by Chris Earley

With warmer weather, moths are starting to show themselves. Butterflies often get the lion's share of Ooooos and Ahhhhhhs, but many of our moths are pretty snazzy, too. Can you identify any of these? If not, check out your porch light before you go to bed and see what moths might be attracted there. Let us know if you find the moth in the middle photo - this one should be found in The Arboretum but hasn't been confirmed yet. The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

by Shelley Hunt

The summer months can be a quiet time on campus, even while the Arboretum hums with activity as the growing season progresses. Not all students have departed, however, and among the brave ones who stick around in the summertime, many will count the Arboretum as key to their summer learning experience. The Arboretum serves as a living classroom all through the year, as many courses on campus take advantage of the multitude of resources available here – from our knowledgeable staff, who captivate students as guest instructors, to the variety of plants, animals and environments for study. The Arboretum’s tree collections set the stage for first-hand learning about the diversity of woody plants, while our natural meadows and woodlands inspire students to think and ask questions about how these ecosystems work. Our diverse and popular workshops run through all seasons as well. In the summer, however, life is in full swing and under the microscope of undergraduate and graduate students alike. The School of Environmental Sciences’ new graduate diploma program recently brought groups of students out to The Arboretum for hands-on learning of techniques for identifying trees, surveying plant diversity, and taking inventory of forest features such as downed wood. While working in Victoria Woods, the students likely passed right by the samplers set out this spring by a senior undergraduate student studying the inner workings (carbon cycling, to be exact) of the ‘pit and mound’ features on the forest floor. The Arboretum’s incredible variety of species and habitats available for teaching and research just a short walk from campus makes it an irreplaceable feature of the U of G.

Speaking of nature and education, congratulations are due to our Education Co-ordinator and Interpretive Biologist, Chris Earley. Chris is the 2013 recipient of Ontario Nature’s Richards Education Award. The award is granted to an individual who "succeeds in helping people understand the natural world and become enthusiastic supporters of conservation and environmental protection". Way to go!

Long-time Arboretum supporter, Philip Gosling, also received an award from Ontario Nature. The W.W.H. Gunn conservation award was "to individuals who demonstrate outstanding personal service and a strong commitment to nature conservation over a number of years with exceptional results."


Philip Gosling and Chris Earley
Photo by Noah Cole

by Ric Jordan

By the time you are reading this we will be mid-June and hopefully the weather will have returned, and continue to be, to seasonal. Any new plantings have enjoyed the moisture and cooler temperatures but I think we are ready for summer and those nice warm evenings to enjoy our gardens.

Speaking of gardens a new initiative has been launched by the Canadian Garden Tourism Council. This year we celebrate Canada’s Inaugural Garden Day on June 14, the Friday before Father’s Day with support from the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association and Communities in Bloom. The Garden Tourism Council wishes to emphasize the role and many benefits of gardens and arboreta in our communities as esthetic, environmental, recreational, cultural and tourism experiences. So although the official day is Friday, why not extend this celebration over the weekend and visit a public garden, botanical garden, educational garden, specialty garden, entertainment garden, arboreta, farm garden, historic garden, zoo garden or garden centre near you.

For those of you who follow The Arb on Facebook or Twitter you may read about a new educational installation we have put in the World of Trees Collection. Called ‘Vanishing Acts: Trees Under Threat’ it is a travelling exhibit developed by The Morton Arboretum in association with the Global Trees Campaign, a partnership between Fauna and Flora International and Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Throughout the collection you will find 17 ‘metal trees’ with a story board telling the plight of threatened trees. In some cases we have the tree the display is talking about, in others we have installed it near a member of the same family. For display purposes there are a couple of specimens we have obtained and planted out knowing they will not survive our winters but we will remove them and overwinter in our Greenhouse. I would encourage you to visit and take in this educational display.

Along with 18 other botanic gardens and arboreta we have partnered in an initiative called ‘Cultivating our Market’. Over three days in July we plan to survey 200 visitors to the grounds to get an understanding of who our visitor is and why they spend time in our arboretum. No doubt the results of this survey will be as varied as the participants but it is hoped we will obtain a glimpse of what visitors are looking for when they visit a public site.

Keep in touch, let us know what you think and don’t be afraid to pop in and say hi!

Vanishing Acts Display
photo by Ric Jordan

by Chris Earley

Calling all naturalists! We are holding a bioblitz on Sunday, June 23 from 10 am - 4 pm at The Arboretum Centre. We are looking for anyone (all ages welcome) who likes to look for plants, fungi and/or animals to volunteer at this event! Here are some details:

- we will be dividing into groups for hikes to look for various species
- Arboretum docents/volunteers will be on hand to help organize and lead different routes through the site
- we may be collecting specimens for the U of G Insect Collection and/or the Biodiversity Institute
- all species identified will be added to The Arboretum Biodiversity List

Come on out and learn all about the incredible biodiversity here in The Arboretum! We think we could be the most biodiverse university campus in Canada...go, Guelph, go!

Join Mike, the new Summer Interpretive Naturalist, for Wednesday Night Walks at The Arboretum June through August. The cost is only $2 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.

June 19 - The Unsung Heroes of Pollination
Although bees and butterflies dominate discussions about pollination, flies are much more important to flowering plants than commonly realized. We will discuss the significance of flies, flowers, pollinator diversity, identification techniques, and explore The Arboretum for live examples.

June 26 – Constructing for Wildlife
Humans are most noted for their destruction of the natural environment but we can also aid in construction of a healthy ecosystem or niche. We will talk about the various ways we can attract wildlife using nest bird boxes and feeders, bat roosting and nesting boxes, turtle and snake nests, and native bee houses. We will also be doing some hands-on construction of our own!

July 3 - Tweets, Chirps, and Hoots
We often hear birds before we can see them. When a bird sings, it's telling you what it is and where it is. We will learn some helpful hints on how to listen to bird vocalizations and put our skills to the test as we walk through The Arboretum.

July 10 - Hip with Herptiles
Herptiles (amphibians and reptiles) are our slimy and scaly friends. We will learn about the local herptile diversity while we go herping! We will be paying special attention to the amphibian orchestra going on at night, so don’t for get to bring your listening ears!

July 17 - Talkin’ Trees
Don’t know your trees? Come for a walk through The Arboretum to learn how to identify trees based on their leaves, needles, bark, seeds, cone, shape and etc. We will be doing a scavenger hunt to test what we learned.

July 24 - Arachnophilia
Arachnophobia is often associated with the spread of negative, and often false, information along with a lack of education about spiders. To gain appreciation for our 8-legged friends, we will debunk spider myths, discuss amazing arachnid adaptions, learn identification techniques, and more!

Sometimes it is easier to identify animals and plants if you can see a lot of images at once instead of looking through a book. We now have double-sided, 11 X 17 inch, laminated sheets called Biodiversity Sheets that allow the viewer to scan through 53 colourful images in a flash. We have field tested most of these on all ages, from preschool to retirees, with great results - everyone loves them! Some are organised to cover specific habitats and some concentrate on specific groups of organisms. The sheets also make great placemats; one of our volunteers has a 2.5-year-old grandson who can identify all of the insects on the goldenrod sheet and he learned them all while eating at grandpa and grandma's house! The sheets are $4 each (Includes tax) or pick six sheets for $20.

Ever wonder who is visiting your feeder or what that dragonfly might be called? How about identifying that pretty flower in the woods or who left those tracks? To increase awareness of local wildlife, The Arboretum has put together five booklets to help you and your family connect with nature. Spring Woodland Wildflowers of The Arboretum features the showy forest flowers of May. Mammals of the Arboretum not only shows what furry animals might be in your neighbourhood, but what tracks they leave. Feeder Birds of the Arboretum covers winter birds that you might find in your backyard and Summer Garden Birds covers summer birds that you might find in your backyard. Dragonflies of The Arboretum shows the diversity of these mosquito eaters and helps you learn how to identify dragonflies. The booklets are $8 each including tax.

We also have 11 inch by 11 inch replicas of the Wildlife Crossing signs that are on the roads surrounding The Arboretum. There are 10 different designs. These would look terrific in your yard, at your cottage or on your favourite student's bedroom wall. The signs are $10 including tax.

For anyone who enjoys sketching or if you want an interesting book for note-taking we still have copies of our Arboretum Nature Journal available as well. These are $10 each including tax.

Further information on the booklets, signs and journal is available on our website. To purchase any of the above please contact us at 519-824-4120 ext. 52358 or [log in to unmask].

Night and Low Light Photography, Dragonflies and Damselflies, The Identification and Biology of Butterflies, Summer Wildflowers and Nature and Wildlife 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.

For further information and / or to register please call at 519-824-4120 ext. 52358 or [log in to unmask]. 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.

Lots of great sightings lately. One of the best was a weasel that was quite upset when I got to close to the burrow it was in - it chittered in a high-pitched voice at me. Many visitors have been seeing the doe and a few the fawn that have been hanging out near the J.C. Taylor Centre. As well, the Cooper's Hawks are becoming active at the nest in Wild Goose Woods so at least one hungry chick must be present. Other sightings include Red Fox, Coyote, Painted Turtles and many butterflies. We also found a new species of dragonfly last week - a Carolina Saddlebags. Come for a visit and see what you can find!

 
White-tailed Deer                               Red Splednor Crabapple - Malus "Red
photo by Marilyn Bahry                        Splendor"

                                
                                 Carolina Saddlebags

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]