Saturday and Sunday
September 10 and 11, 2011
Town of Simcoe
Dear friends and colleagues in Botany.
Enclosed is the schedule of our 2011 Annual General Meeting and its associated activities and field trips. The AGM will be taking place in the Town of Simcoe, Norfolk County.
If you are interested, please fill out the attached registration form and indicate your choice of trips and whether you will be attending the banquet on Saturday evening.
Four trips (two on Saturday and two on Sunday) have been organized for your enjoyment and our first-class leaders will take you to various botanical hotspots in the botanically diverse Haldimand and Norfolk counties. Trip descriptions and directions are included.
Please note that field trips are open to non-FBO members but there is a surcharge of $5 per person per trip, and after priority has been given to the members. Your cheque will be cashed following the AGM. Refunds will be issued provided cancellations are made at least 7 days prior to the AGM. No-shows will not be refunded.
For the trips, please arrive adequately supplied with food and drinks, and in proper footwear and clothing.
You will also remember that, as per our policies, personal collecting of plant material (whole specimens or parts, seeds, etc.) is not permitted on FBO trips unless stated otherwise. The trip leader may take voucher specimens for deposition in recognized herbaria.
For those wishing to stay overnight, the town and vicinity offer a good range of accommodations of various kinds, but Best Western appears to us as the most pleasant.
Field Trips: Saturday 10 September 2011
Chambers Property (Nature Conservancy of Canada)
Leader: Bill Draper
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
The Nature Conservancy of Canada has recently purchased a number of properties in Norfolk County as part of their Norfolk Legacy Project. We will be visiting one of these properties to explore a rich assemblage of plant communities on the valley slope and floodplain of Big Creek. We will see representative sand plain species, Carolinian species, and an unusual Black Walnut floodplain forest containing a large population of the rare grass, Deer-tongue Panic Grass (Dichanthelium clandestinum)(S2). If time permits, we will explore the oak forests on the adjoining property.
We will meet at the property at 9:30 am. To reach the property from Simcoe, follow Highway 24 south and west to Highway 59 (approximately 32 km from the intersection at Highway 3 in Simcoe). Proceed west across Highway 59 and continue on Regional Road 60 for approximately 3.7 kilometres to the West Quarter Line Road. Turn left and proceed 1.4 km south on the West Quarter Line Road to the first T intersection. Turn left and find a place to park on the side of the sand road.
St. Williams Conservation Reserve, Turkey Point Tract and adjacent wetlands.
Leader: Kevin Kavanagh
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
A wonderful assemblage of uplands, steep valley slopes and wetland habitats all exist here in proximity to one another. We will begin at a scenic overlook of the Turkey Point marshes at Long Point Eco-Adventures and then proceed into the St. Williams Conservation Reserve where we will encounter plant communities on steep valley slopes dominated by Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and bluffs with mixed oak woodland. We will see representative Carolinian species including mature Tulip Trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) and American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). We will explore the edges of the Turkey Point Bog where northern species such as Black Spruce (Picea mariana), Tamarack (Larix laricina) and Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) can be found growing within metres of the Carolinian species. This is also the only known site in Ontario where Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) naturally occurs, often in association with Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and Poison Sumac (Rhus vernix). The trails are very steep in places and will require sturdy (and potentially waterproof) footwear.
We will meet at Long Point Eco-Adventures at 1:00 pm. To reach this location from Simcoe, follow Highway 24 south and west to Regional Road 10 (approximately 15 km from the south end of Simcoe). Turn left (south) onto Regional Road 10 (which is also called Turkey Point Road) to Front Road (3rd intersection after turning off of Highway 24). Turn right onto Front Road and you will see the entrance for Long Point Eco-Adventures on your left (south side). Park in the main parking lot and we will meet inside the main building at 1:00PM.
Field Trips: Sunday 11 September 2011
Long Point Sand Dunes, Long Point Provincial Park
Leader: Albert Garofalo
9:30 am – 3:00 pm
The Great Lakes coast supports some of the rarest and most threatened ecosystems in Canada. Long Point, on Lake Erie, is a hotspot for species diversity and supports a number of distinctive shoreline plants such as Beach Grass (Ammophila breviligulata), Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus), Sea Rocket (Cakile edentula), Seaside Spruge (Euphorbia polygonifolia), and Kalm’s St. Johnswort (Hypericum Kalmianum). We will be visiting the sand dune communities in search of coastal species which occur on the shorelines of the Great Lakes in addition to the Atlantic Ocean. If time permits, we can also explore the coastal wetlands.
We will meet at the entrance to Long Point Provincial Park at 9:30 am, on September 11th. To reach our meeting place from Simcoe, follow Highway 24 south and then west to Highway 59. Turn south (left) on Highway 59 and proceed until it turns into Long Point Road. Continue on Long Point Road as it turns eastward onto the Long Point Sand Spit and becomes Erie Blvd. Follow signs to the entrance of the Provincial Park. The drive is approximately 45km from Simcoe and should take 45-50 minutes. We will try to park outside the park and walk in.
Haldimand Clay Plain
Leader: Mary Gartshore - !
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
We will assemble at 9:00 am at the Little River Inn Best Western in Simcoe and then travel to the Selkirk Park as our first stop, en route to two other areas.
Selkirk Provincial Park, on Wheeler Rd. Approximate start time 9:30 am. We will search dry woods for clay hickory-oak specialties and other southern species including Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea), Great St. John’s-wort (Hypericum ascyron) and Southern Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica).
Oriskany Sandstone, east of junction of Dry Lake Rd and Townline Road. Approximate start time 12:00 noon. Small open sandstone pavement feature of the Oriskany sandstone with Intermediate (or Wand-like) Bush-clover (Lespedeza intermedia), American Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) and other sandstone specialties.
Ruthven Historic Park, Lower Grand River Land Trust, Hwy 54 just north of Cayuga. Approximate start time 2:00 pm. Grand River slope forest with Black Cohosh (Actaea (Cimicifuga) racemosa) and North Cayuga Slough Forest sloughs with Sharp-Winged Monkey Flower (Mimulus alatus), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Southern Arrow-wood (Viburnum recognitum) and other slough forest specialties.
We will finish the busy day at Cayuga around 3:30-4:00 pm.
Annual General Meeting and Dinner
Field Botanists of Ontario
Saturday September 10, 2011
Best Western Little River Inn
203 Queensway West
Town of Simcoe
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Directions: Highway 24 South to Simcoe’s downtown, right (west) onto Queensway, hotel very short distance on the north side of street.
Following Saturday’s field trips, we will meet at the Little River Inn’s Skylight Room. The evening’s program is as follows:
5:00 – 6:00 Social hour: an opportunity to meet and chat with fellow FBO members. A fine selection of imbibements will be available, at cost.
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner (plated: poached salmon with dill hollandaise), followed by tea, coffee and dessert.
7:00 Feature presentation: “Botanical highlights of the Midwest Tallgrass Prairie, Carolinian forests of the Appalachians and the Atlantic Coastal Plain”, based on the travels of Chris Zoladeski, presented by himself.
8:15 – 9:30 AGM (agenda below)
Agenda
2011 Annual General Meeting
1. Call to Order
2. Introduction of FBO Executive and address of the President
3. Presentation of Goldie Award
4. Approval of Agenda
5. Approval of the 2010 AGM Minutes
6. Treasurer’s Report
7. Auditor’s Report
8. Membership Chairman’s Report
9. Nominating Committee Report and election of officers
10. Suggestions for future trips and location of 2012 AGM
11. General discussion and other business
12. Adjournment
Registration forms are on the website, or coming in your mail!
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