Wildflower Conference and Educators Workshop

The WAM (Wildflower Association of Michigan-not part of The Nature Conservancy) will hold a conference on the MSU campus in East Lansing on March 4 and 5. Both days start with bagels and coffee and have an optional luncheon with speaker. March 4 is the Educator's Workshop with discussions on topics such as raising funds, school site development, native plant gardening, and invasive plant control. The day concludes with the WAM annual meeting and birthday bash. Topics on March 5 include native landscapes, Environmental Effects of Invasive Species, Monarchs and Milkweeds, "Gardening with Native Plants to Attract Birds" and "Michigan Trees and Shrubs for Homeowners". Let me know if you are interested and I can send you the full agenda and a registration form. The registration fee gets higher as the start date approaches.

Great idea Chuck

This will be a great idea for all of us to keep up on what is happening at the fen. I stopped down yesterday and cut some of the "medium" sized black locusts for a few hours. I think we should try and drill-and-fill any of them bigger than "medium". What does everyone else think about that idea?

Farm Machinery

Vaughn Woods, the management area where the volunteers are working this winter, used to be the machinery graveyard for the farmer who owned it. There is an old baler there and other pieces of equipment that have nothing left but a rusty frame partly buried in the ground. I put a little information about these in the last workday report and Judy Holcomb suggested that I try to sell them on E-bay or to the Lenawee County Farmers' Antique Tractor and Engine Association. The baler is listed on E-bay now. If we make enough profit on that sale to buy refreshments for a few workdays, I will list the other pieces. Otherwise I will offer them for free to the Antique Tractor Association or Freecycle them. There is also a scrap metal dealer who claims to pick up or as a last resort, the landfill.