Some common horticultural plants such as barberry, burning bush, silvergrass, and butterfly bush are considered invasive in our forests and native habitats. By understanding plant growth form and integrated vegetation management you can effectively control these species. Michele will provide practical advice about how to manage invasive plants and reduce their spread in the state.
Members of the Aster family bloom from early spring throughout the growing season, but late summer through the end of fall is the time they dominate the landscape. The ‘Asters’ or ‘composites’ are the second largest family of flowering plants. What makes this successful plant family different from all others? We’ll survey many of the colorful members of ... Read more
Plant invasions represent one of the most pressing global change drivers, yet their belowground impacts remain poorly understood. Soil communities regulate nutrient cycling, plant diversity, and ecosystem functioning. Here, I show how invasive plants alter these processes by disrupting fungal resources, reshaping soil food webs, and homogenizing microbial communities through their root traits. Using field ... Read more
The pollinator garden in Mickleton Park (Gloucester County), conceived through grants, was planted in spring of 2022 and has now been through 4 growing seasons. You will be taken on a tour through the years and seasons while introducing you to the ~60 native species which make up the garden and some of the wildlife ... Read more
Description Somes will present an overview of bee, butterfly and pollinator biodiversity in New Jersey and will share some of the ongoing NJDEP conservation work related to these species. Many times the term pollinator conservation is used to lump together a wide variety of different species with very different life histories and habitat requirements. This ... Read more
Join Chris Martine who will share his immense understanding of the trees, shrubs and vines of New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic, with a keen focus on shrubs. Martine has written two field guides featuring illustrations by his wife, Rachel Figley-Martin, both published by the NJ Forest Service, Trees of New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic States is ... Read more
Light pollution is the human-made alteration of outdoor light levels from those occurring naturally. Light pollution disrupts wildlife, impacts human well-being, wastes money and energy, contributes to climate change, and blocks our view of the universe. Steve Mariconda, an avid astronomer and public health care professional, had a profound experience the first time he saw ... Read more
Plant Communities of New Jersey From the Highlands to the Pinelands, New Jersey is home to a wide variety of beautiful and distinctive native plant communities. This talk will describe and illustrate a few of these unique ecosystems. Beginning with observation of nature, we’ll cover important New Jersey ecoregions (for example, prairies, red maple swamps, ... Read more
Natives For Container Gardening It’s New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the USA. Many of us ask can we support pollinators and birds on our balconies and our tiny, on average, ¼ acre yards. Well Jeremy Fant lives in Chicago, with only a 5 X 10’ balcony for gardening. For the past 15 ... Read more
"Seeing the forest for the bees:" Habitat elements for native bees in northeastern trees & forests In the historically forested northeastern US, up to 2/3 of our wild bee species use forested habitats for part of their life cycles. Join me for an adventure exploring how wild bees use the woods--from the leafy forest floor ... Read more
