What's Up at the FWG - November 2006

On the ground

In hyperspace

News from elsewhere

The Fletcher Wildlife Garden is a project of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. It is located on 6 hectares of land just south of the Arboretum in Ottawa, Canada.

What's up at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden

This is the first electronic issue of What's up, our FWG newsletter. It replaces our quarterly newsletter of the same name, which has become less and less regular in the last year or so.

We wanted to reconnect with our network of volunteers and other people interested in the ongoing development of the garden.

If you would NOT like to receive future issues of our newsletter, please e-mail us at fletcher@ofnc.ca

On the ground

Butterfly Meadow expands
Our Butterfly Meadow was a major focus of activity this year, thanks to Diane Lepage. In preparing for a talk on attracting butterflies, she found that our meadow was lacking several important plant species and other enhancements that would make it more attractive to butterflies.

We applied for a grant from Evergreen Foundation and, through its Common Grounds program, received a very generous gift certificate ($1000) from the Home Depot store at South Keyes.

See our blog for a brief description of the work done this year and watch for a more detailed report later.

Swallowwort war wages on
The Sunday morning volunteer group has been battling Swallowwort (aka Dog-strangling Vine or DSV) in an effort to at least keep existing plants from producing more seed. Thanks to volunteers Andrew Sullivan and Rob Stewart, the big discovery this year is a scythe. Yes, this ancient tool is proving much more effective than weed whippers or other cutting methods. Plants usually have to be cut two or three times during the season, BUT doing that is much easier on the back! See report on DSV control from the Sunday group

In hyperspace

Blog — Everyone has one, right! Ours started when those of us with digital cameras started sending each other photos — for identification and to share information. Many were startlingly beautiful and most were interesting.

Bird nests at the FWG — a new feature prepared by Christine Hanrahan, who carefully examined nests built by the various residents at the FWG to see what they were made of.

Insects of the FWG is a new FWG web page compiled by Christine Hanrahan. As she insists, this is only a beginning, as there are many other species of insects at the FWG. Her excellent photos illustrate the beauty and diversity of this class of creatures.

Fungi of the FWG started as a way to keep track of the mushrooms and other fungi that we were photographing this fall. We quickly learned that photographing is one thing, identification is a completely different matter. Any names we've attached to these photos are tentative at best. We're trying to learn more, but so far we only know that mycology is a difficult and complex field.

News from elsewhere

Growing with Deirdre
Good gardening advice — Preparing for winter

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
New book from the BBG — Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants

While you're at the BBG web site, check the series of articles on wildlife gardening.

Research news
New brochure from Carleton's Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory — Amphibian conservation in Eastern Ontario

This page was created on 3 November 2006
© Fletcher Wildlife Garden
Our e-mail address

On the ground In hyperspace News from elsewhere The Fletcher Wildlife Garden is a project of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. It is located on 6 hectares of land just south of the Arboretum in Ottawa, Canada.	What's up at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden This is the first electronic issue of What's up, our FWG newsletter. It replaces our quarterly newsletter of the same name, which has become less and less regular in the last year or so. We wanted to reconnect with our network of volunteers and other people interested in the ongoing development of the garden. If you would NOT like to receive future issues of our newsletter, please e-mail us at fletcher@ofnc.ca
On the ground	Butterfly Meadow expands Our Butterfly Meadow was a major focus of activity this year, thanks to Diane Lepage. In preparing for a talk on attracting butterflies, she found that our meadow was lacking several important plant species and other enhancements that would make it more attractive to butterflies. We applied for a grant from Evergreen Foundation and, through its Common Grounds program, received a very generous gift certificate ($1000) from the Home Depot store at South Keyes. See our blog for a brief description of the work done this year and watch for a more detailed report later.
	Swallowwort war wages on The Sunday morning volunteer group has been battling Swallowwort (aka Dog-strangling Vine or DSV) in an effort to at least keep existing plants from producing more seed. Thanks to volunteers Andrew Sullivan and Rob Stewart, the big discovery this year is a scythe. Yes, this ancient tool is proving much more effective than weed whippers or other cutting methods. Plants usually have to be cut two or three times during the season, BUT doing that is much easier on the back! See report on DSV control from the Sunday group
In hyperspace	Blog — Everyone has one, right! Ours started when those of us with digital cameras started sending each other photos — for identification and to share information. Many were startlingly beautiful and most were interesting.
	Bird nests at the FWG — a new feature prepared by Christine Hanrahan, who carefully examined nests built by the various residents at the FWG to see what they were made of.
	Insects of the FWG is a new FWG web page compiled by Christine Hanrahan. As she insists, this is only a beginning, as there are many other species of insects at the FWG. Her excellent photos illustrate the beauty and diversity of this class of creatures.
	Fungi of the FWG started as a way to keep track of the mushrooms and other fungi that we were photographing this fall. We quickly learned that photographing is one thing, identification is a completely different matter. Any names we've attached to these photos are tentative at best. We're trying to learn more, but so far we only know that mycology is a difficult and complex field.
News from elsewhere	Growing with Deirdre Good gardening advice — Preparing for winter Brooklyn Botanic Garden New book from the BBG — Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants While you're at the BBG web site, check the series of articles on wildlife gardening.
	Research news New brochure from Carleton's Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory — Amphibian conservation in Eastern Ontario This page was created on 3 November 2006 © Fletcher Wildlife Garden Our e-mail address