January 2024 Newsletter
Connecting people
and native plants
for a healthy planet
| |
Happy New Year!
We're starting off the new year with our first FREE Public Meeting at a NEW LOCATION on Monday, January 8th. Join us at the South Chattanooga Community Center in the St. Elmo neighborhood of Chattanooga on the second Monday of each month.
Check out and register for our Certificate in Native Plants classes too! They are a great way to learn about using native plants in YOUR landscape. Our first two classes of 2024 will provide a terrific way to begin. ... you'll learn the basics about plants. While there are no prerequisites, from there you can continue to enjoy a variety of core and elective classes that will be offered throughout the year.
Be sure to save the date - Saturday, April 13, 2024 - for our Spring Plant Sale & Expo. This year, we will not have our March Symposium, but instead will have exciting talks and events around the time of the Spring Plant Sale & Expo. More information is coming soon!
Soon, we'll have information available about our Members-Only programs, including hikes, visits to local gardens, and events where you can meet other native plant enthusiasts. More information will be coming next month.
| |
Monday, January 8, 2024
6:00 - 7:30 pm EST
South Chattanooga Community Center
1151 W 40th St, St. Elmo, Chattanooga TN 37409
NOTE OUR NEW MEETING LOCATION!
FREE and Open to the Public
Over decades, the tradition of having a green lawn has become a part of city landscape codes and HOA regulations. The current movement to replace a lifeless lawn with a living landscape via native plantings in the front yard has sometimes come into conflict with these regulations. A panel discussion with Conna Casteel and Sally Wencel will provide ideas about how lawns and native plants can co-exist.
| |
Monday, February 12, 2024
6:00 - 7:30 pm EST
South Chattanooga Community Center
1151 W 40th St, St. Elmo, Chattanooga TN 37409
NOTE OUR NEW MEETING LOCATION!
FREE and Open to the Public
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Chattanooga a grant of $6 million to develop and maintain urban forests, green space and waterways in underserved communities. Pete Stewart, City Forester, along with Anna Mathis, Natural Resources Manager in Parks & Outdoors and the lead applicant on the grant, will discuss what this means for Chattanooga.
| |
Do you want to receive a reminder email
in advance of our free public programs?
If so, join our Meetup group.
For event details and Zoom links, visit TNValleyWildOnes.org
Under the Programs & Events tab, click on Calendar.
| |
CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE PLANTS CLASSES | |
The Certificate in Native Plants program is designed to expand students' knowledge of botany, ecology, conservation and uses of native flora in the southeastern United States. The CNP offers a blend of classroom instruction, hands-on learning and guided hikes. Participants are required to complete four core classes, eight electives, and 40 hours of volunteering for approved native plant projects. Classes are open to Wild Ones members and non-members, whether or not you are pursuing the certificate.
For more info about the Certificate in Native Plants program, click HERE.
| |
|
Instructors: Richard Clements, PhD and Mary Priestley
Saturday, January 13, 2024
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST
Reflection Riding
400 Garden Road
Chattanooga TN 37419
CORE CLASS (6 credits)
The goal of the class is to provide students with a basic understanding of botany which is critical to understanding how plants work in the natural world.
| |
|
Instructors: Richard Clements, PhD and Mary Priestley
Saturday, February 17, 2024
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST
Reflection Riding
400 Garden Road
Chattanooga TN 37419
CORE CLASS (6 Credits)
Specific topics include: plant cell and tissue types, vegetative and reproductive organs, asexual reproduction, genetics, seeds, flowers, pollination, and fruits.
| |
More CNP classes will be announced soon!
| |
SPRING 2024 PLANT SALE & EXPO:
SAVE THE DATE!
| |
|
Saturday, April 13, 2024
First Horizon Pavilion
1826 Reggie White Blvd
Chattanooga TN
Vendor and exhibitor information will be available soon.
| |
UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS | |
To view all upcoming programs, classes and events presented by the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones, click below: | |
PROGRAMS, CLASSES & EVENTS IN THE REGION | |
|
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Spring Garden Symposium
|
Saturday, January 27
9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST
Atlanta Botanical Garden
1345 Piedmont Ave.
Atlanta GA
Ready to get into a springtime frame of mind? Join the Garden for a full day of new ideas from seasoned experts at the Spring Gardening Symposium!
| |
Regional Wild Ones Chapters |
Wild Ones is growing in Tennessee and the Southeast!
Check out the events at nearby chapters!
| |
We Thought We'd Find 200 Species in Our House and Yard.
We Were Very Wrong.
This story may inspire you to count the number of species in YOUR house and yard. You may be surprised!
Photo of Buck Moth above by Mike O'Brien.
Read more
| |
There's an Indiscrimate Killer Stalking Your Yard
Our favorite feline friends are fairly fussy, but not when it comes to their diet. According to a new global study of what animal species cats devour, free-roaming domestic cats, including pets and feral animals, are extreme generalists that eat whatever they can sink their claws into.
Read more.
| |
Old Growth Hemlock - A Marvelous Site
Here's a short video about spotting the unique characteristics of old growth hemlock trees.
Watch the video.
| |
This month, Mike O'Brien shares some photos of the winter birds visiting his feeders this time of year. Mike has observed that the Sharp-shinned Hawk is always around in the mornings to find its breakfast, which can be seen in its talons in the two bottom photos below. When the Sharp-shinned Hawk is nearby, the birds all freeze in their positions, for many minutes sometimes, and do not move a muscle until the accipiter threat departs or finds its next prey. This can be seen in the Mourning Dove photo, as it remained fluffed up from the cold and camouflaged on a rock for 10 minutes when the Hawk was nearby. | |
Pine Warbler (male)
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
| |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Photo by Mike O'Brien
| |
Mourning Dove
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
| |
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
| |
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
| |
Becoming a Wild Ones member shows your commitment to the native plant movement and is a great way to connect with a helpful and knowledgeable native plant community that will prove invaluable in your native garden journey!
Benefits of a Wild Ones membership include:
-
Access to the current electronic issue of the quarterly Wild Ones Journal
- Invitations to workshops, garden tours, seed exchanges, plants sales, and stewardship project
-
Discounts for partner educational webinars such as NDAL, etc. and Wild Ones chapter programs
-
Participation in an annual national photo contest
-
Access to the Wild Ones Member Center for learning resources
- Participation in Wild for Monarchs and Native Garden recognition programs
- Involvement in citizen science and networking with conservation partners
- Receiving Wild Ones National e-Newsletters
-
Invitation to Wild Ones' private Facebook discussion group and the national Wild Ones Annual Member Meeting
- Networking opportunities and camaraderie with like-minded people who care about native plants and our planet
Additional benefits for members of the Tennessee Valley chapter:
-
Discounted admission to all Certificate in Native Plants classes year-round.
-
Discounted admission to the annual Plant Natives Symposium in the spring.
-
Free admission at members-only programs, including local and regional guided hikes, garden visits (Landscapes in Progress), the annual meeting, an annual plant swap, and other member social events.
- Access to the chapter's Member Directory, so you can connect with other members.
-
Annual Welcome Party and Orientation for new members.
-
Monthly email Member Update, with news about chapter activities.
- All members of the family who live at the same address are entitled to member benefits!
Your membership dollars help forward our mission of promoting the restoration of native landscapes by allowing us to:
-
Provide free, educational resources and learning opportunities that are open to the public from respected experts like Wild Ones Honorary Directors Doug Tallamy, Neil Diboll, Heather Holm and Donna VanBuecken
-
Support the efforts of over 65 local Wild Ones chapters in 23 states
-
Publish a quarterly, award-winning, online journal featuring current native plant information and resources
-
Share free, professionally-designed native garden templates for multiple regions in the United States.
| |
Get More Involved with Us! | |
The Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones is 100% volunteer run!
Here are a few ways you can get more involved in the chapter
and in our Chattanooga Pollinator Partnership.
| |
Follow our chapter on social media: | |
Follow Wild Ones on social media: | |
NOTE: Please do not unsubscribe!
This is the only method you have for receiving important communications from
the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones!
Please add contact@tnvalleywildones.org
to your address book -
This is needed to keep our emails out of your SPAM folder.
| | | | |