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The GNPS Symposium will be held September 25th at the Chattahoochee Technical College in Acworth and 3 of the speakers are BotSoc members. 

GNPS has offered registration to all BotSoc members at the GNPS member rate of $50. 

The schedule and registration form can be found at http://www.gnps.org/shortterm/Symposium_Announcement.php.

The Chicago Botanic Garden and Botanic Gardens Conservation International’s U.S. office are working with several partners to assess strengths and areas for improvement in plant science education, research and habitat management in the United States. A lLiterature review was combined with survey of  non-profit organizations, university personnel, graduate students, and government employees involved in plant science research, education and/or natural resource management in the United States.  Results were discussed at a workshop with 30 stakeholders representing surveyed groups from across the country, and recommendations to remedy identified gaps in capacity were outlined and agreed. The objective was to assess the ability of U.S. institutions and individuals to advance plant science research and application, while identifying gaps in capacity and highlighting opportunities to fill these gaps in the future. 

The FINAL REPORT is available from www.bgci.org/usa/bcap.

Volunteers are being sought for the "Great Assault on Spirea Japonica"  This event is being hosted by the Georgia Wildlife Federation (GWF) on  November 6-7 at the Charlie Wharton Conservation Center (CWCC) located within the Tallulah basin of North Georgia.  The primary activity will be yanking exotic invasive plants but time will be available for socialization over the Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch provided by GWF.  In addition, nearby hiking trails and waterfalls provide a break.   Come either Saturday or Sunday or both days.   Camping spaces will be available in the meadow beginning at noon on  Nov 5. 
Contact:  Eddi Minche: eddmin@gmail.com to sign up or for more information 

The Sixth Annual Hemlockfest Music Festival will be held November 5-7 at Starbridge Retreat near Dahlonega, Ga.  This year’s musical lineup promises to be one of the best yet, with an exciting variety of rock, blues, bluegrass, and mountain music acts.

Smokestack and the Foothill Fury will kick off  the festival Friday as a one man blues band  sidewalk style, then Veronika Jackson will grab souls with her unique blend of folk and blues, followed by gritty roadhouse rockin’ blues from Blue Mother Tupelo.  Then the energetic bluegrass of the popular Packway Handle Band will be followed up by The Michelle Malone Banned performing its soulful blues/rock sound.

Saturday’s all-day lineup features bands with local, regional, and national followings.  Local favorites Barry Bailey and the Family Honor will play during the day.  The afternoon lineup is anchored by the Vespers, a band out of Nashville that is rapidly building a strong reputation for compelling folk rock music, and Emerald Rose, a Dahlonega Celtic rock band with a national following.  Saturday night will feature the blues sound of Donna Hopkins, fresh bluegrass talent from the Children of the Hemlock, the eclectic roots-based music from St. Francis, and the perennial festival favorite Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance, with their irresistible jam-rock show.  After the sun goes down Unifire dancers promise to mesmerize the audience with their unique fire-dancing.

Sunday’s lineup will feature old-time roots music from The Buzzard Mountain Boys, Curley Maple (with David and Noel Blackmon), and the Mosier Brothers (with Rev. Jeff Mosier).

Hemlockfest is a musical benefit awareness and fund raiser held each year by the Lumpkin Coalition to help support efforts to combat the woolly adelgid parasites which are killing the native hemlock trees of the Blueridge Mountains and all up the east coast. 

About us: The Lumpkin Coalition is a 100% volunteer non-profit 501c3 charitable organization established in 2005 and dedicated to preservation of a clean and healthy environment, responsible living, and responsible growth.  It is based in Lumpkin County, Georgia with membership throughout the Southeast.

After a 13-year hiatus, the Mid-South Native Plant Conference returns to Memphis October 8 through October 10, 2010. With the theme “Natives and Beyond: Sustainable Plants, Gardens and Communities” the conference brings a world-class roster of nationally acclaimed horticulturalists, botanists, and other environmental experts to Memphis. The conference is hosted by Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 4339 Park Ave., Memphis, TN.

The purpose of the 2010 native plant conference is to promote awareness of the use of plant choices, horticultural practices and garden designs that work with nature and have a positive environmental impact. Attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in sessions with world-class speakers who will provide the tools necessary for safe and ecological gardening to increase their own sustainability.

On the evening of October 8th, the event will be kicked off with Felder Rushing, author, former Extension Service urban horticulture specialist for Jackson, MS. and syndicated columnist,  speaking on “How to Grow Natives in an Urban Setting” and tours of the Dixon gardens including the recently redesigned woodland gardens by Dale Skaggs, Dixon’s Director of Horticulture.

Saturday, October 9, will be a full day of distinguished speakers, many never having spoken before in the Memphis area.  Key note speaker, Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, new president of Missouri Botanical Garden will speak on “Botanic Gardens of the World as Developing Centers for Plant Conservation and Sustainability.  After Dr. Wyse Jackson, the conference will present the following sessions:

C. Colston Burrell, garden designer, award-winning author, and teacher from Charlottesville, VA. “Great Natives for Tough Places”

Ann English, landscape architect and rain scapes specialist of Montgomery Co., MD. “Storm Water Landscapes: Rain Gardens and other Strategies for Improving Water Quality”

Rick Lewandowski, director of Mt. Cuba Center, Greenville, DE. “Nurturing Gardens Inspired by Nature”

Don Shadow of Shadow Nurseries, Winchester, TN. “New and Useful Native Plants for Mid-South Gardens and Landscapes”

An optional guided field trip through Overton Park’s Old Forest and private garden tours will be offered on Sunday, October 10.   Cost is $100 with registration prior to September 1, 2010 and $125 after includes light evening refreshments, continental breakfast, box lunch and on-site vendor access.  For additional details contact Emily Halpern at 901-312-1252 or access www.dixon.org
 

You are invited to attend the 37th annual Natural Areas Conference hosted by the Natural Areas Association (NAA), with co-hosts: the Missouri Department of Conservation, the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, the Missouri Natural Areas Committee, and the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils.
This year's conference will be held at the Tan-Tar-A Resort on the shores of beautiful Lake of the Ozarks in the Osage River Hills region of the Missouri Ozarks.
Missouri's Ozark Highlands are home to some of the largest springs in the world, thousands of caves, the largest block of remaining forest and woodland in the central midwest, and many endemic species. Within an hour drive of Tan-Tar-A Resort are tallgrass prairies, glades, savannas, woodlands, forests, fens, caves, springs, Ozark streams, and the Missouri River.
Please join us as we connect today's natural area managers with academics and students and young natural resource professionals with seasoned professionals from a variety of natural resource disciplines.

Included in Full Conference Registration:
•   Attendance throughout the week at conference sessions, roundtables and workshops
•   Opening day events, including the Plenary and the Tuesday evening social
•   Refreshments during session breaks
•   Thursday Awards Dinner and Auction; Presentation of the George B. Fell and Carl N. Becker Stewardship Awards
•   Thursday field trips - your choice from a large selection of natural areas, wilderness destinations and cultural sites
•   Unlimited networking opportunities, camaraderie and learning experiences!

Additional information can be found at: http://www.naturalarea.org/10Conferfence/

Register at: http://www.naturalarea.org/10Conferfence/registration.html


Questions regarding the 2010 Natural Areas Conference, including workshops or sponsorship opportunities:
Tim Nigh, 2010 Conference Organizer
Missouri Department of Conservation
(573) 882-9909 x3244
NAA2010@mdc.mo.gov

Deb Kraus, Director
Natural Areas Association
(541) 317-0199
mail@naturalarea.org

ANNOUNCEMENT AND FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS
                    7TH Eastern Native Grass Symposium
            “Native Grasses on Working and Natural Landscapes”
                            October 5 - 8, 2010
                         Knoxville Marriott Hotel
                               Knoxville, TN
The Eastern Native Grass Symposium features a special emphasis on working
landscapes that will include sessions on biofuels, ecosystem restoration,
forage, seed production/landscaping, land reclamation (mines, landfills,
etc.) wildlife management and other topics of interest for native grasses
in the eastern United States and Canada.

Several field trips are being planned to sites in East Tennessee that will
include the recently completed cellulosic biofuels production facility, the
first of its kind in the United States, associated biomass production
fields (switchgrass), forage production fields, the largest oak savannah
restoration project east of the Mississippi, a pine savannah restoration
site, wildlife management areas, and more.

The symposium will be held in downtown Knoxville,Tennessee at the Knoxville
Marriott http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/tysmc-knoxville-marriott/ .
Reservations may be made by contacting them at 800-228-9290 or at the same
web page where you register for the meeting http://nativegrasses.utk.edu/
and clicking on the link named “Hotel”.

You may register on-line by going http://nativegrasses.utk.edu/ and
clicking on the links named “Native Grass Symposium” and “Register On-Line
Now”. Rates will go up after August 25. A credit card is required to
register on-line. If you would prefer to pre-register using a check, you
may do so by sending your payment, along with a printed registration form
(see above link to obtain a copy) to:  Eastern Native Grass Symposium
Registration, Attn: Lisa Cashion, 2431 Joe Johnson Drive, Rm 274 EPSB,
Knoxville, TN 37996-4563

Abstracts must be submitted by August 16, 2010. Authors will be notified by
September 3, 2010 if the submission is accepted. Final abstracts and full
papers for approved submissions must be received by September 17, 2010

                      Submission Deadline Extended!!
   We are now accepting submissions for oral, full papers, and posters.
Authors must submit an abstract by going to the above website and clicking
on the links named “Native Grass Symposium” and “Abstract Submission Form”.
                    Abstracts are limited to 250 words.

Please plan to join us in East Tennessee for an excellent program, great
field trips, and an outstanding opportunity to network with leaders and
practitioners in the native grass field!

Hello everybody,

I'm relocating to South Africa and have two African violets if anybody is interested.  None of  my friends has any interests in plants and I don't want to pass them on and know they will die sooner than later:-(.  Please let me know if anybody is interested in adopting them.  I live in the East Cobb area.

Report from Friday, May 14:

Carter's Lake, Hidden Pond Trail: The American Columbo (Frasera caroliniensis) was still blooming, although looking droopy when we were there. The large-leaf waterleaf (Hydrophyllum macrophyllum) was just about shot, we found one plant that was still really fresh.

Fort Mountain State Park: On the Gahuti Trail (trail that goes up the hill to the right before you get to the ticket booth), we saw nice specimens of four-leaf milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia) blooming and after making the sharp turn to the right and entering the rich cove, we saw a good many Vasey's trillium (Trillium vaseyi), although most were pretty old looking. But, the highlight of this trail was a large clump of speckled wood lilies (Clintonia umbellulata) just coming into bloom on the bank to the right just above the trail, behind a tree!

Next we drove to the parking lot for the trail to the rock tower. If you park in the first parking space on the left, in the wooded section in the middle of the loop across the road from where the trails begin you'll find Ash-leaf goldenbanner (Thermopsis fraxinifolia) blooming. And, standing on the wooden deck at Cool Springs Overlook, you'll see bristly locust (Robinia hispida).

Richard Ware

As of today, the American columbo are starting to bloom at the trail at the reregulation dam at Carter's Lake.  Waterleaf are in bloom and a few larkspur are hanging on.

Columbo that are flowering are not as numerous as some past years, but there are quite a few with flower stalks up and some of the flowers open.