Wednesday January 8, 2020
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Restoring Ecosystem Functionality and Biodiversity
How can humans benefit from green infrastructure and ecological landscape restorations? Heather will discuss ways we can achieve a sustainable coexistence with the rest of life on earth. Models of restorative landscaping including residential and community opportunities will be highlighted focusing on thoughtful plant selection, ecosystem functionality and how diversity can be maximized. A focus on pollinator habitat and outcomes, trouble shooting and monitoring of restorations, and local grant opportunities will be included as well. Heather Holm is an award-winning author and nationally sought-after speaker spending much of her time passionately educating audiences about the fascinating world of native bees and the native plants that support them. Her first book, Pollinators of Native Plants, was published in 2014, and her latest book, Bees, published in 2017, has won six book awards including the 2018 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Heather's expertise includes the interactions between native bees and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees occurring in the upper Midwest and Northeast. She is also vice president of the Wild Ones Prairie Edge chapter. |
Wednesday March 11, 2020
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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 April 8, 2020
Deep Oak Savanna
This presentation explores the deep meaning of oak savanna, from an ecological standpoint, one of earths most amazing ecosystems ever. Stephen will begin by providing a definition for savanna and reinforcing the concept via a planetary field trip, in time and space, to witness an ontological theme and variation thereof, and to expose savanna as the most advanced, diverse, and provisional terrestrial ecosystem ever. He will then focus on our regional Midwest savannas and conduct enthralling natural histories of keystone species and their reinforcing roles of the savanna configuration. The presentation covers the recent demise of savanna and associated drivers, and also, why losing this powerful ecosystem, from a planetary perspective, poses a threat to livability. The presentation then shifts to savanna restoration, from ground layer flora to shrubs and canopy trees, from buffalo to goats, and from large scale preserves to lawnscapes. Emerging concepts of silvoculture and working lands are discussed. Throughout the presentation, a powerful array of scientific principles are rendered via fascinating stories concerning our native savanna flora and fauna, feedbacks and ecosystem phenomenology, in ways which provide the audience a deep ecology and sense of wonder for oak savanna.
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 Zumborta, and plays outside throughout the Midwest.
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 Zumborta, and plays outside throughout the Midwest.
Wednesday May 13, 2020
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Still Searching for Minnesota’s Native Wildflowers, Even in our Own BackyardsMeet Phyllis Root and Kelly Povo, authors of Searching for Minnesota’s Native Wildflowers; A Guide for Beginners, Botanist and Everyone in Between.
Learn about why they are crazy about native wildflowers, where they search and (sometimes) find them, and why they are also planting them in their own backyards. You’ll learn where to look, when to go, and how to find some of Minnesota’s little-known native wildflower treasures. They will also share stories of their own adventures (and misadventures). Phyllis Root is a writer, Kelly Povo is a photographer, and they love searching for, learning about, and finding Minnesota’s native flowers. Their first wildflower adventure together was over ten years ago, to Big Bog State Recreation Area, where they walked on the boardwalk a mile into the bog and saw plants they had never seen before. Since then, they have waded rivers, slipped down snowy hillsides, and visited more places than they can remember. Phyllis, an award-winning author, has written many picture books about Minnesota, including Big Belching Bog, Plant a Pocket of Prairie, One North Star, and most recently, The Lost Forest, all published by the University of Minnesota Press. Kelly, a professional photographer for over thirty years, has exhibited in galleries and art shows across the country. Her photographs have been published on posters, calendars, note cards, and in books. They have collaborated on several books, including Girlfriend Gumbo and Gladys on the Go. Whatever they are doing, Phyllis and Kelly laugh—a lot. |