by Chris Earley

This is the time of the year where lots of mushrooms start popping up everywhere. But some of our most beautiful fungi are not the typical mushroom shape. Check out these and see if you recognize any. If you have no idea, then guess at a name before you look at the answers, you might be surprised at how close you are! The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

If you would like to learn more about fungi than join us for our final Mushrooms through Summer and Fall workshop (for this year) this Saturday.  Registration is on-line: https://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/educationandevents/workshops

by Shelley Hunt

As reluctant as we are to let summer go, the fall season always feel rejuvenating. As part of a university, this impression is amplified by the ‘new year’ feeling of the start of the school year. And sure enough, the sunny fall days bring the welcome sight of students spending time in The Arboretum, whether for a ‘nature break’ between classes, a run on the trails, a field lab, or a research project. We’re proud to be able to provide the campus community with an outdoor classroom, living laboratory, and green space for physical and mental health. Of course, fall brings lots of visitors from beyond U of G, and at this time of year The Arboretum is really a feast for the senses - the fiery colours of the trees as they seem to celebrate before winter dormancy, the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot, and even our sense of smell comes into play, for example underneath the Katsura trees in our World of Trees collection (they smell like cotton candy in the fall!). As for taste...while we don’t allow consumption of any Arboretum plants, you can always sip a warm drink or even bring a picnic as you enjoy the grounds at this time of year. Happy fall!

by Cael Wishart

Working with a Japanese garden has perhaps been the most challenging yet rewarding experience as a gardener. Techniques are down to a science, passed on through generations of Japanese gardening traditions which have established a framework that uniquely distinguishes it from other types of gardens. With so many pruning, planting and design techniques to learn from it seems overwhelming at times, but it’s what makes the garden so special. A favourite task of mine is raking patterns in the zen rock garden. There is something spiritual and meditative about hearing the wooden rake glide through thousands of tiny pebbles, carving lines that result in a pattern unique to the emotions and feelings in that moment. This is what makes the process meditative as there is never a “proper” design or pattern to rake, but strictly how the gardener feels in that moment. The space is more than just a typical garden. It is more about how it makes you feel. This not only applies to myself as the gardener, but also the user of the space. These gardens are intended for relaxation and mental therapy, which ultimately relates to the plant choices and layout of the landscape.

At times I am simply just the caretaker for an already established landscape. However, this in itself is challenging as weeding, pruning, rock garden raking and general cleanliness must be managed on a daily basis to correspond with the ideals of classic Japanese gardening. Aside from the daily routines, the past year have included some exciting additions. Most notably, the recent completion of the entrance fence has given new life to a lost element of the garden. The fence emulates conventional Japanese fence design while incorporating a wood burning and preservation technique called Shou sugi ban. This dates back to early Japanese gardening traditions through the use of holding wood over a fire and spending hours charring the wood. Eventually this was adopted by Western cultures with more modern technologies like propane torches which speeds this process up significantly. Charring of this wood (typically cedar) is intended to make it weatherproof, ideally lasting decades if done correctly.

Complementing the fence will be the restoration of the thyme garden bed in front. Once a striking feature of the garden, the woolly thyme was neglected for a few years allowing weeds to seed ultimately becoming a nightmare to maintain. The goal is to establish ideal planting conditions for the site with adjustments to topography allowing for proper drainage and alluring aesthetics.


Japanese Garden prior to new fence

New fence in Japanese Garden

raked pattern in Zen Garden

by Kitty Lin

There’s one thing in fall that I look forward to even more than comfy sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes - hawk migration! As the weather cools and many critters start to hide away for the coming winter, food becomes scarce. So, many birds decide to take a vacation down south where it’s warmer and there’s more food for them to eat. Among these migrating birds are some of my favourite birds, the hawks. This makes the start of fall a very exciting time for bird nerds like me because it’s a great time to see them as they pass through southern Ontario on their migration paths!

If that hasn’t convinced you to run outside right now with your binoculars yet, what about the promise of some more uncommon species to add to your life list? The Broad-winged Hawk is native to Ontario but tends to hang out further up north in the boreal forest and isn’t seen too often here in southern Ontario. Before you get too upset, though, there’s good news! In the fall, every single one of these little hawks in Ontario will make the trip down south, travelling even as far down as central South America. If you keep your eyes to the skies and go to the right places, you might be lucky enough to see hundreds of thousands of these guys passing through southern Ontario in their migration!


Juvenile Broad-winged Hawk
Photo by Chris Earley

Including the Broad-winged Hawk, we have 7 different species of raptors with the word “hawk” in their name here in Ontario. Among these hawks, we have two different groups: the buteos and the accipiters. In general, hawks tend to have broad, rounded wings and chunky bodies. The accipiters, including species such as the Cooper’s Hawk and the Sharp-Shinned Hawk, have decided to accessorize this model with a long, skinny tail. This makes them very fast and agile flyers, perfect for maneuvering between the trees in a forest and hunting other birds. The buteos, such as the Broad-winged Hawk and the Red-tailed Hawk, on the other hand, have opted for a short, square tail. And instead of fast flying, these guys are mega lazy! They don’t like to flap their wings very much or chase down prey; they would much prefer to sit and wait for their prey to come to them. They also happen to be my favourite type of hawk, so I’m not sure what that says about me…


Cooper’s Hawk (left) and Red-tailed Hawk (right)
Photos by Chris Earley

At first, this lazy lifestyle doesn’t seem very effective, especially for hawks that will be migrating thousands of kilometers every year. But put those doubts away because these hawks have some cool tricks up their sleeve to help them out! They love to just hold their wings out and soar, which is perhaps the laziest way of flying out there. This allows them to take advantage of something called “hot air thermals”. What is a hot air thermal, you ask? Well, imagine this. On a nice, sunny day, the sun will shine down on the earth and heat up the ground. The ground then heats up the air above it. Hot air rises so we get a column of rising hot air - that’s what we call a hot air thermal! Hawks will hold their wings out over these thermals and let the hot air push them up in the sky, kind of like riding a hot air elevator. When they reach the top floor, all they need to do is point their beaks to where they want to go and glide down. At the bottom, they’ll find another hot air thermal and do the same thing all over again! This method of riding and gliding on air allows them to travel very far distances without flapping their wings very much or using a lot of energy.

I assume that by now, you’ve got your binoculars on and are ready to run outside for some hawk-watching. If you’ve missed the hawk migration though, have no fear because you can still see hawks all year round in Ontario! While Broad-Winged Hawks are fully migratory and will all migrate down south for the winter, most other hawks are only partially migratory and some individuals will stay through the ice and snow in the coming months. So, it’s never too late to go on a hawk walk and I wish you all some happy birding!

This year The Arboretum is one of several locations in the province that are hosting a project on Oak wilt disease. Oak wilt is a fungal disease that primarily affects the red oak section of oaks (red, black, pin oak). The disease occurs when a fungus, Bratziella fagacearum, is transmitted among oak trees. Nitidulid beetles can act as a vector of the disease, but once a tree has become infected with the fungus the disease also spreads among oak trees through roots that are in contact with each other. Mortality among the red oaks is high and infected trees die quickly. Oaks in the white oak section (swamp white, white, bur) are also affected but can sometimes live for years after infection. Oak wilt disease was first detected in Wisconsin in the 1940’s and is believed to be non-native, with some evidence suggesting it was introduced from Central or South America. Over time the disease has spread, and now occurs near the border of Ontario, although no infected trees have yet been detected in the province.

The research project being run by Dr. Sharon Reed at the Ontario Forest Research Institute is focused on ways to prevent the establishment of the disease in Ontario. One way to do this is to avoid wounding (pruning or cutting) oaks during time periods when the beetles are flying. This requires knowing which species of nitidulids are most attracted to the oak wilt fungus and freshly wounded oak trees, as well as other factors associated with beetle flight such as time of year and temperature. By developing a model that incorporates these factors, the researchers hope to be able to predict when trees would be most at risk of being infected, so that wounding activities could be avoided during that time.

In The Arboretum, researchers have installed a number of beetle flight traps and are collecting beetles from oak wounds to determine which nitidulid beetles are acting as vectors of the fungus and when large numbers of those beetles are flying.

                         
                          Beetle Flight Trap

                  
                   Wounded tree that will be monitored for nitidulid beetles

We are very pleased to be hosting a talk by artist and horticulturalist Lorraine Roy on Wednesday, November 20th at 7:00 p.m. in the Arboretum Centre Auditorium. Inspired by the ancient Eastern White Cedars that cling to the Niagara Escarpment, Lorraine will explore the stories that tree rings tell us about forests and take us into the world of tree ring science. With contributions from tree ring expert Dr. Ze’ev Gedalof, the evening will include a display of Lorraine’s beautiful and soulful textile art.

The season for many of our volunteers who work on the grounds is approaching the end for the year. We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for all that our volunteers do here at The Arboretum; both on the grounds and in other capacities such as the front desk, distributing flyers, the plant sale and much more. The Arboretum wouldn't be what it is today without all of our volunteers. Thank you for helping The Arboretum grow!

Check out our popular merchandise and publications .... biodiversity sheets, booklets, t-shirts, hats, buttons, window decals and calendars. You can order it all on-line and have it shipped to you or stop in during business hours and pick it up yourself.

Join Jenny or Kitty every Wednesday until the end of the year at 12:15 as they explore the grounds on a 50 minute hike. It is a wonderful way to explore the fall colours and so much more that fall offers on The Arboretum grounds. The walk is free and you should meet at the kiosk at the end of the promenade closest to campus if you are interested in participating.

Have you booked your company Christmas party yet? The Arboretum is the perfect location. There are still some dates available. Contact Dawn Ann Webster, our Bookings Co-ordinator for further information: [log in to unmask] or 519-824-4120 ext. 54110.

Our meeting and banquet rooms are also great spaces for meetings, conferences, weddings, celebrations of life, anniversaries, birthdays and more.

 
Auditorium set for Christmas party        Boardroom

 
Auditorium set for a wedding                West Lawn set for a wedding ceremony

Would you like to see more of what is happening at The Arboretum or read more nature related information? Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr and YouTube by searching @uogarboretum.

The Mushrooms through Summer and Fall and Gull workshops and "What's Up Tonight?" Planetarium programs 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.

Registering early is important for us because we need lead time to decide if there are enough people registered to run the workshop or not. To encourage registering before the deadline, we have an Early Bird Fee. You can still register after the deadline, but it will cost an extra $10, so why not register early?

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 remember 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.

Our September has been a wet one, but we still have some fun sightings to report. Our best is the first record of a Bolas Spider in The Arboretum (found by University of Guelph entomology professor Steve Marshall). This wonderful beast catches its prey in a very special way. It produces a sticky glob that is suspended on the end of a silk thread. The glob emits a smell that mimics a pheromone used by certain species of female moths to attract males. But when a male gets close to this glob, the spider swings the "bolas" around and when it hits the moth it sticks to it! Then the spider just reels it in. Cool, eh?

Other sightings include many warbler species coming to the Gosling Wildlife Gardens recirculating stream. Vireos, sparrows, kinglets and thrushes are also in the gardens, fueling up during their migration south. We had a great year for monarch butterflies and many were seen in the month of September in our goldenrod fields.

The wet weather recently has produced many fruiting bodies of fungi in our forests. The shapes, textures and colours of these wonderful beings are worth the search in our forested areas. But remember to leave them be - we are a non-consumptive use area!

 
Monarch Butterfly                                  Tennessee and Nashville Warblers
photo by Brenda Doherty                        photo by Jan Mersey

  
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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:

Jayne Whitfield
Gift Planning Manager
at (519) 824-4120 ext. 56196 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask]