Booth at the Marshfield Green Living and Energy Expo

 Wild Flowers of October presentation by Dr. Bob Frechmann

 Prairie and bird walk at Carol Kropidlowski’s farm

 Earth Partnership for Schools’ Restoration Institute at UWSP-presentation to teachers by Dan

  Work on the Pat ch Street Prairie patch

  Conduct two workshops on prairie plants for McKinley students

 Wild Ones booth at MREA

 Distributed 1,426 native plants donated by Prairie Nursery

Byron Shaw’s burn

Wild Ones booth at Prairie Chicken Festival

Planning meeting for CWWO

Annual meeting of chapter in Pinery room  

Several people brought seeds to share. Personal prairies were discussed.  If any one is interested in becoming an officer of the chapter or has ideas for projects or activities please contact Dan.

 Information:  Dr. Freckmann shared information on the lupine.  The seeds should be collected when the pod starts turning brown towards the end of June. Place them in a paper bag to dry. Rub they between two pieces of sand paper to score them and plant them by the middle of July.  This will give them a chance to begin growing before winter.

Garden Inspirations at the Jensen Center March 6, by the Portage Co Master Gardeners.

Wild Ones “Design with Nature” Spring Conference 2010 Roseville , MN (www.for-wild.org) February 27.

Several members attended the seminar in Oshkosh on January 30.

Membership Tip O’the Month – February 2010

GOING GREEN: There has been a tremendous emphasis in the media recently about “going green”. In my local hardware store all the incandescent light bulbs have been removed, and CFU’s, or compact fluorescents, have replaced them. As national WO treasurer Marty Rice recently stated, we need “to ride the huge wave of going green in our country”.

In my mind the first group of people to approach for membership in Wild Ones is the master gardener. Contact your local county extension office to offer your services as a speaker to the group with “going green” with native plants as a theme. Or perhaps you already have master gardeners as members in your chapter – they can provide contact information. The Douglas Tallamy article that recently appeared in the Wild Ones Journal makes a compelling argument for “going green”. Use it as a recruiting tool. It can be downloaded from the website at this link:   http://for-wild.org/download/Gardening%20for%20Life%20Doug%20Tallamy.pdf

Other groups, such as Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy, plus local environmental groups can also offer potential members. Wild Ones Journal editor, Maryann Whitman, suggests that “we get the names and contact info of every natural areas person, stewardship manager, land manager, conservation easement manager, land trust manager—you get the idea, and tell them about the Wild Ones Journal, what it deals with (ecological information at the grass roots level) and suggest they think of us every time they are in a position of dealing with a member of the public who needs education, that they pass on information about WO memberships.”

Other excellent downloads can be found at http://www.for-wild.org/download/

And don’t forget about other pre-printed handouts Wild Ones headquarters office has for you to use in promoting native plants and the Wild Ones mission. Go to the Chapter Guidebook Section 05 Original Forms to see samples. http://www.for-wild.org/download/guidebook/0050OriginalForms/

Lastly, don’t forget to tell everyone about the free “Wild About Wildflowers” film in DVD format. This newly updated how-to video will be a great way for people to learn how to choose, how to plant, how to grow and how to enjoy native wildflowers and grasses in their own yards. The new member premium application can also be found in the Chapter Guidebook under Section 05.