Posted on July 6, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

Find other Bioblitzes coming up in the Maritimes at https://www.facebook.com/CityNatureChallengeMaritimes

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Gardening with Native Plants Webinar

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

The Blomindon Naturalist Society is hosting a Webinar:

Ask-the-Expert: Native Plant Gardening

Tuesday June 30, 7 – 8 pm (webinar)

Gardening with native plants creates a win-win-win: for the gardener and our local flora and fauna. Native plants are easy to grow, adapted to our local conditions and are as attractive as ornamental plants hailing from other parts of the world. They play a key role in maintaining the biodiversity of our region serving as food, shelter and breeding grounds for indigenous wildlife.

Join us for an engaging session on native plant gardening with Gary Schneider of MacPhail Woods and Adrien Rawley formerly with the Harriet Irving Gardens, who will share their passion and knowledge and answer all your questions. All ages and experiences encouraged.

Register to join and and submit your questions, photos and links to katiemclean@annapolisriver.ca

This is a collaborative initiative brought to you by CARP, FSA, BNS, and JWA.

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/810795876117634/

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NSWFS Field Trip to Troop Island

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

Members only : Troop Island. Old growth trees on Nova Scotia Nature Trust property.  Sat. June 13 with alternate dates June 20 /21 whichever is best re weather concerns (rain wind etc).Boat crossing to island.

Register with Charles Cron before Wed.  June 10; email or phone ccron72@hotmail.com    902 477 8272.; will make final decision for trip on the Wednesday night each week . Will need a list of all participants by Wed. week of June 8. Plan cost 0f $5.00 each for boat, limited numbers 3 or 4 groups of 3, to be kept  separate ( Covid 19 precautions apply: Everyone must wear a mask and respect social distancing. Every participant must confirm they are symptom free ). Maximum 10-12 participants.

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Nova Scotia Supreme Court rules in favour of Naturalists/East Coast Environmental Law versus NS Lands & Forestry

Posted on May 30, 2020 by admin

Today’s decision confirms that Nova Scotia’s ESA is the law, and not a set of vague or voluntary guidelines. The Minister is required to fulfill the law’s mandatory requirements to protect some of the province’s most vulnerable species. – Sarah McDonald, Ecojustice lawyer

Ram’s Head orchid

From the Background to Supreme Court Decision (May 29, 2020)

The Minister of Lands and Forestry (the Minister) is responsible for implementing the ESA [Endangered Species Act]. The Applicants say the Minister has failed to implement the ESA as it pertains to six representative species: Mainland Moose, Ram’s-head Lady Slipper, Canada Warbler, Black Ash, Wood Turtle, and Eastern Wood Pewee. Each of these species is native to Nova Scotia and is listed as endangered, threatened, or vulnerable under the ESA. The Applicants [Robert Bancroft, Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists, Blomidon Naturalists Society and The Halifax Field Naturalists with East Coast Environmental Law Association as Intervenor] seek a declaration that the Minister’s failure to implement the ESA, specifically section 15, is unlawful and unreasonable; an order of mandamus; and a supervisory order by which the court would retain jurisdiction and require the Minister to produce status reports on the implementation of section 15.

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The oak woodland in south-end Halifax

Posted on May 7, 2020 by admin

“The Oaks” is the estate at the south end of Robie Street in Halifax. It  includes a historic house, lawns and gardens and the surrounding mostly red-oak woodland. It was occupied by Premier Robert Stanfield for a lengthy period; he was an avid gardener. In 1968 The Oaks was sold to St. Mary’s University.

Photos by Ann-Li Huestis of plants in the oak woodland in 1992. Click on image for a larger version.

An oak woodland bordering the rail cut extends from The Oaks estate to the south end of Beaufort Avenue (see map below). It’s a popular spot for NS Wild Flora folk to view Witch Hazel, Lady Slipper orchids, and Indian Pipe, amongst other species.

Recently I was forwarded a photo of a plant taken in the area by a NS Wild Flora member…did I know what it was?

I am not the best person to ask for random ID of plants, but in this case I knew the area and many of the plants quite intimately.
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There are “guerilla gardeners” and now “guerilla plant namers”

Posted on May 2, 2020 by admin

View ‘Not just weeds’: how rebel botanists are using graffiti to name forgotten flora
In the Guardian, May 1, 2020.

A rising international force of rebel botanists armed with chalk has taken up street graffiti to highlight the names and importance of the diverse but downtrodden flora growing in the cracks of paths and walls in towns and cities across Europe.

Also view their Wild Cities page.

I guess this is a next step from Guerilla Gardening!

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Charlie’s Spring Bloomers

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

While we may not be able to get out this year due to social isolation, Charlie Cron has sent us some pictures from last year of what we are missing…

Broom Crowberry – Corema conradii – Early April 2019

Coltsfoot – Tussilago farfara – Early April 2019

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New resources for Mosses and Lichens

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

Dr. Sean Haughian, Botany Curator of the Nova Scotia Museum has kindly made some of the museum’s archived materials on Bryophytes and Lichens available to us. PDF files can be found here for Bryophytes  and Lichens  and web site links can be found at here for Bryophytes & Lichens

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What’s the earliest flowering native plant in Nova Scotia?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by admin

I guess it’s a toss-up between Skunk Cabbage and Dwarf Eastern Mistletoe

Above: Skunk Cabbage Mar 30, 2008, St. Mary’s Bay area, Digby Co. Left: Spathes emerging from snow. Right: spadix (flower clusters) exposed.
Below:Eastern Dwarf Mistletoe, Mar 28, 2020; at right, opened up. These photos by Bob Guscott
Click on image for larger version

I thought the answer was skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, which I thought is found naturally only in SW Nova Scotia but, according to Nova Scotia Plants, also occurs in Cumberland Co.

The skunk cabbage pics at right were taken during  a NS Wild Flora Society outing in 2009, led by our President, Charlie Cron, who travels to SW Nova Scotia most springs to check it out.

I made a post about it on Facebook and soon got a message from Bob Guscott, retired forest pest specialist with DNR (now L&F), one of his obsessions being the  ecology of mistletoe in NS.

Said Bob:

“Saw your FB post today on Skunk Cabbage. I have not seen it in Nova Scotia yet, but always thought that it was a candidate for first native plant to flower. The other candidate for first to flower in NS is Eastern Dwarf Mistletoe, Arceuthobium pusillum.
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ALL NSWFS MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

The Museum of Natural History is now closed as a precaution to the spread of COVID-19. We will be postponing all future meetings and field trips until we hear that circumstances have changed.

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