Greetings and Happy New Year to Wild Ones members and to all of you on our "interested persons and potential members" list. We have been hard at work planning a fun year of events to enrich your brain as well as your yard with new ideas and opportunities for landscaping with native plants. At the bottom of this letter you will find our most recent events calendar. I hope you can join us for some or all of them.

Group Plant Order and Membership:
Please note that the calendar includes dates for a group order to native plant sellers for plants, trees, and shrubs to receive and plant this spring. Although all meetings and events are open to the public, plant group orders are one of the benefits of being a Wild Ones member, as is receiving plants from plant rescues. Advantages of group plant orders include group discounts, assistance on plant choice as we share information, and knowing that the plants are grown from reasonably local seed and not illegally harvested. For some of us, the motivation to complete landscape plans by the order deadline may be the primary benefit, so we can enjoy a new landscape that has been just a dream for years. If you are not a member and would like to join, please call me (phone numbers below).

Videos Available:
We purchased two videos that are available to anyone who would like to borrow them. "Wild about Wildflowers," a 50-minute video by the Michigan DNR, includes many great pictures of native plants, a good treat for winter-weary eyes. The video also includes the "how to" of landscaping with native plants as well as a description of the benefits. Watch it at home or share it with your garden club, church group, etc.

The second video, "Tapestry of Learning," was produced by Wild Ones and introduces the idea of creating school outdoor natural areas using native plant species. The intended audience is teachers, parent-teacher organizations, neighbors, community groups, and possible school natural area funding sources.

Projects:
Our local Arrowhead chapter has several ongoing projects, including the community garden in Leif Erikson Park; plant rescues; efforts to battle buckthorn, honeysuckle, and other invasive exotic plants; helping the Loaves and Fishes house and possibly Habitat for Humanity with landscaping; and many more. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved with any of these activities, please give me a call or visit our web site at www.d.umn.edu/~wildones.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Carol Andrews, President
Arrowhead Chapter, Wild Ones - Natural Landscapers, Ltd.

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