Upcoming February 12 Program
'Enviroscape - a hands-on Watershed Model'
Presented by:
Apryl Milam, Community Outreach Specialist
Keep Forsyth County Beautiful
In a water quality program, Apryl will be presenting the Enviroscape – an interactive watershed model,
designed to illustrate point and non-point source pollution.
10:00 a.m.
Cumming Baptist Church
(Fireside Room)
115 Church Street, Cumming
January Program Recap
‘Create a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary’
Michele Buchanan, a Wildlife Sanctuary Certifier from the Atlanta Audubon Society, gave an interesting and informative presentation.
First of all, Michele stated that unlike the NGC certification which is honorary, the Audubon Society actually makes a visit to the yard to be certified to be sure it meets all the requirements, and makes recommendations if it doesn’t. Giving some information about the Society, she mentioned that its emphasis is on education, providing field trips and birding classes. Noting its mission of building places where both birds and people thrive, Michele discussed how to minimize window reflection to avoid injury to birds.
Why Birds Matter
Michele talked about why birds matter, about their needs and how we should create habitat connectivity. Birds like corridors filled with their requirements (open areas are dangerous). Neighborhood sanctuaries provide bird survival.
Birds matter because:
- They aid in plant pollination
- They are active gardeners, planting seeds and berries
- They do cleanup, particularly the vultures
- They control pests and insects - poisoning rodents poisons the birds
- They add to the economy, as bird lovers buy seed, feeders, etc.
- They are inspiring and beautiful
Bird Needs
- Water – Dishes and water features about 1” deep, which provide movement that attracts birds
- Food – More important than feeders, provide a diverse landscape of shrubs and trees on different levels (layering) that produce seed, berries and nectar
- Nesting – Dense shrubbery, along with bird boxes
- Cover – Brush piles, standing snags (parts of dead trees should be left standing)
December Holiday Luncheon
Home of member Chuck Baumrucker
Twenty-three people, including hosts Chuck and Carol Baumrucker, enjoyed a delightful holiday gathering in their beautiful home.
In photo above, Carol and Chuck are given a hostess gift by Club president, Heidi Stuckman.
Along with the luncheon prepared by Carol were cookie and gift exchanges.
(All photos shown below were taken by Chuck, an avid photographer.)
We Had Lunch
We Socialized and Shared Cookies
We Had a Gift Exchange
Calendar
January 2019
- January 8: Club Meeting "Create a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary" . . . Cumming, GA
- January 9‑10: NGC Environmental School - Course 2 . . . Rome, GA
- January 16: Native Plant Symposium . . . Athens, GA
- January 18‑19: NGC Gardening School - Course 2 . . . Griffin, GA
February 2019
- February 6: Native Plant Symposium . . . Athens, GA
- February 8-9: NGC Gardening School - Course 4 . . . Griffin, GA
- February 12: Club Meeting "The Enviroscape - Watershed Model" . . . Cumming, GA
- February 15: Arbor Day in Georgia
- February 20: Capitol Conservation Day '19 . . . Atlanta, GA
March 2019
- March 8-10: Atlanta Orchid Society Show and Sale . . .Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA
- March 11-13: Deep South Region Convention . . . Jekyll Island, GA
- March 12: Club Meeting "Spring Luncheon and Officer Installation" . . . Cumming, GA
- March 20-21: NGC Environmental School - Course 3 . . .Rome, GA
- March 27: South Georgia Native Plant Symposium . . . Tifton, GA
April 2019
- April 9: Club Meeting "A Presidential Legacy" . . . Cumming, GA
- April 21‑27: Garden Week in Georgia
- April 29-May 2: NGC Convention . . . Biloxi, MS
May 2019
- May 14: Club Meeting "Plant Exchange" . . . Cumming, GA
- May 15-16: NGC Environmental School - Course 4 . . . Rome, GA
- GCG Convention - TBA