by Chris Earley

This month our quiz is a bit different. It still contains images of animals, plants or objects that can be found in The Arboretum, but this time each is mentioned in the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas." How many can you get? Happy Holidays! The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

by Ric Jordan

Life at The Arb is beginning to settle into that winter routine of preparing for the coming year and reflecting on the year past. More on that later, for now let’s just look at the past few weeks starting with the talk by Marc Berman on ‘The Psychological Benefits of Interacting with Nature’. Hosting a talk on a Friday afternoon can be seen as a risky event however 100+ souls attended this event and if the ensuing Q&A was an indication of the engagement of the topic it was a resounding success. Many thanks to the Keith family as costs were covered through the Robert H. ‘Bob’ Keith Endowment for Arboretum Education Programs. We hope to host 3 such talks through the year so watch our newsletter or website for announcements of these events.

Also a first for us was a ‘Buckthorn Pull’ event organized by the UofG Student Chapter of the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER) recently. This is a newly formed club on campus and we look forward to an ongoing relationship with them as volunteers and also in an educational manner. Thanks to Kellen and Polly for all their preparation work and Shelley and Sean for leading this enthusiastic group of 15 to remove invasive buckthorns from the campus boundary. No attempt was made to count the removals but the piles were impressive.

Not being a birder I am always amazed by the activity that occurs when a rare or out of season sighting is reported at The Arb. Almost immediately visitors appear in the reported area looking to spot the elusive find and obtain a photo for their records. Such was the case when a Fox Sparrow was spotted by Marlene Hart and photographed by Kelly Balkom earlier this month. Thanks for sharing your shot Kelly.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52649814@N05/15954983065/in/photolist-qiTsAV-q2jYSw-qiHqQX

Our new visitor map is just about ready to be sent off to be produced for installation at the pedestrian entrance from campus. A second installation will be part of an information display to be installed inside the Hales-McKay Memorial Shelter early in the new year as well. At present staff are wordsmithing the text to be used as part of this way finding installation. Once this is finalized we will be ordering new Arb Map brochures which will be available onsite or as a printable PDF from our website.

While the University is closed for business from Dec 24th until Jan 5th the grounds are open dawn to dusk for you to enjoy whether it be for bird watching, hiking, X-country skiing or other activities. And last but not least would be a wish from all staff and volunteers for you to enjoy a Merry Christmas and Joyous New Year !

  
Marc Berman Talk                             Students clearing Buckthorns

           
                                  Students clearing Buckthorns
    

by Sean Fox

Despite the generic mental image that some of us may get when we picture a "pine" tree, the pine family is actually incredibly diverse. Did you know that there are approximately 113 different species of pine on this planet with North America being home to over 70 of them?

In Ontario, you may be most familiar with some of our native species such as: white pine (P. strobus), red pine (P. resinosa), jack pine (P. banksiana) and pitch pine (P. rigida). You may also know some of the commonly cultivated species of Eurasian origin such as Austrian pine (P. nigra), Scots pine (P. sylvestris) and mugo pine (P. mugo). But one species that you are most likely unfamiliar with is the magnificent Jeffrey Pine (P. jeffreyi).

Jeffrey pine is native to Nevada, Oregon and Mexico, but is most often found in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. Despite originating from these seemingly warm locations, it is still very cold-hardy in much of Ontario. This tree is naturally found growing at high elevations on exposed rocky sites, and due to this choice of habitat it must be able to tolerate harsh, dry and cold conditions. In these extreme situations, the trees are often small and stunted, but on more favourable sites Jeffrey Pine can reach significant proportions. By volume, this tree is the second largest pine species in the world trailing only sugar pine (P. lambertiana). The "Eureka Valley Giant" in California stands 58m (192 feet) tall while the diameter of its trunk is over 2.5m (8 feet) wide! (Van Pelt, 2001)

Foresters and botanists used to consider Jeffrey pine and the closely related Ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa) to be one species. While there are several physical characteristics that can be used to separate the two species, the most interesting difference between the two is the chemical make-up of their resin. By sniffing the furrows between the bark of a Jeffrey pine, you will be pleasantly surprised by the scent of vanilla; Ponderosa pine lacks this feature.

Trouble can also occur from this resin, however. The vanilla scent emitted by Jeffrey pine is made up of a variety of organic chemicals, including the volatile heptane. In the past, heptane obtained from Jeffrey pines had been used in the development of octane ratings for gasoline (Van Pelt, 2001). The resin from Ponderosa pine was historically used to produce turpentine. However, in the event that Jeffrey pine resin was collected by accident the heptane contained within would result in a violent explosion during the turpentine production process. This was certainly an identification error that those involved would not make twice!

You can find Jeffrey pine growing in The Arboretum's Conifer Collection, where it is quite visible while traveling by on Victoria road. When visiting, you will notice the distinct texture of the needles that differs from the nearby Ponderosa pines and the many other species contained in the collection. And best of all, you don't have to book a trip to California or Mexico this winter as you can see the wonderful and unique Jeffrey pine right here at The Arboretum!

   
Pinus jeffreyi                                     Pinus jeffreyi cones
Photo by Sean Fox                           Wikimedia Commons

Looking for a great gift for the nature lover? We have a series of 5 booklets: Feeder Birds, Wildflowers, Mammals, Dragonflies and Summer Garden Birds. Each booklet is full colour and is $8. Details can be found on our website.

We also have a nature journal with a series of colour photos in the centre pages and lots of unique pages with leaf backgrounds for sketching or journaling. Each journal is $10.

Our Biodiversity placemats are $4 each or $40 for the set of all 12. Each double-sided, laminated placemat features a different group of local organisms.

Gift certificates are also available for our workshops. Owl Prowls make a fabulous family outing or check out our other workshops.

To purchase these booklets, journals, placemats or gift certificates please call ext. 52358 or e-mail us at [log in to unmask]. We would be happy to mail these out to you (a mailing fee will apply).

The Arboretum is part of the University of Guelph so we therefore are closed when the University is closed. We will be closed Wednesday, December 24, 2014 and re-open on Monday, January 5, 2015. The grounds remain open for you to enjoy from dawn to dusk daily during this time. If you have purchases that you would like to make please visit us prior to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 23.

Owl, Animal Tracking, Owl Prowls, Winter Landscapes Photography and Basic SLR 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.

As Ric has already mentioned above, winter birding is bringing more birders than usual to The Arboretum. The Fox Sparrow was a big draw as was the White-throated Sparrow that was traveling with it. Both have been seen on and off at the bird feeders beside The Arboretum Centre. We have also had a few sightings of Hermit Thrushes throughout our grounds and a Pileated Woodpecker has been impressing many hikers as they stroll through our wooded areas. A beautiful coyote has also be seen moving through our site recently and, when there is snow on the ground, its tracks can be found crisscrossing our different habitats.

  
Fox Sparrow                                 Hermit Thrush
Photo by Kelly Balkom                  Photo by Ruth Cummings

                             
                              Pileated Woodpecker
                              Photo by Kelly Balkom

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]