CHIPPEWA SAVANNAS CHAPTER ANNUAL MEETING
Chapter Annual Meeting and Officer Elections
Saturday, March 30 – 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: LE Phillips Public Library, Eau Claire. 3rd Floor, Riverview Room
Link here: Agenda (will be finalized March 22)
Starting a Prairie from Scratch: Rural and Urban Approaches
Please join us on March 30th to hear UW Eau Claire Landscape Architect Daria Hutchinson and Conservation Biologist Carolyn Carr share their perspectives on how to start a prairie in your space, whether it’s a rural space or somewhere more urban. Our annual business meeting with officer elections will follow. Guest Speakers (10am – 11:15am)
Carolyn Carr & Cynthia Lane: Restoring Landscape Pattern: Prairie Restoration in Rural LandscapeA common approach in ecological restoration is to convert agricultural fields to prairie. Yet, we are working with a highly fragmented and altered landscape. Our presentation will offer insights into identifying where prairie grows best and will be the most successful in the long-term. We also suggest ways to consider which fields might be more successfully restored to woodland, and explore the wildlife implications of restoring large blocks of prairie versus woodland. To illustrate these ideas we’ll use example rural lands we have worked on. Daria Hutchinson: Incorporating native prairie plants into urban environments – Opportunities, challenges, benefits, and public perception.Using prairie plants in urban settings can provide many benefits including drought resistance in the landscape, stormwater management, erosion control and wildlife habitat for local and migratory birds and pollinators but looking natural is not the same as providing environmental benefits. Urban neighborhoods tend to view well-kept parks and gardens as “natural” and attractive, regardless of the chemicals and fossil fuel emissions required to maintain them, or their impact on storm water runoff. Natural looking is not synonymous with being environmentally beneficial. In urban environments, prairies and wetlands are often perceived as messy and undesirable, despite their environmental benefits. A landscape’s visible characteristics are the basis for public perception. Dense, messy plots can be perceived as undesirable while a “well-groomed” area is assumed to be safe, and orderly. Urban landscapes need to allow people to see through them, Gardeners can build in “cues to care” to gain public acceptance. Campus Landscape Architect, Daria Hutchinson, will discuss the challenges and perceptions experienced in establishing native plantings on the UW Eau Claire campus and integrating native plantings into more traditionally cared for landscapes.
Break (11:15am – 11:45am:- light snacks provided)Business Meeting (11:45am – 1pm)Report of events from the past yearLand Management ActivitiesFinanceElection resultsUpcoming events and ways to get involved