For both ecological and economic reasons we no longer print and mail a seasonal program listing our workshops and special events. The information is now distributed via this e-newsletter and is always available on our website. We do appreciate your past and future support of our workshops; the income supports other Arboretum educational endeavours such as brochures, signs, booklets, tours and our website.

If you know of people who may be interested in our workshops who do not receive this e-newsletter we would appreciate if you would pass this information on to them. To subscribe to the newsletter follow the simple instructions as outlined on our webpage at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/educationandevents/enewsletter.shtml

If you have a spot in your community or at your workplace where you can display our workshop posters, please send us an e-mail at [log in to unmask] and we will be happy to send them to you.

Below is a list of upcoming workshops at The Arboretum. Please forward this e-mail to your friends and colleagues! The more participants we have, the more programs we can offer.

We now offer an on-line registration process which allows you to register for our programs 24/7 as they say, not just during our regular business hours. A secure link is provided for this easy registration process. Click here for the link.

The last couple of weeks have been AMAZING for tracking our Arboretum inhabitants. Can you identify any of the following tracks of species that we have found recently? Note that the animals don't have a hole in their pocket - I have placed a quarter beside some of the tracks so you can get an idea of the size. If you are keen on learning more, we still have room in our Tracking Workshop on Friday (January 23)! The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

by Shelley Hunt

When you hear the word ‘endangered’, what comes to mind? Maybe a mammal or bird…but what about plants? One of the behind-the-scenes features of our Arboretum is our membership in organizations devoted to the issue of plant conservation. We belong to Botanic Gardens Conservation International, an organization that supports plant conservation efforts around the globe and recently released a sobering report on the status of plants worldwide. As you can imagine, assessing each of the approximately 400,000 plant species on the planet (about a quarter of which are trees and shrubs) is a daunting task, but preliminary estimates show that more than 40% of all plant species may be threatened with extinction. This should serve as a wake-up call, given that plants do so much to support life on the planet (including us!) – not only by providing food and shelter, but also in helping to regulate the environment that we and other species depend on (climate, water quality, etc.). The culprits are land-use change (such as conversion from forest to cropland), climate change, pollution…the usual suspects, all stemming from human over-use of Earth’s finite resources. We all have the power to reduce these impacts by consuming resources wisely and treading more lightly on the planet.

Botanic gardens, including our Arboretum, are important players in plant conservation efforts by harbouring rare and threatened tree species in living plant collections, by making seeds and plants available for restoration plantings out on the landscape and by sharing expertise in plant propagation and care. Right here in Guelph, our Arboretum maintains numerous ‘living gene bank’ collections of trees and shrubs that are in trouble in Ontario, like cucumber tree, blue ash, and eastern flowering dogwood. We strive to represent as much of a species’ genetic diversity as possible in these gene banks, as an insurance policy against the vagaries of changing environment, and with the hope that we will be able to ultimately help these trees and shrubs flourish again in their natural habitats.

Part of the plant conservation problem is the lack of recognition by the public and policy makers that plants, and plant diversity, are essential to our well-being on the planet. So, maybe the most important role that Arboreta and other botanic gardens can play is in educating visitors and inspiring people to care about plants!

Arboreta and other botanic gardens are also valuable research sites for studies on the driving forces of plant species loss, like climate change. Last summer, for example, our Arboretum hosted a graduate student from Purdue University who was studying the amount of carbon dioxide taken up by the leaves of a variety of tree species at different latitudes, hoping to better understand how climate drives the uptake of carbon by plants (plants absorb carbon from the air during photosynthesis, using it to produce sugars and other substances, taking it out of the atmosphere for a period of time). Amazingly, despite all the knowledge we have about plants, it is not so easy to predict how temperature affects carbon uptake by plant leaves, and this translates to uncertainty in the huge computer models that are used to peer into the future of the planet as the climate warms. Sites like our Arboretum, with its huge variety of both native and non-native tree species, provide great opportunities for this and other kinds of research. Next time you visit, if the snow’s not too deep, have a look at the tree identification tags at the bottom of our collection trees – see how many different species you can find.

by Ric Jordan

Welcome to 2015! I hope that you were able to enjoy the break with family and although the weather was unseasonably warm it did allow for safe travels on dry roads. When winter did arrive it did come with a vengeance however bringing to mind last year’s prolonged deep freeze. I don’t think we are going to experience anything quite like that but one never knows. Thinking about the new year always brings to mind Y2K and all the catastrophic predictions for our computer enhanced world of the time. Fifteen years later our lives are even more entwined with computers and related gadgets that can take over our lives. While I don’t like to name names 3 of us received Fitbits, those wearable units which count our steps, calculate calories burned and award badges for accomplishments among other things. I just received my Penquin badge for completing 70 miles – the distance Emperor penquins cover going to their breeding grounds, and here I thought it was for going out on a couple of those bitingly cold windy days. I must say though that having set a goal of 10,000 steps a day it does get me out for walks on a more regular basis where I meet other hardy souls who are enjoying the weather and exercise, not necessarily in that order. If you are one of our regular visitors please let us know of your sightings, send your photographs or report issues that you find. I like to think of you as our eyes on the ground so to speak as it is difficult to regularly cover all areas with our limited numbers especially in winter.

I’m afraid I digressed a bit so back to Y2K and fifteen years later I’m pleased to say that The Arb is still here, in fact growing: we continue to expand the numbers in our existing plant collections with plans for additional collections, more researchers and students are using the grounds in scholarly pursuits, we’ve provided a home for the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming and also a research site for G360 – Centre for Applied Groundwater Research, hosted Canadian, University and high school X-Country championship races and much more. Something that has changed in the intervening years is our staff. Along with a handful of long serving faithful volunteers only Chris and I predate 2000 which is a good thing. In a much earlier column I made the statement that while I don’t necessarily consider The Arboretum to be a garden in a classical sense my definition of gardening is change and that includes staff changes whether through loss, replacement or expansion.

A fairly recent method of communication that Barb and I try to keep on top of are postings of interest to our Facebook and Twitter accounts. It is a challenge sometimes to keep the info flowing however our followers are growing with some 900 likes on our Facebook page and around 1200 followers on Twitter. So if you are a user of either medium check us out, we try to post regularly but not to the point of overkill. Plus if it isn’t for you it is very easy to unlike or stop following. Something I am trying to do on both mediums is post a Word of the Week - some may be familiar, some not but hopefully all will be interesting. Last week’s word was Werifesteria – Old English – To wander longingly through the forest in search of mystery.




Watch this space for upcoming changes!

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. – Frank Lloyd Wright

Slainte
ric

Congratulations to all of you that were engaged over the Holiday Season! If you or someone you know is looking for a space for your wedding ceremony and / or reception please contact Barb Watson – Ash at 519-824-4120 ext. 54110 or [log in to unmask]. Further information on our unique reception facilities and outdoor ceremony sites can be found on our website.

 
West Lawn                                                Auditorium

On Saturday, January 13, eleven hardy birders braved the frigid temperatures and windy conditions (it was -17 C when we started without adding in the wind chill) to conduct the 36th annual Arboretum Winter Bird Count.

The presence of this male Sharp-shinned Hawk seemed to keep the birds away from one of our feeder stops. Photo by Ian MacDonald.

It appears that we weren't the only ones that thought it was chilly as the number of species seen was lowest recorded since 1988! But we did find one new species for the count: a Winter Wren showed itself while we were looking at some fresh Ruffed Grouse tracks. Here is the list of what we saw:

Ruffed Grouse - fresh tracks

Sharp-sinned Hawk 1

Gull (species not determined) 1

Mourning Dove 9

Downy Woodpecker 6

American Crow 4

Black-capped Chickadee 52

Red-breasted Nuthatch 2

White-breasted Nuthatch 5

Winter Wren 1

Northern Cardinal 5

Dark-eyed Junco 17

American Goldfinch 23

House Sparrow 3

This Mourning Dove seemed more interested in staying warm than in getting away from us. Photo by Ian MacDonald.

We aren't sure where all the Blue Jays, Red-tailed Hawks, American Tree Sparrows and other regular birds were hiding, but they did a good job of not showing themselves! We did get to see many fresh mammals tracks as well as a very obliging porcupine.

Sleepy Porcupine. Photo by Chris Earley

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Ian MacDonald for his great photos.

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]