Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society

Nova Scotia Nature Trust Hike Sept. 7

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Please join the Nova Scotia Nature Trust for a ‘Connecting with Nature’ Event

in partnership with their friends at the Ecology Action Centre:

Conserving and Enjoying the Fire-Prone Backlands

Saturday, September 7th, 10am

The Purcells Cove Backlands contain a vast area of Jack Pine/Broom Crowberry barrens, an ecosystem with many adaptations to fire. It’s not very often (fortunately!) that we get to see these fire adaptations in action in a human lifetime.

Join us for a hike into the Backlands as we explore how it has recovered from a massive fire in the spring of 2009. Learn how several conservation groups are working to protect this globally-rare ecosystem, and are giving people a chance to access it in a sustainable way.

Cost: $15

Please register for full details:

events@nsnt.ca or (902) 425-5263

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Monthly Wild Flora Meeting Monday Sep 23

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Our speaker, Alain Belliveau, will talk about his explorations for the Ram’s-head Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum), a small but beautiful orchid whose very few populations are ranked as vulnerable in Nova Scotia.

Alain is the Botanist and collections manager of the Irving Biodiversity Collections at the E.C. Smith Herbarium at Acadia University, with a focus on the Acadian Forest Region.

Photos Bob Kennedy

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Sand Barrens Bioblitz on Sat June 8, NSNT evening Tues June 18, 2019

Posted on June 4, 2019 by admin

A couple of upcoming events that will be of interest to NSWFS folks:

Sand Barrens Bioblitz

From Ian Manning:

Just a note to let you know that next Saturday, June 8th, Blomidon Naturalists Society is hosting a mini-bio-blitz in Meadowvale, a super example of a Sand Barren Heathland, a rare and very beautiful ecosystem located in the Annapolis Valley. This habitat is home to a host of fascinating lichens, plants, insects, and more, with many more exciting finds yet to be discovered.

There’s not a lot of Sand Barren Heathland of this quality that’s publicly accessible, so luckily we have the permission of the Deveau family to hold the blitz on their land. A map will be provided to participants, marking the boundary of where we’ll be exploring, note we’re going to stay away from the buildings on the property.
Continue reading →

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NWWFS Monthly meeting and Field Trip: Today (Mon May 27, 2019) meet at Fleming Park

Posted on May 27, 2019 by admin

NWWFS Monthly meeting and Field Trip: Today meet at Fleming Park ( The Dingle parking Lot) near the Tower. 6:30 pm. Wear Rain Gear. Showers are likely but there may be a short dry window. This is an easy walk with the focus on One Shrub in particuar : Hobblebush which is at or near it’s peak bloom at present. There is quite a display along the Dingle road every year about this time, especially where the stream from the Frog Pond crosses the road. We will go Rain or Shine. Leader C. Cron.

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ST. MARGARET’S BAY BOTANY SATURDAY , June 8th

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

This is a field trip being held by the Halifax Field Naturalists

Join the NS Wild Flora Society’s President Charles Cron to explore the botany along a hiking trail in the St. Margaret’s Bay Area.

We’ll begin with a first fen at an old saw mill site described as a true fen surrounded by old spruce woods. The second fen has intact mature spruce woods and a recent clear-cut. Trilliums and Stemless Lady’s Slippers will be in bloom at this time. Rubber boots will be necessary!

Rain Date: Sunday June 9nd

Contact: Carol Klar, cklar@bellaliant.net, 443-3385

Time/place: 10:00 a.m. in the parking lot of Tim Horton’s near the Sobey’s gas bar, at Exit 5 off Hwy 103.

Duration: 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy to moderate

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Monday May 27 2019: Regular meeting night Outdoors: Hobblebush in Dingle Park (aka Fleming Park)

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Meet 6;30pm in the Parking lot at the Dingle Tower. If Hobblebush have past peak may travel to an alternate site nearby. Easy walking. Short distance. Charlie will watch area and if peak bloom is early will post to website so all may have a chance to see an impressive display of this under story plant.

Photos Charles Cron

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Announcing Eagle Hill Institute’s seminars on vascular plants

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Eagle Hill is right on the coast of Eastern Maine, between Acadia National Park and Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge.

Jun 16 – 22 … Medicinal Plants: Historical and Contemporary Uses … Steven Foster

Jun 16 – 22 … Sedges and Rushes: Identification and Ecology … Anton Reznicek

Jul 7 – 13 … Grasses: Identification and Ecology … Dennis Magee

Jul 14 – 20 … Wetland Identification, Delineation and Ecology … Matthew Schweisberg and Joseph Homer

Jul 21 – 27 … Ericaceae and Heathland Communities of Coastal Maine … Paul Manos

Aug 4 – 10 … Submersed and Floating Aquatic Plants … C Barre Hellquist and Eric Hellquist

Aug 18 – 24 … Ferns and Lycophytes: Identification, Biology, and Natural History … Robbin Moran and Carl Taylor

Sep 6 – 8 … Asteraceae: Fall Botanizing and Botanical Surveys … Jill Weber

Nov 8 – 10 … Twig Identification of Trees and Shrubs: Fall Botanizing and Botanical Surveys

The following general flyer has links to individual vascular plants seminar flyers.

https://madmimi.com/s/d1856e

For general information and a complete calendar … https://www.eaglehill.us/programs/nhs/nhs-calendar.shtml

office@eaglehill.us … 207-546-2821, ext. 4.

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Native Plant Sale – Acadia U. Wolfville, May 4, 2019 (9:00 am – 12:00 pm)

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Location: KC Irving Centre and Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens – 32 University Ave., Wolfville

Help support biodiversity by growing native plants in your garden.

A variety of native perennials grown by volunteers from seed collected at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens will be available. We have a wide selection of new species this year and all of our plants will be hardened off and ready to go in your garden!

Nurseries in attendance will include Baldwin’s Nurseries, Fernwood Plant Nursery, and Beneath the Boughs Woodland Plant Nursery and Pottery. Learn more about ecological landscaping by stopping by the Helping Nature Heal Inc. booth, and put your name into a draw to win a backyard composter from Valley Waste-Resource Management.

Growing native plants is a small way to contribute to the restoration of our landscape, to provide food and shelter for native fauna, and to make a small contribution to the earth’s seed bank for future generations. It also helps you to identify them in the wild – as you get to see them growing through all phases of their life cycle. And they are usually maintenance free, provided you match the right plant to your unique micro-environment.

In the Conservatory and Walled Garden at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens. Free parking, free admission.

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NS WIld Flora Society Meeting Monday, Apr. 22, 2019 7:30PM

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Our speaker, Sean Blaney, will focus on recent fieldwork and new discoveries in Nova Scotia, especially in the Cape Breton Highlands in the highest elevation region of the National Park between Cheticamp and Clyburne Brook.

Sean is the Executive Director and Scientist for the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre in Sackville New Brunswick.

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See Skunk Cabbage on Long Island Apr 14

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

The flowers should be more open than these photos from March 2017

Travel to Digby then convoy to Long Island > Balancing Rock parking lot. Leave Halifax 06:00 hrs. Meet at Tim Hortons Digby at exit 26, Near the Irving CircleK,at 10:00 hrs. Then drive in convoy to East Ferry ,ferry across to Tiverton, then to Balancing Rock Parking lot. We will search the trail from the Parking Lot to Balancing Rock and return. There are other areas to search along the way around Tiddville in particular. 3-4 hr drive both directions from Halifax. Bring lunch,water, rubber boots,and camera gear. Ground may be soft and wet. Please register with Charles Cron 902 477 8272 or email ccron72@hotmail.com by Friday Apr 12. Trip is weather dependent and final decision will be made by 9:00 pm Friday evening.I will call participants or email Friday night if cancelled.