March 28, 2022 – Minutes / (Submitted by Lorrie Preston, Secretary)
Attendance – (25 Total)
Welcome and Introductions: Those attending introduced themselves and noted the county where they reside
We are now a chartered chapter. Our membership has more than doubled since last meeting!
Reports
Membership – Kerri Thauby
We now stand at 44 members, an increase of 25 members in March. New members are finding us through Facebook (7), George Weigel’s Penn Live/Patriot News articles (7), member word of mouth, and even at a native plant conference.
To join, become a member at WildOnes.org and select the “South Central PA chapter” in the dropdown box.
Treasurer – Margaret Naguski
Jane and Margaret have an appointment on Friday to set up our checking account at First National Bank. Awaiting chapter funds to come from national Wild Ones. Treasurer reports will begin next month.
Activities/Events:
1. Report on March event at The Bower
28 people braved the cold on Sunday for the first in-person gathering of the chapter. We talked about how best to clean up the garden in early spring for the benefit of nature/pollinators. Leave dried stems up 8-24” high when cutting back, for the nesting of solitary native bees, particularly wider pithy stems. Leave the leaves in the garden beds to provide protection, food, and nesting areas for beneficial insects and improve soil. The group broke up into halves and toured the beautiful grounds with Jane and Bill. Everyone is invited back later in the season. Jane recommends late June, July as peak flower bloom at The Bower. They use two products to protect their thousands of plants from deer – Bobbex and Deer Stopper. Applications are made every 3 weeks throughout the year. Bobbex is applied with a Field King battery-powered sprayer – no pumping! Deer Stopper must be used in a pump sprayer as it is thick and clogs the Field King. See separate attachment – Spring Cutting in the Garden South Central PA Chapter
2. George Weigel’s Penn Live and Patriot News articles brought attention to our new chapter, as well as new members. https://georgeweigel.net/georges-current-ramblings-and-readlings/going-native-with-the-wild-ones
3. Article appeared in the Perry County Times, will be on-going under “Events.” All members are encouraged to submit our news, activities and events to any local papers you read. Also, send events and info to share to Angela at [email protected] for our social media outlets. We will post our events and other community events. Our Facebook and Instagram pages are updated frequently.
4. Website is temporarily on hold because national Wild Ones is redesigning their brand and format and help will be needed to set it up. If there is a volunteer interested in leading this, please contact Jane.
Bill is leading now and has some experience but does not consider himself an expert.
5. April 16 – Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival – we will have a table with brochures from 9-3. Tami Harnish is now not available. Looking for a volunteer – preferably, two. Jane has ordered a free banner from national headquarters to identify our chapter at tabling events.
6. April 23 – Appalachian Audubon Native Plant Sale at Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse – Lorrie will have our brochures there. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Order ahead online or buy in person at the sale. See separate attachment – Native Plant Sale Flyer _Spring 2022_color
7. March 24 meeting with other Wild Ones Chapters, PA Native Plant Society, and Lancaster Native Plant Alliance on banning invasive ornamentals. April 21, 22 meeting of PA Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee, which you may attend. Jane will send more info. Will include e-mail campaign.
Discussion on this topic and decision made to participate in this effort. Japanese Barberry and Bradford Pear already successfully removed from sale. Initial thoughts of our members – Chinese Privet, Winged Euonymous (Burning Bush) and Heavenly Bamboo all priorities. Discussion on Butterfly Bush. It is sugary “junk food” for butterflies and does not provide protein and other nutrients needed for optimum breeding or migration. Native Joe Pye Weed is an alternative. See separate attachment – Summary of PA Noxious Weed Law
8. Wendy Smith, a local volunteer who grows trees for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay “1 million trees initiative” presented. For the “Seedling Saver Project” she provides you with a case of 25 mini pots (rockets) for planting tree seedlings that come up in your yard. You tend through the summer and give to Wendy in the fall for planting. If you can’t tend, turn them in early. For the “Growing Trees from Seed” project, she collects native tree seeds, raises them until they are ready to plant. A “Growing Trees from Seeds” workshop will be held for volunteers who want to be involved. Limited to 10 people. Contact Wendy if interested. Ryan Davis, Senior Forest Projects Manager, has planted thousands of young trees in the last 4 years since this partnership began. Last year – best year to date – 3,400 tree seedlings planted in riparian buffers, school, business, church properties = 10 acres of new
9. woodlands= $14,000 commercial value. Wendy Smith – [email protected] See separate attachments – Tree List (1), Seedling Saver Info, Tree List for Growing Trees from Seed
10. April 29 – Plant donation deadline for the Friends of the New Cumberland Library Plant Sale – native or non-native. Contact Jayne Johnson at [email protected] for donation info. See separate attachment – LibraryPoster2022
11. April 24, Sunday at 11:00, Wild Ones SCPA next in-person event. Meet at the mansion at Mt. Cuba Center for a walk to see the spring ephemerals. Buy your tickets online or become a member and go for free as often as you like. Bring picnic lunch. Great source of research, workshops, inspiration.
12. Member Heather Andrews has presentations coming up you can participate in. One on Monarchs for Swarthmore College this Thursday. [email protected] Also, check out her Facebook page “The Thoughtful Gardener.”
Discussion – Definition of a native plant
Lively discussion ensued, with various viewpoints. National Wild Ones has a stated position on what constitutes a true native plant, including these important words – region, habitat, eco-system, open-pollination and biodiversity. WO Chapters follow their lead on this. Use as many straight species as possible – changes in leaf color or flower structure from the straight species usually result in degradation of usefulness to pollinators and nature’s organisms. See separate attachments – Guidelines-for-Selecting-Native-Plants and 2022 PLANT SOURCES
Some sources for choosing native plants for your specific location
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – wildflower.org/collections/
- Biota of North America Program – BONAP.org
- Prairie Moon Nursery – prairiemoon.com
- Ernst Seeds (Buy native seeds within 100 miles for your specific ecotype) – ernstseed.com
- Edge of the Woods Nursery – edgeofthewoodsnursery.com
- Mid-Atlantic Herbarium Consortium – midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/
Additional note –
Kim Patten at the Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse is looking for gallon-size pots to put young plants in, so if you have any that you are finished with and don’t need, she would be happy to receive them! They are having trouble with supply-chain issues.