by Chris Earley

Oh, what is in this quiz? Yup, it is the letter O's turn this time. How many can you get? Click here for a printable version. The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

by Shelley Hunt

In the midst of the heat and drought we have been experiencing these past few weeks, how many of you have sought out the shade of a tree for relief? I know I have! But have you wondered how the trees themselves are coping with what seems to be a significant drought? How do they manage to stay green while all of our lawns have turned brown? Well, being living things that need to eke out an existence but are faced with the challenge of being both long-lived and immobile (they need to withstand a whole range of conditions over the seasons and years, and they can’t pick up and move to a new location if the environment becomes unfavourable), trees have developed amazing adaptations to help them cope. For starters, leaves are coated with a clear, waxy cuticle that lets light through but slows evaporation of water from the surface. Some are covered with hairs that slow windspeeds at the leaf surface and reduce evaporation that way. Trees that are adapted to growing in dry places have thicker leaves, with less surface area for a given mass – this minimizes the area from which water can be lost. Needle-leaved trees are the masters at this trick – condensing their shape down to a long, round needle with a tiny surface area. Leaves can’t shut themselves up completely though – they need to let in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air in order to photosynthesize and build carbohydrates for growth and survival. Leaves are therefore covered in little pores called stomata, surrounded by ‘guard cells’ that can open and close the pores to best suit the plant. Here’s the rub – when the pores are open, CO2 can come in and oxygen can go out…but water vapour escapes too. When water is plentiful, no problem – the water loss is part of a plants normal functioning. But, when conditions are dry, the plant has to walk a fine line - close or partly close up the pores to prevent water loss, but risk ‘starving’ from lack of CO2. Luckily, most trees have a ‘pantry’ of stored carbohydrates that can help them through temporary dry times. And, many trees have deep roots that help them avoid this problem altogether – some, like various Oak and Pine species, can have tap roots that extend several metres down deep in the ground, accessing soil water and groundwater from the depths. Deep-rooted trees can keep those pores open and the carbohydrate factory chugging away even when rain has been absent from the forecast for awhile. Of course there are limits, but trees still have options even if drought persists – they can cut their losses and drop some leaves – those luxurious tissues from which water is lost – then put more energy into the growth of roots, the water seekers. They can slow or halt stem (trunk) growth to conserve resources (this is why the story of past climate can often be read in the pattern and width of tree rings). So, even though trees can’t pick up and move when the chips are down, they are far from being prisoners of their environment. In fact, in the midst of a drought, trees can even make water more available at the surface by pumping it up from deep soil layers and piping it into the upper-most roots. Of course, if trees in a given place are faced with extreme conditions, beyond what they are adapted to, year after year, they can succumb. Sometimes it is the lack of water, and the ‘starvation’ that comes from keeping stomata closed, that gets them. But drought can also make trees more susceptible to insect pests and diseases, and, zooming out to the forest level, can lead to increased fire risk. And of course, newly planted trees need extra help in droughty conditions, and our staff have been spending a lot of time watering young trees around The Arboretum grounds. Let’s hope for more rain!

Even in the midst of this heat wave, we don’t want to conjure up the Fall season too soon, but I do have news to share about changes to our Fall plans here at The Arboretum. Our Annual Plant Sale, normally held during the second weekend of September, will be going on hiatus this year. Those of you who have attended the sale know that it takes place at the R.J. Hilton Centre, The Arboretum’s horticultural headquarters north of College Ave. This general area is also poised to become the new home for the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, the construction of which is slated to begin in the coming year. Part of the new development involves renovations and improvements to Arboretum buildings as well, and the logistics of trying to run the sale in the midst of construction just didn’t add up. We’re going to use the downtime as an opportunity to re-think, re-jig and improve aspects of the plant sale, to ultimately provide an even greater experience when we bring it back after the dust settles. Sometimes, even a time-honoured tradition can use some refreshing, and we’ll now have the time to do just that. Looking forward to welcoming you all back soon to a new and improved Annual Plant Sale!

Click here for a printable / sharable version of this article.

by Alexandra Kocher

The Arboretum Centre with new window decals
Photo by Chris Earley

We here at The Arboretum were given an amazing opportunity to spice up our Arboretum Centre, so of course we had to take it! To add a splash of life to our main windows, we covered them in polka dots! The new addition isn’t for aesthetics however; it is literally giving a splash of life because these dots actually save lives and help protect our wildlife!

On any building, windows cause a threat to all sorts of bird species because birds usually only focus on the reflection of trees and sky, making it seem like the window is just an empty hole that they can fly through. When birds hit windows they may die upon impact, or leave with life threatening injuries and die within a few days. In North America, hundreds of millions of birds die each year due to window collisions, so we thought we could help reduce our own footprint.

The Arboretum has had some window strike deaths in the past, so we have put on these dots to help the birds realize that there is something there that they cannot fly through. These ‘stickers’ can be bought by anyone, meaning you can do this to your own windows at home and save some lives!

We would not have been able to do this without help, so we would like to thank the individual donors and the following groups for their dedication and donations to this project. Our birds thank you as well!

If you are interested in learning more about window applications please go to www.featherfriendly.com.

A printable version of this article is available by clicking here.

  
A Hermit Thrush sits dazed and              A Belted Kingfisher lies dead after
confused after hitting an untreated         hitting an untreated Arboretum Centre
Arboretum Centre Window                     window
Photo by Chris Earley                            Photo by Chris Earley

 
Take a look at how                     A view of the dots from inside the building -
reflective windows can be!            they are not as visible as you would think!
Birds just see the sky and           Photo by Chris Earley
trees because they have no
understanding what glass is
and how reflections work. 
Adding dots will help them
understand that it is a solid object.
Photo by Chris Earley

Join Jason, our Summer Interpretive Naturalist, for Wednesday Night Walks at The Arboretum through to August 31. The cost is only $2 per person with children under 5 FREE! Walks take place every Wednesday evening from 7 - 8:30 p.m., beginning at the J.C. Taylor Nature Centre.

For more information please contact The Arboretum at 519-824-4120 ext. 52363 or go to our website.

July 20 - Arboretum Wars: Believe it or not, there are great ongoing battles between many species here at the Arboretum which sometimes can cause great damage to the surrounding ecosystems. Who would’ve thought that The Arboretum would be such a warzone! Disease, parasites and parasitoids, theft and thrift - there’s a lot of action that goes down here atTthe Arboretum (and in your backyard)!

July 27 - Insect Inspectors: BeetleMania The beetles, “Coleo/ptera” meaning “sheathed/wings”, are the largest of the big four insect groups - it is said that 1 of every 4 living things identified is a beetle - and they’re everywhere! Let’s “scavenge”, “dive”, and “rove” through The Arboretum for these six-legged friends. What will you find in The Arboretum tonight?

August 3 - More Than Just Fish Bait: Earthworms are incredibly important for our ecosystem; they help incorporate air into our soils, they aid with decomposition by digesting organic matter, and are natural fertilizers. But at the same time, earthworms can be incredibly destructive for our ecosystem as well, changing soil structure and properties, and destroying the leaf litter. Do you really know what hangs off your fishing hooks this summer?

August 10 - Friends Forever “and as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Nature is full of friendships and mutual relationships as different species help one another out and depend on one another for survival; but not all the friendships are the greatest… - so how exactly are these different species interaction with one another? Come and find out - don’t forget to grab a friend!

August 17 - Fungi and Lichens: Why did the fungi leave the party? Because there wasn’t mush-room! - but there’s plenty of room on our Wednesday Night Walks! What are they? Why are they important? These organisms, neither plant or animal, play a huge part in our lives - from our food to our health. Often underappreciated, the fungi and lichen of The Arboretum would love to meet you!

August 24 -Who Needs A Camera Anyways? In today’s digital world, we all carry mini computers and cameras in our back pockets. We yield such power to capture, edit and share what we see! Beginner or expert, come on out to this smartphone photography workshop and snap some great shots of the natural world!

August 31 - Insect Inspectors: Goldenrod Edition. We’ve seen and have been tasted by the world of mosquitoes, we’ve crawled around with the beetles, and this time around, we’ll be wandering through fields of gold looking for more of our six-legged friends again. Prey and predator interactions, mimicry and camouflage, an entire field of treasure awaits us!

Although it definitely doesn't look or feel like Christmas outside, it is time to think about booking your company's Christmas Party. 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. We still have some good dates available … book soon before they are gone. For further information please contact Dawn Ann Webster, 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].

The Auditorium set up for a Christmas party.

Did you know that Little Miss Muffet was real, that spiders are the result of an argument between a Greek goddess and a Greek weaver, and that most spiders don't spin webs? Join Dan Schneider (a.k.a. Dan, Dan the Nature Man) to delve into the fantastic diversity of our most important predators. During this indoor and outdoor presentation, we will learn how to identify the most common families and species, and respectfully capture and observe our 8-legged neighbours. Myth, legend and fascinating facts will be woven into this fascinating look at the world of spiders. Click here for more information and/or to register.

                      
                       Candy Stripe Spider
                       Photo by John Reaume

Spider, Hawk, Growing Native Plants from Seed, Shinrin - Yoku Walk, Tree Identification, Shrub Identification and Fall Landscape 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.

Registering early is important for us because we need lead time to decide if we are running the workshop or not. To encourage registering before the deadline, we now 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 any time, 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.

As the summer heat continues, so does a lot of wildlife activity. Our Bioblitz was a huge success and included a new dragonfly species for The Arboretum (Spiny Baskettail) as well as two new sedge species. Thanks to everyone who came out to help! We were also visited by one of our local snapping turtles that has nested in the exact same spot at least three times. A Painted Turtle was been seen laying eggs along one of our paths as well, so hopefully we will see a bunch of baby turtles making their way to the ponds later this year. Our two Pileated Woodpecker babies have left the nest and we have heard the family moving around in Wild Goose Woods, so we hope that they are doing well. A new nesting record for The Arboretum this year was for a Turkey Vulture! We were very excited about this until the eggs disappeared, likely due to raccoons that frequented the same area. Hopefully the Turkey Vultures will try again next year. In the world of insects, we have now passed the 800 species mark! We will post the 800th species photo on Facebook soon - thanks to Andrew Bendall and Candice Talbot for their years of hard work on this project.

  
Snapping Turtle                                    Spinny Baskettail

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]