly contrasted with the current state of
depauperate flora and fauna, eroding soils, nitrogen eutrophication, and carbon off-gassing. We
blame invasive species and too many deer, but we ask ourselves, are not these symptoms of a
higher contextual change and social myths that reinforce current catastrophic conditions? We
employ Catastrophic Regime Shift modeling (CRSM) to help understand how and why the
historic ecosystem collapsed and the emergence of current catastrophic condition. We begin by
modeling the impacts of losing keystone species, mega (in size or numbers) -herbivores and
humans, that resulted in the collapse of foodwebs and nutrient cycles, a period of eutrophication
and afforestation, a period of great sadness. CRSM also helps us develop viable restoration
scenarios for both near-term removal of undesirable species and their catastrophic reinforcing
processes and long-term restoration of keystone processes that reinforce the desirable state.
The presentation ends by painting another picture, titled 2040, where humans and animals are
restored as part of the land, working in ways that maximize native biological diversity, function,
and integrity.
Stephen Thomforde has 28 years and 10,000 acres experience in design, implementation and maintenance of ecological restorations throughout the Midwest. This includes a decade of post graduate research at UW-Madison from which emerged a framework for ecological restoration in the 21st century and the first regional concepts based on State Transition Models, Working Lands, and Restoration of Ecosystem Services. For the past 15 years, his passion, work and research has focused on savanna ecosystems, from the scale of lawns to a model for future agricultural production. Stephen lives in Minneapolis, farms in Zumbrota, and plays outside throughout the Midwest.
Homegrown National Park
Douglas Tallamy
May 15th 6pm
Live Streamed and Viewing Party
co-sponsored by the City of Minnetonka
moderated by Heather Holm
Zoom link:
wildones-org.zoom.us/j/87506376105?pwd=MWVUN1I3bFNuekRmb0NtNFBpSDYwZz09
Viewing Party
Eden Prairie City Hall
Heritage Room (on lower level)
8080 Mitchell Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Refreshments and handouts will be provided: Attracting Birds to Your Garden with Native Plants booklets, Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden with Native Plants booklets, Climate Resilient Landscapes booklets and Native Plant Nurseries & Landscape Services in Minnesota & Western Wisconsin brochures.
Benefits of native plant signs will be available for sale.
Douglas Tallamy will answer questions at the end of the presentation.
Local experts will be on hand to answer questions following the presentation.
Homegrown National Park
Our parks, preserves, and remaining wildlands – no matter how grand in scale – are too small and separated from one another to sustain the native trees, plants, insects, and animals on which our ecosystems depend. We can fix this problem by practicing conservation outside of wildlands, where we live, work, shop, farm, and ranch. Thus, the concept for Homegrown National Park: a national challenge to create diverse ecosystems in our yards, communities, farms, and surrounding lands by reducing lawn, planting native, and removing invasives. The goal of HNP is to create a national movement to restore 20 million acres with natives, an area representing ½ of what is now in lawn, as well as millions more acres in agriculture and woodlots. We are at a critical point where we are losing so many native plant and animal species that our life support systems are in jeopardy. However, if many people make small changes, we can restore healthy ecological networks and weather the changes ahead.
Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 112 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 43 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His books include Bringing Nature Home, The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, Nature's Best Hope, a New York Times Best Seller, The Nature of Oaks, winner of the American Horticultural Society’s 2022 book award. In 2021 he cofounded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari (HomegrownNationalPark.org). His awards include recognition from The Garden Writer’s Association, Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, Allegheny College, Ecoforesters, The Garden Club of America and The American Horticultural Association.
Douglas Tallamy
May 15th 6pm
Live Streamed and Viewing Party
co-sponsored by the City of Minnetonka
moderated by Heather Holm
Zoom link:
wildones-org.zoom.us/j/87506376105?pwd=MWVUN1I3bFNuekRmb0NtNFBpSDYwZz09
Viewing Party
Eden Prairie City Hall
Heritage Room (on lower level)
8080 Mitchell Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Refreshments and handouts will be provided: Attracting Birds to Your Garden with Native Plants booklets, Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden with Native Plants booklets, Climate Resilient Landscapes booklets and Native Plant Nurseries & Landscape Services in Minnesota & Western Wisconsin brochures.
Benefits of native plant signs will be available for sale.
Douglas Tallamy will answer questions at the end of the presentation.
Local experts will be on hand to answer questions following the presentation.
Homegrown National Park
Our parks, preserves, and remaining wildlands – no matter how grand in scale – are too small and separated from one another to sustain the native trees, plants, insects, and animals on which our ecosystems depend. We can fix this problem by practicing conservation outside of wildlands, where we live, work, shop, farm, and ranch. Thus, the concept for Homegrown National Park: a national challenge to create diverse ecosystems in our yards, communities, farms, and surrounding lands by reducing lawn, planting native, and removing invasives. The goal of HNP is to create a national movement to restore 20 million acres with natives, an area representing ½ of what is now in lawn, as well as millions more acres in agriculture and woodlots. We are at a critical point where we are losing so many native plant and animal species that our life support systems are in jeopardy. However, if many people make small changes, we can restore healthy ecological networks and weather the changes ahead.
Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 112 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 43 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His books include Bringing Nature Home, The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, Nature's Best Hope, a New York Times Best Seller, The Nature of Oaks, winner of the American Horticultural Society’s 2022 book award. In 2021 he cofounded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari (HomegrownNationalPark.org). His awards include recognition from The Garden Writer’s Association, Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, Allegheny College, Ecoforesters, The Garden Club of America and The American Horticultural Association.