Greetings From TerraBirds

Ponderosa High School Greenhouses/Garden
Terra Birds Hone

Terra BIRDS wishes to thank and recognize the partners and supporters who help us in our mission.

Since 2012, Terra BIRDS grew from a part-time staff of two and just a few school garden projects, to a staff of five and a rotating crew of paid youth interns, with thousands of youth and community members in garden and stewardship projects all over Flagstaff.  The goal of these projects is to promote health and wellness, work and life skills, and hands-on education for young people; to create and sustain beautiful, ecologically healthy, accessible natural environments in our urban setting; and to collaborate in Northern Arizona's community-wide vision of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social).  Please read through the following Partners and Supporters list, and know that there is a story connected to each of these names.  Special acknowledgement goes out to the Coconino County Accommodation School District, providing Terra BIRDS with a home at Ponderosa High School.  Please seek information about these entities, support them, and know that they are partners in improving lives and making Flagstaff a better community.

Seed Plant and Tool Catalogs 2016

Each year I update the list of Seed Plant & Tool Catalogs. I finished it during this slow week between holidays. The changes are minor. but it has become six pages long if you are interested in printing. Some of the changes are phone numbers, a few companies have dropped out, and two merged.  I am including a LINK with this article but after January it will appear on the blog under References and Resources in the right hand column called Pages . Please take a look at the list and send me any additions or changes you are aware of. I will revise by Jan. 15 but you can send new information at any time.

Here are two that I found interesting that you might not be aware of:
1.   Lily Garden - some of the most beautiful lilies I have seen are in their new catalog. I love lilies! They are so easy to care for. I grew some Asiatic lilies at Olivia Whtie Hospice in one of our sensory pots (aroma). They came back year after year and were so admired by residents and staff (smell and beauty). You can find them on the list under Bulb, Tuber and Rhizomes.
2.   Grononics - they have some of the most clever containers I have seen. They are a bit pricy, but you may get some ideas about making your own from just looking at them. They can be found under Tool Resources.

Don't forget you can ignore this list completely, save your own seeds, or come to the Grow Flagstaff Seed Library at the Coconino County Extension. At the seed library you can get free seeds and next year bring back some of your own. The best part is that each packet has the growers story and they are local. Thanks go to master gardener Jackee Alston and other volunteers for making this happen in Flagstaff. Check out several articles on the blog for more details, including a link to an article that appeared in the AZ Daily Sun. If you are interested in helping you can volunteer each month (4th Thur.) beginning in January. At the extension from 10am-2pm you can help stuff seed packets.

Email me with any questions or comments (cnslds@q.com).

Volunteering Saguaro National Park

Subject: Saguaro NP events!

From Dorothy Lamm, Native Plant Society

 

I have a couple events happening at Saguaro National Park this spring that I thought you all would be interested in:  

 

January 16, from 10am-1pm we will be giving away our mule manure to anyone who would like it for their gardens! Help us keep this manure out of landfills and reduce our environmental footprint. Contact Bella Furr for more information at bella_furr@nps.gov (Flyer attached). 

 

We are partnering up with REI to host three saguaro surveys that will be open to everyone! There will be 15-20 slots for each survey and the surveys will be on February 6(east district), March 19(west district), and April 16(west district). Open to anyone with any hiking experience and a love for saguaros and the sonoran desert. Please RSVP either on the REI website when the schedule is posted or sending an email to me, carolyn_harper@partner.nps.gov. 

 

Looking forward to working with your organization and all of the lovely native plant enthusiasts. 

Have a festive week!

Carolyn Harper 

Find Your Saguaro: Centennial Saguaro Survey

Next Generation Ranger

Saguaro National Park 

3693 S. Old Spanish Trail 

Tucson, AZ 85730

520-733-5178

AZ Native Plant Society Planning Meeting

Greetings, All on this lovely, snowy day!!

 

Please join us for the first AZNPS (Flagstaff Chapter) get-together and planning meeting of 2016!!

Which speakers would you like to hear at our monthly meetings?

Where would you like to go on our monthly hikes?

The planning group will meet Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 6:30pm. Please join us.

 

Contact Sue Holiday at naris123@cs.com for all the details, including the location. 

Posted for the

Planning Group

by D. Lamm

CMGA Officers for 2016

 

The annual election of officers was presided over by Cry Wells at the November 7th meeting. She presented a slate of officers that was developed in committee. There were no new additions to the slate and those elected include:

Jim Mast, President
Ed Skiba, Vice President
Sue Madden, Treasurer
Jackie Clark , Secretary

Committee chairs will be surveyed in December to see who needs to be replaced.

What is Healthy Soil?

Want to test your knowledge about soils? Check out this online site that Joe Harte sent.
http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/news/news-detail/en/c/317128/

7th Annual CMGA Christmas Party

The 7th Annual CMGA Christmas Party is being held on Thursday, December 10th, at 630pm. It will be at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church - 1601 N. San Francisco. See LINK for detail for the party which is a pot luck and white elephant gift exchange.

We have much to be thankful for this holiday season with a great gardening year and growth of our association. Come join us to celebrate!

Loni Shapiro
Education Chair, CMGA

November CMGA Lecture

Our November CMGA meeting provided some new learning for many of us lovers of seeds. Linda Guarino presented facts the many of the misconceptions about GMO foods. Below was the list she work from in her first slide. The talk was so well received that we are encouraging her to repeat it possibly for a lecture at the Flagstaff Home and Garden Show in April.

Common misconceptions 

    I try to avoid GMO foods because…..
      • I prefer to eat natural foods
      • I worry they aren’t safe for human consumption
      • I’ve heard they cause food allergies
      • I think they are bad for the environment
      • I’ve heard that they are responsible for declines in bee and butterfly populations
      • I don’t like the fact that seed companies use the terminator gene (sterile seed)  to
        prevent seed saving
Particularly interesting to me were the historical developments of corn and bananas through cross breeding (natural but not GMO). Check out how much they have changed over many hundreds of years.
There was also a handout provided by the Extension office from Penn State titled "The Science of GMOs" (http://agsci.psu.edu/magazine/articles/2015/spring-summer/the-science-of-gmos). My only suggestion to all who have questions about this topic is to learn about it - not in magazines or on Twitter but look at science journals or research.

Linda's resume:
Linda got her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Colorado and did postdoctoral research at the U. of Wisconsin. Then she was a Professor at Texas A&M University for 25 years where she specialized in Virology and Biotechnology. She has been a Master Gardener since she retired and moved to Flagstaff in 2006. She helps coordinate the gardens at Olivia White Hospice, is a great cook and jewelry maker.

Loni Shapiro
Education Chair, CMGA

Grow Flagstaff

Check out the new Seed Library at the Coconino County Extension office.

The official opening was on Saturday, Nov. 7th at the extension. Thanks to Jackee Alston who headed up this big project. She has been working on it since last spring with the help of Hattie Braun, Nicole Gregory, and Regan Emmons. A crowd of interested gardeners, enjoyed lectures, food, and festivities. Come in and bring seeds, pick up some seeds, or just see what is available any time the extension is open.  Starting in January you can volunteer to help pack seeds, on the 4th Thursday of each month, from 10am-2pm.

Check out the AZ Daily Sun article on the seed library opening - http://azdailysun.com/news/flagstaff-s-first-seed-library-blossoming/article_b13c9db4-c7e7-5149-afed-e5d923fd6586.html

MG Meeting Agenda 11-12-15

Master Gardener Meeting Agenda 11/12/15

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

1601 N. San Francisco

6:30pm – 6:40pm             Welcome – Jim Mast

                                          

Announcements             Meeting Raffle – $1 each or 6 for $5 - Must be present to win

6:40pm – 6:45pm             Introduction of speaker – Loni Shapiro

6:45pm- 7:45pm               Education – Science of GMO Food – Linda Guarino

15 minute break

7:45pm-8:00pm Raffle Prize Drawing

Refreshments provided by Christine Orr and Susan Thompson

 

8:00pm - 8:25pm              Business Meeting – Jim Mast