by Chris Earley

F is for Fall! This quiz is for you to do with a child in your life. How many "f" organisms can you get? Also, what season can you see them? Answers are at the end of the newsletter.

by Ric Jordan

Seems like fall has come early with the cooler temperatures but the colours have been spectacular and I hope you were able to enjoy them before the Thanksgiving weekend. Bruce Trail Day was celebrated the previous weekend and we went for a loop hike at the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. The connecting portion of the loop is a steep climb or descent side trail, depending which way you are going, named after the late Dorothy Medhurst, a long time Arboretum Auxiliary member and great supporter and lover of the Bruce Trail. Although cool and slightly damp the scenery was wonderful and while we made our way up the escarpment many memories of time spent visiting and talking with Dorothy came back to me. The property the side trail runs beside was once a farmer’s field which Dorothy and her husband, Samuel Hoffman, bought many years ago and commenced to plant trees. Now it is a veritable forest which is practically indistinguishable from surrounding woodlands. She was a forerunner in so many ways whether in the field of teaching children’s art, nature studies, women’s rights or the living simply movement. She is missed by all who had the good fortune to meet her and call her a friend.

You may ask why I am reminiscing about someone who passed away almost 4 years ago. Apart from BTC hike reminding me so poignantly of her I had the opportunity to lead an exploratory tour of The Arboretum for a group of new students last week and I came to realize that The Arb is not unlike Dorothy’s property. It has gone from agricultural fields and pasture lands to a woodland paradise with some display gardens thrown in for good measure. Forty five years ago, looking from the present site of the Arboretum Centre towards campus, the only trees in view was a band of maples and beech below East Residence. While our forest is organized for teaching and research purposes it has grown beyond expectations and the site is actually larger today than it was in 1970.

As a volunteer with our plant sale group Dorothy would make twice weekly drives from Caledon or Toronto to assist from April until after the plant sale in September and she did this into her mid 90s. This is my way of leading to report that once again our plant sale was a resounding success although it was a cool day. People were in line 2 hours before the gates opened and bargains were snapped up in record time. This event is our biggest one off fundraiser each year and I’m happy to say that sales were just under $24,000. Thank you to all who assisted on the day of and to those who come out and support us while enhancing their property with hard to find woodies and excellent perennials.

The following weekend the 26th annual Wall Custance Memorial Forest Dedication Service was held on a day when all eyes were turned to the sky in the morning but the afternoon brought warmth and sunshine to approximately 2500 individuals paying respects to a loved one lost in the preceding year. Many thanks go out the staff at Wall Custance for this program of support.

In my last report I mentioned a new arbor installation at the Gosling Wildlife Gardens. I’m happy to report it is in and looks great. Thanks to Ben O’Hara, Pollination Guelph, the Gosling Foundation and others who assisted. Plantings still need to go in and appropriate signage which should all be in place by early spring.

People often ask what goes on at The Arb and I’m happy to say a lot, both in the buildings and on the grounds. While not typical for busyness but a sign of what can happen one day last week saw: Third Age Learning lectures in auditorium, an OVC committee meeting in Boardroom, Tree ID workshop at Hilton Centre, a grade 3 class from Cambridge using the grounds as an outdoor classroom, a GryFITT tour of new students and the DaVinci program at Taylor Centre. These are the ones we knew about. So many people make positive comments on various social media venues that we appreciate so if you haven’t had an Arb experience come out and have one and then tell us about it.

  
Plant Sale 2014                              Plant Sale Line 2014
Photo by Chris Earley                      Photo by Chris Earley

                       
                         Wall Custance Memorial Forest Dedication Service
                         Photo by Sean Fox

Join us Friday, November 21, 2014 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in The Auditorium, Arboretum Centre for a talk by Marc Berman entitled “The Psychological Benefits of Interacting with Nature” Admission is free.

Marc Berman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago who studies the ability of natural environments to improve affect, attention and memory. Marc received his Ph.D. in Psychology and in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan. He received post-doctoral training at the University of Toronto's Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest. Before arriving in Chicago he was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of South Carolina.

The talk is Sponsored by The Robert H ‘Bob’ Keith Endowment for Arboretum Education Programs.

Marc Berman

For the last 7 years, Troy McMullin has been surveying our site for lichens. During his first visit, he found 25 species. By the time he had finished his 49th visit, he, along with help from his colleague Jose Maloles, had assembled a list of 104 lichen and allied fungus species, all found within our boundaries. And one of these lichens was new to science! Other discoveries include a species new to Canada and three that are the second or third records for Ontario. Nine of the species found are rare in Ontario with a ranking of S1 (critically imperilled), S2 (imperilled) or S3 (vulnerable).

So what makes The Arboretum so lichen-friendly? It appears that our diversity of habitats (which includes old-growth forests) and various substrates (such as calcareous rock, granitic rock and different types of tree bark) provide homes for our many lichen species. Furthermore, our site seems to be a refuge from city effects. Lichens are very sensitive to pollution and their diversity in cityscapes is low. The Arboretum contains many species of lichens that were not found anywhere else within the city limits.

The results of Troy's study show that urban parks and conservation areas can provide important lichen habitat. It is hoped that The Arboretum can be used as a baseline example for other cities to study local lichen diversity and use the results to protect and enhance their urban natural areas.

To see the full paper, McMullin, R.T., J.R. Maloles, C. Earley and S.G. Newmaster. "The Arboretum: An urban refuge for lichen diversity." North American Fungi 9(5):1-16., please click here . For more information on Arboretum lichens and Troy's studies, please click here.

Lichens
Photo by Patrick Boerlin

As The Arboretum wraps up many of its outdoor activities for the year we would like to say THANK YOU to all our wonderful volunteers. Our volunteers include the people who staff the front desk, the grounds crew, the docents, the gardening group, the seed collection and cleaning crew, the plant sale group, the individuals who go out to staff a table at events, and those that volunteer a weekend for the plant sale. The Arboretum couldn't be all that we are without your contribution!

Christmas is just around the corner and The Arboretum is a perfect location for your Christmas party. We can accommodate up to 150 people for lunches or dinners with a picturesque view of The Arboretum grounds. Special Christmas party room rental rates are available. For further information please contact Barb Watson – Ash, Marketing and Bookings Co-ordinator at extension 54110, [log in to unmask] or check out our website. All catering is provided by Hospitality Services, University of Guelph. For further information on the catering please call extension 53350 or e-mail [log in to unmask].

Christmas Party in the Auditorium

Basic D-SLR Photography, Building Ponds and Waterfalls, Gulls, and Black and White Photography workshops are approaching. The dates and registration deadlines can be found in our Coming Events Listing in the column on the left side of this newsletter. A detailed description of each course is available on our website. Help us promote our programs … please forward this e-mail on to your friends and colleagues who may be interested. The more participants we have, the more programs we can offer.

Registration is available on-line which allows you to register for our programs at anytime, not just during our regular business hours. A secure link is provided on our website for this easy registration process.

If you do not have internet access registration can still be made by phone or in person at 519-824-4120 ext. 52358 as in the past. Please note that a decision is made on the registration deadline as to whether the workshop will run or not, based on the minimum number of required registrants. You may still register after the deadline as long as the workshop is running and there is space.

Fall is fungi time and we have quite a few species showing themselves at the moment in our woodlots (but no picking allowed!). One of our favourites, the Collared Earthstar, has come up again in Victoria Woods.

We also have many birds migrating through The Arboretum again this year. Our bird banding labs with the 4th year ornithology class have been wonderful. Many different species are being caught and banded. During one net check we had 5 families of birds - all in one net! These included a Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Warbling Vireo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and 2 Cedar Waxwings. Special thanks to bander Matt Iles for all of his help, leadership and guidance during these labs!

 
Collared Earthstar                          Northern Flicker

Be a part of the BetterPlanet Project by donating on-line:

Your donation can be directed to The Arboretum online through the secure University of Guelph donation page: http://uofg.convio.net/arboretum

If you prefer not to make an online donation, there are several other ways to provide your financial support. You can choose to donate by telephone, mail, fax, or in person:

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH Attention Alumni Affairs 50 Stone Road East Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 Tel: 1-888-266-3108 ext. 56934 Tel: 519-824-4120 ext. 56934 Fax: 519-822-2670 Email: [log in to unmask]

If you would like information on bequests and planned giving to The Arboretum please contact:

Ross Butler
Director, Gift Planning
at (519) 824-4120 ext. 56196 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask]