Bruce Gilman presents at Sonnenberg

Dr. Bruce Gilman will be presenting a Winter Education Class about NY Wildflowers and Native Plants at Sonnenberg Gardens on Saturday, February 23, 2013:  http://www.sonnenberg.org/client_images/catalog19990/pages/files/NewYorkWildflowersNativePlants.pdf


VISIT TO NAZARETH COLLEGE’S NEW GREENHOUSE AND HEALING GARDENS


Saturday, March 16, 2012

Time: 10 am to noon (or meet at the Ontario County Courthouse to carpool at 9:20 am)

Where: Nazareth College, 4245 East Avenue meet at 101 Peckham Hall (26 on map)  http://www.naz.edu/campus-map

Directions: Take 90 west to exit 45. Follow Rt. 490 north to Route 31 west. Follow Rt. 31 one and half miles to village of Pittsford. Turn right at the village’s 4 corners onto Rt. 96 N. Nazareth is a half-mile down on your left. (Park where you can find a space. On the weekend, behind Shultz Hall might be available - Lots D,E,F on map. There are visitor parking spaces there. Otherwise, just park wherever you find a spot.  www.naz.edu/campus-map)
  
Horticultural Therapy is the practice of using horticulture as therapy to improve human well-being. HT is not only a rapidly growing profession but also the benefits of peaceful garden environments have been known since ancient times.

Nazareth College has developed a minor in HT and has recently built a fabulous greenhouse and healing garden paths.

Our presenter is Bev Brown, Associate professor, Biology Department at Nazareth College and she has developed HT courses. She is a registered HT with her own practice and she mentors others who are seeking credentials in HT.


Rochester Permaculture Center course

Patty Love is offering Permaculture Design Certification courses.  For more information go to:
http://rochesterpermacultureinstitute.org/events/pdc/
Take advantage of the $100 discount until February 7th.

Please help fund the Lagoon Park restoration project


Dear Members and Friends of the Canandaigua Botanical Society:

On September 10, 2012, four members of the Canandaigua Botanical Society toured Canandaigua’s Lagoon Park with Jim Engel.  For those who may have not visited Lagoon Park, it is the 34 acre wetlands directly across from Steamboat Landing on Lakeshore Drive in Canandaigua.  Walking paths, bridges, fishing platforms, and lookouts are all part of the Lagoon Park.  Unfortunately, as Engel pointed out, a sizable portion of the park has been overtaken by invasive plant species, particularly European Buckthorn.

Two years ago, Engel, the owner of White Oak Nursery in Geneva, asked the City of Canandaigua for permission to restore the natural beauty of the Park by removing the invasive growth and planting flora and trees native to the Finger Lakes such as Spicebush, Nannyberry, and Arrowood Viburnum to name a few.  The City gave Engel permission to proceed on the project, but no funding.

The work to restore the Park will cost approximately seven to ten thousand dollars and will be completed by the fall of 2013.  Engel has already begun removing the Buckthorn.  In September, the Canandaigua Botanical Society donated $300 toward the project.  The Canandaigua Watershed Association is also very much in favor of this project and at a recent meeting, agreed to match our $300.  More importantly, said they would encourage more donations by individuals and organizations with a matching fund of $3000.   At our last CBS meeting at Finger Lakes Community College, those present voted unanimously to send a letter to all members and friends of the CBS asking for individual contributions.

Imagine the Lagoon Park restored to its original beauty and welcoming presence, not just to all who walk its paths, but to the native insects, birds, and wildlife that will be attracted back to the park by this restoration.

You can help accomplish this goal and take advantage of The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association’s generous matching offer by making a contribution today. 

Checks should be made out to the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association.  Note on the check that the donation is for the Lagoon Park Project.  All contributions are fully tax deductable.  Send your contribution to Canandiagua Lakefront Association at 493 South Main Street, Canandaigua NY 14424.

If you have any questions, you can call Peggy Kane (thirty nine 4 7616) or Bill Bross (sixty one 5 6255)

Take a walk around the Lagoon Park and we think you will want to support the Lagoon Park restoration!


Peggy Kane and Bill Bross
Co-Presidents of the Canandaigua Botanical Society. 


                                           These photos taken at our August 2010 tour of Lagoon Park


Canandaigua Botanical Society - Established 1874
Dedicated to advancing the knowledge and enjoyment of all plants growing in the Finger Lakes Region and Beyond.

Updates regarding the Lagoon Park Project



MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 10, 2012 MEETING 
OF THE CANANDAIGUA BOTANICAL SOCIETY

15 Members gathered at FLCC.
Jim Engel, a landscaper spoke to the Members about his proposed project to restore the Lagoon Park off of Lakeshore Drive. He proposes to remove invasive plants (primarily Buckthorn) and allow native plants to come back and thrive. Non-native plants do not support native insects, birds, wildlife creating a sterile environment. He has met with the City of Canandaigua and they have approved his idea with the caveat that he begin with a “demo” area to assess how well this project might be.
The Members voted to approve this project, agreed to donate $300.00 to be matched by the FLWA, and to send a donation letter to all members of the Botanical Society.The Finger Lakes Watershed Alliance has pledged to match all donations up to $3000; other companies, individuals, and organizations will also be solicited with Bill Bross helping to write the ask.

Here are photos and updates shared with us by Jim Engel on December 16, 2012:






Hello all.
I spent this past Thursday and Friday treating the invasive at lagoon park. I will finish up a few remaining patches this coming Monday.  If you get a chance stop by and take a look.  The view shed has opened up considerably especially the view of the water.
Keep in mind that this is a work in progress.  You can't make an omelet without breaking an egg. Remember it is necessary to kill all of the invasives to make room for the native plants that will replace them.
Next spring when the remaining native plants leaf out the new foliage will obscure much of the brush.  The plan is also to replant with native trees and shrubs especially where there was only buckthorn.  Also after about a year the majority of the small twigs and small branches will become brittle and  break up, the brush will gradually compact, naturally decompose and over time disappear.
I took a series of pictures to show the changes taking place.  The first image is of the trail will buckthorn  still in leaf , the second one is of the trail before treatment and the third is after treatment.
Jim

 

Kathleen Draper tells us about BIO CHAR



Our guest speaker On November 10, 2012 was Kathleen Draper who gave a fascinating overview of the history and current research related to bio char. She recently completed her Masters in Sustainability where her thesis focused on the creation of a small scale, replicable bio char model.
Bio char is a carbon negative soil conditioner that boosts plant growth while reducing the need for fertilizer and watering. Baking organic waste turns lots of the CO2 absorbed during the plant’s life into a stable form of carbon. When the char is planted in dirt, it ditches the carbon cycle and snuggles up with plant roots; the result is lots of beneficial micro-organisms, a safe place to roost, and it holds water.
This filtration medium and soil conditioner is what bio char is all about. Over 2000 years ago, Native Americans in the Amazon were actively improving the soils in rain forests. Pre-Columbians created what’s known as terra preta, “black earth.”
Kathleen has launched Finger Lakes Bio Char and has been working closely with several area vineyards to help them reduce phosphorous and nitrogen leaching into ground water and Lakes.

Kathleen can be contacted at www.flbiochar.com
Respectfully submitted, Peggy Kane