Winter Lecture Series

October--Elm Grove's Underwood Creek with John Schindler

        A genuinely underappreciated resource, Underwood Creek in Elm Grove has a significant impact on the wildlife and biodiversity in the Village. Draining almost 18 square miles, this stream is not only essential for stormwater flow, but is a critical component of the ecology and health of the Milwaukee River basin.  We’ll learn how a stream interacts with groundwater and surface water, how all the biological elements then interact, and what we can expect in the future with the work being done to restore the creek to a more natural state.

November--Plastics Reduction and You

            On Planet Earth, we use one million plastic bags and one million plastic bottles every minute—of every day and every night. And less than 9% of all plastics ever used have been recycled. This consumption is unsustainable. Learn why recycling isn’t accomplishing what it needs to, and what we can do to create cultural eco shifts in your life that will also increase connection and camaraderie within your community.

February--Limiting Threats to Birds with Chuck Hagner

      In 2019, researchers documented the staggering loss of nearly three billion North American breeding birds since 1970. That’s more than one in four of the continent’s birds gone in less than a single lifetime. Habitat loss and degradation are the biggest overall causes of the declines, scientists say, but other human-caused threats also play a role, including predation by cats, poisoning, and collisions. Fortunately, many of these threats can be reduced by actions that we all can take. In this presentation, field guide author and director of Bird City Wisconsin Chuck Hagner will explain how this fact presents us with a great opportunity: By taking simple, doable actions, we can dramatically improve the state of our birds.

March--Monarch Conservation

            Although much is being done, monarchs have recently been listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Given the current Monarch population downward trajectory how long do we have to ramp up our efforts?

The discussion will describe what can be accomplished

• At home:  planting ideals and basic practices to help pollinator and monarch populations
• In your neighborhood: connecting gardens and commons with “paths” of plantings and community plantings.
• In your City: policy changes within your community for large businesses’ parking areas, mowing, herbicide policy, planting medians and swales with native plants, providing resources for rain gardens, and doing presentations for elected officials.

April - Organic Fruit and Vegetable Gardening with John Harrigan

Are you interested in learning how to grow your own food organically and with the most proven methods?  Or would you just like to hear the latest about small scale organic, ecological-minded food production?  With graduate courses in agronomy and horticulture and over 15 years experience in local business, John Harrigan, the head gardener for Parkside 23, will enlighten you on the science based and time tested recommendations on growing food. 

September--WI Native Plants with Paul Schwabe

        Do you realize how many wonderful native plants we have in Wisconsin?   Were you aware that we even have native stands of cactus? Does it really matter if you plant natives that are “native from Wisconsin (local genotype)” or just “native to Wisconsin”?  Join us for an exciting foray on some of the speaker’s favorite native trees ,shrubs ,evergreens and perennials.