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a voice for the natural landscaping movement N ATIVE P LANTS, NATURAL L ANDSCAPES JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2004 VOL. 17, NO. 3 HANDSOFF.EDU Once, not so long ago, children grew up with a hands-on understanding of plants, animals, and the interconnectedness of all life. Why is everything inside so different now, and what can we do about it? Excerpted from Noah’s Children: Restoring the Ecology of Childhood, by Sara Stein. Notes from the President: Encouraging Change Through the Use of Fifty children sat imprisoned in their school The children trooped off the bus and, after Regionally Native Plants. 2 bus while a park naturalist climbed aboard to some milling around to partner with friends, Have You Listened to “bring them under control.” He had told me lined up facing the naturalist for his introduc- Your Pine Trees Lately? 5 that this had to be done on the bus because tory lecture. The descent once the children spilled out onto the parking from kame to kettle Let It Burn. 6 lot, there was no way to get their attention or would be 800 feet – and Web Sites: Ours and bring them to order. the climb back the Others. 7 He explained the rules. The students were same. Groan. The chil- Conversations: A New Place for to walk in pairs and never leave the trail. They dren’s home city lies Discussion. 8 were to keep their hands at their sides, not to as level as water in the pick any flowers, and not to touch so much as bed of an ancient It’s All One Piece: An Example of the Dynamics of Extinction. 10 a leaf. They could ask questions when the lake: few of them had group stopped to listen to what the naturalist ever climbed a hill. 2004 Seeds for Education explained but should not talk among them- “Ernest,” said Grants. 12 selves. “If I can hear you,” said the naturalist, one of the class A Win-Win Resolution “so can the animals.” teachers, “you re- for Indian Hill School. 14 The children were two fifth-grade classes member that: thirteen thousand years Corridors for a Healthier Environment. from an urban school in Michigan, and this ago.” “Janice,” she added, “you remember this: 15 field trip was an adjunct to their study of ice one mile thick.” Harry was having trouble glacial geology. They were certainly in the right with his arms: they kept flailing around, The Grapevine. 16 place: the park occupies 200 acres of land that, jostling other children. A teacher moved to his Railroads and Remnants. during the Ice Age’s Wisconsin Stage, which side. By prior arrangement with the naturalist, 18 ended about thirteen thousand years ago, lay wise guys were to walk with teachers. Welcome Wild Ones between two lobes of a glacier. Although So we all set off along the gritty trail to Business Members. 19 blocks of ice toppled from the melting mass our next lecture stop in an old field where one onto the land – and these huge blocks student, posing as a block of ice, was used to The Meeting Place. 20 accounted for the park’s sand and gravel soil, demonstrate how the weight of the ice block On the Horizon. 21 its steep kames and boggy kettles – the inter- forms a kettle hole, while the dirty water melt- 2004 Photo Contest. 22 lobal area has never been scoured clean of life ing from the top and running down the sides by the glacier itself. Its biodiversity was there- deposits a rim of raised sand and gravel How Much Do You Value fore astounding: five hundred species of kames. “These are vocabulary words,” warned the Journal? (Oakland Chapter’s Challenge plants, including over a dozen orchids and a a teacher. “Remember kame and kettle.” Pledge.) and Thank You number of endangered species, two of which The next stop was the poison-ivy lesson. for Memorials and Gifts. Back Cover were the only remnants of their kind in the “How many leaves?” asked the naturalist, state. The composition of the forest ranged holding a sample by its stem, which he had from southern trees like tulip poplar to boreal wrapped carefully in a spicebush leaf. “Three,” ones like larch, so I knew what a treasure of ventured several voices, but the naturalist was Celebrating 25 years diversity I was about to see. expecting that wrong Continued on page 3. restoring native plants Inside this Special 2004 Conference Issue of the Wild Ones Journal: and natural landscapes. Entire conference schedule with session details. • Mail-in registration form. Biographical info on national board candidates. • Election ballot. Notes from the President… Promoting the Use of Native Plants in Our Landscapes – Not as Plant Fascists, But By Encouraging Change Through the Use of Regionally Native Plants I recently returned The purpose of the Wild Ones national – to get the word out about the importance from a trip to organization is to promote the use of native of native plants to biodiversity and to our Southern California plants in our landscapes everywhere. We ecological future. The overuse of chemicals where Diane and I can’t accomplish this goal without being and water-intensive landscaping practices enjoyed the cacti and aware of the interrelatedness of our native are destroying our environment – our succulents in the plant environments throughout North habitat, this Earth. While it is not possible native plant gardens America. The Wild Ones Journal is Wild for everyone to return their outdoor en- of Balboa Park in Ones’ primary tool to illustrate this inter- vironment to its original native condition, San Diego, and the relatedness. Coincidentally, the last issue we can ask, as Sara Stein suggests, that mountains and deserts of the Joshua Tree of the Journal contained an article on the everyone start with one small step. Our National Monument. While at the Museum chaparral biome of Southern California. role is not to be “Plant Fascists” but is, of Natural History in Balboa Park, we The Journal has also included articles re- instead, to encourage change through the visited an exhibit of native plant paintings garding native plant species found in other use of regionally native plants. Only by A. R. Valentien completed around the North American biomes. It is Wild Ones’ through many small changes can we hope turn of the 19th century. Besides being intent to continue to expand the content to return health to our environment and blown away by their beauty and precision, of the Journal from the prairies of the retain the biodiversity necessary for all life Diane and I both observed a number of Midwest to meet the needs of native plant in our world. species that are close relatives of the natives enthusiasts throughout our continent, but it found in the Midwest. While there are will always be the responsibility of our numerous examples in the collection that chapters to promote the use of native are native only to the Southwest, the finding plants in landscapes locally. Joe Powelka, Wild Ones National President of native plants in Southern California that The interview with Sara Stein in our [email protected] are similar to those at home serves to con- last issue of the Journal, and her books, firm the interrelatedness of our native aptly define why it is important that Wild plant biomes. Ones promote native landscaping nationally Wild Ones Journal is published bimonthly by Wild Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes. Views landscaping practices to encourage biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, expressed are the opinions of the authors. Journal and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit, content may be reproduced for non-profit educa- environmental, educational, and advocacy organization. tional purposes as long as the Journal is credited as the source. Individual articles that carry a copyright are the property of the author and cannot be repro- NATIONAL OFFICE LIBRARIAN duced without the author’s written permission. No Robert Ryf • (920) 361-0792 Executive Director artwork may be reproduced, except to accompany E-mail: [email protected] Donna VanBuecken its original companion text, without written permis- P.O. Box 1274, Appleton, WI 54912-1274 CALENDAR COORDINATOR sion of the illustrator or photographer. Contact (877) FYI-WILD (394-9453) Mary Paquette • (920) 994-2505 editor if in doubt about use rights. Manuscripts and (920) 730-3986 E-mail: [email protected] illustrations are welcome; Wild Ones does not pay Fax: (920) 730-3986 for articles, photos or illustrations. For guidelines for E-mail: [email protected] BOARD MEMBERS submitting material, contact editor or see Wild President Carol Andrews, Minnesota, 06 Ones web site. Advertisers: Contact national office Joe Powelka • (608) 837-6308 Patricia Armstrong, Illinois, 04 for rates and schedule. E-mail: [email protected] Portia Brown, Kentucky, 04 WILD ONES JOURNAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Vice-President & Editor-In-Chief Jerry Brown, Kentucky, 06 Maryann Whitman • (248) 652-4004 Maryann Whitman • (248) 652-4004 Mark Charles, Michigan, 04 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Lorraine Johnson, Ontario, 04 Steve Maassen, Wisconsin, 04 (Please indicate topic in subject line.) Secretary Mariette Nowak, Wisconsin, 04 Portia Brown • (502) 454-4007 WILD ONES JOURNAL STAFF Mandy Ploch, Wisconsin, 04 E-mail: [email protected] Barbara Bray, Contributing Editor Diane Powelka, Wisconsin, 06 Janice Cook, Contributing Editor Treasurer Joe Powelka, Wisconsin, 06 Christian Nelson, Creative Director Klaus Wisiol • (847) 548-1649 Bret Rappaport, Illinois, 04 & Associate Editor E-mail: [email protected] Maryann Whitman, Michigan, 06 Communications Committee Chair Klaus Wisiol, Illinois, 06 Wild Ones recommends that you patronize Bret Rappaport Marilyn Wyzga, New Hampshire, 06 businesses that support our policies regarding E-mail: [email protected] HONORARY DIRECTORS species provenance and habitat preservation.

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