by Chris Earley

I was at a loss for a quiz this month so now I have started a perfect back up plan - letters of the alphabet! This gives me 26 back ups in case I can't think of an inspiring quiz topic. So, this one contains things that you can find in The Arboretum that start with the letter "A." How many can you get? The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

by Shelley Hunt

Cherry Birch, Cucumber Tree, Pawpaw….these weird and wonderful trees are just a few of the rare or endangered species native to Ontario that have a home in the living gene bank at The Arboretum. The gene bank, a collection of living specimens of more than 20 different kinds of tree, is designed to help preserve not only the trees themselves but the genetic diversity of each species as a whole.
The bumper crop of seeds we’ve harvested from the gene bank this fall has been decades in the making. Starting in the 1979, our staff began developing this collection by gathering seeds from wild trees throughout Southern Ontario and planting them at The Arboretum to grow to maturity and in turn produce their own seeds, to be distributed to nurseries and conservation organizations – helping to replenish healthy populations of these trees on the landscape. Working with trees involves long-term thinking and a lot of patience – finally our gene bank trees are ‘growing up’!
A few weeks ago, Arboretum staff and volunteers, as well as some U of G students, came out to help harvest an abundance of seeds from one of our gene bank species – the Blue Ash. In Canada, this at-risk tree is found naturally only in small pockets of Southwestern Ontario, although it is sometimes planted in urban areas (for instance in Windsor) as it is able to withstand many of the stresses of city living. This species will likely be more and more in demand for urban tree planting as it shows promising tolerance to Emerald Ash Borer attack. Thanks to the vision of former Arboretum curator Dr. John Ambrose, the dedication of our late horticulturist Henry Kock, and the tireless efforts of current horticulturist Sean Fox, The Arboretum has become a leader in the production of genetically diverse seed of Blue Ash and other rare and at-risk species. Some of our Blue Ash seed was sent to be archived at the Ontario Tree Seed Facility in Angus, Ontario, and at the National Tree Seed Centre in Fredericton, N.B. Talk about foresight!

Students harvesting seeds
photo by Shelley Hunt

by Ric Jordan

Year in Review:
Sometime ago I wrote about how change seems to be a constant in life at The Arboretum and 2013 has been no different. Some changes have been significant, others more subtle but all speak volumes about our past and where we are going in the future. 2014 happens to be the 50th anniversary of the inception of the University of Guelph and The Arboretum has been a physical presence on the campus since 1970 seeing continued growth over the years. Prior to 1964 it was the Ontario Agricultural College (1874), Macdonald Institute (1903), and the Ontario Veterinary College (1922) under the auspices of the University of Toronto. Speaking of that anniversary please take the time in the New Year to visit the Guelph Civic Museum for a display of the university’s history. 
Probably the most significant changes this year have been related to staffing. We have seen the appointment of Professor Shelley Hunt, a faculty member in the School of Environmental Sciences, as our 5th director. Read More.

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).

by Chris Earley

We were hoping to find our 500th moth species this summer, but instead, we made it over 600 species of moths! We have just compiled our list and it currently stands at 628. Wow! This list is due to the incredible dedication of Candice Talbot, a local naturalist who really knows her moths. She is amazing, as is Andrew Bendall, another mothy volunteer (Andrew is from our Molecular and Cellular Biology department here on campus). I guess we will now have to strive for over 700 next year! To see our total list and some other moth photos, please visit our Arboretum Biodiversity page at http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/collectionsandresearch/biodiversity.shtml.


Cecropia Moth

The Arboretum is part of the University of Guelph so we therefore are closed when the University is closed. We close on Tuesday, December 24, 2013 and re-open on Thursday, January 2, 2014. 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 10 a.m. on December 24.

The Owl, Animal Tracking, Photographing Winter Landscapes and Owl Prowl 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 will allows you to register for our programs at anytime, not just during our regular business hours. A secure link is provided on our web-site 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.

This month has been highlighted by a very cooperative porcupine! This guy has been seen by many visitors as it grazes on the ground and sits in open trees. The prickly creature has been seen eating avens leaves, Eastern White Pine needles and Eastern Hemlock needles. Its presence is a great incentive for people to keep their dogs on a leash! We have also had a lot of sightings of our pair of Pileated Woodpeckers. These have been seen around The Arboretum Centre and in Victoria and Wild Goose Woods. A Rusty Blackbird, which is rare here in the winter, was seen at the Arboretum Centre feeders, too.

 
Porcupine                                              Pileated Woodpecker

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]