October 2024 News
October Program Seed Collection
Saturday October 12, 1:00 pm at Karol Walker’s
Join us at member Karol Walker’s home (2966 Degeer Court., Midland) for collecting seeds of native wildflowers, trees, and shrubs. There will be a discussion of best practices for seed collection and storage before heading out to collect. Bring your own dry containers or brown bags. You can also bring plants potted from your yard to exchange with others – please label what you bring to share.
DIRECTIONS: Take Eastman Road north past Monroe Road. Degeer Court is the first left-hand turn after Bombay Road. First house on left (south) side.
Native Plant Sales
In the early days of fall, there are still a few op
portunities to purchase some native plants to fill out your garden. Craig Shafer of Hoffman Farms, Saginaw, will have at least one last sale of the season this month selling native plants grown from seed on site. There are still several dozen species available including some rare purple milkweed for purchase. The date of the sale could not be confirmed prior to publication of the newsletter. Check out Hoffman Farms Facebook page for dates for the remaining sales in October. Many plants remain and have been sale priced!
Thank you Volunteers!
Another season is in the books for weeding the wildflower walkway at the Chippewa Nature Center. My sincere thanks to Jeanne Henderson for organizing this and to the rest of you who spent a few hours maintaining the gardens. It is a lovely and accessible area for folks of all abilities to enjoy our native flowers and plants.
Registration is now open for fall webinars through Wild Ones National
Join us on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) for another free national webinar, “Matrix Landscape Design,” featuring Benjamin Vogt, author, landscape designer, activist and educator. Discover how to enhance ecological functions and aesthetics in your garden with high-density plantings that replicate natural ecosystems. You will also learn about Benjamin’s latest collaboration with Wild Ones on the new Native Garden Design for Lincoln, Nebraska.
Webinar: “Matrix Landscape Design” with Benjamin Vogt on October at 24 at 6 p.m. (CT) – Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes
Continue to Save your Mesh Bags!
Remember to save your veggie mesh bags! We will continue saving the mesh bags as there were several opportunities for the Wild Ones to participate at other locations and events. This craft has had a great response from the public. Bring your bags with you to our programs and I’ll take them off your hands. Thank you for your support of these projects!
Chapter Membership
Tell your friends and neighbors about the Wild Ones and bring them to a meeting, which are open to the public. Youth are welcome when accompanied by an adult. New ideas about attracting and retaining members can be sent to Rachel LeClair ([email protected]).
Welcome new members: Cathy Arnett!
Thank you, renewing members: Sarah Galt and Jeanne Henderson! We appreciate your continued support!
Our Chapter Needs You!
Looking towards our last meeting of the year where we elect our officers, we need someone to step into the role of secretary. If interested or would like to find out more, please contact one the officers: myself, Rachel LeClair, Sarah Galt or Vicky Brubaker. Elections will occur at our November meeting, open to members only, where we break bread together, have a year in review and make plans for programs for 2025. This is a great opportunity to become part of the inner workings of the chapter. Please take a moment to consider it!
We will also be developing our programs for 2025. Start thinking about what you would like to see, do or hear about over the next year.
My First Year as President
This year has been a year of learning about what it takes to run a Wild Ones Chapter. Good thing I have a great team supporting me. I feel that we had a great year with room to grow as a chapter. We had great speakers and field trips and I anticipate that next year, we will have even more of these! I’ve heard great ideas for next year that we will discuss in November. As I said above, bring your ideas for programs, and we’ll try to fit as many in as possible. Thank you all for your support of the chapter. I know there are even more excellent things to come!
Susan Erhardt
President, Wild Ones Mid-Mitten Chapter
