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December 2009 - The Local Scoop

"Where life is Celastrus"
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!
Happy Holidays or Festivus for the rest of us!
While most native plants rest safely tucked into bed and slip into slumber, The Scoop wonders if native plant enthusiasts also rest snugly in their beds with visions of native plums dancing in their heads. Let us take a well-deserved break from the daily machinations of gardening and take time to reflect. Lest we be complacent, let's remember - some are not so fortunate and lie worried that their plants face an unknown future. In the spirit of the season, we will keep hopeful and try not to air too many grievances. But it is hard not to rail against government ineptitude and thinking that is glacial in movement. We will push back against ignorance and keep the education mandate moving forward, while rushing to protect and nurture what we have. Perhaps the 25th Anniversary will be a renewal of sorts. We can always hope for a Festivus Miracle. Scoop Readers - it is foretold - you will be visited by ghosts from the Past, the Present, and the Future...
Ghosts from the Past
Yikes! The Scoop gets called up for Jury Duty and a public hanging.
The Scoop thought that Hallowe'ed was dead and over, yet a recent haunting by an officer from Municipal Licensing & Standards, says otherwise. Stalkers in the 'hood. Could it get any more gruesome?
Ghosts from The Present
Donations to NANPS - a timely cause for the end of the tax year is upon us.
Folks, we're in a bit of a sticky currant (Ribes viscosissimum) situation. We don't have two tinker's pennies (Hypericum anagalloides) to rub together to keep our good works progressing. Basically, we're running on fumeworts (Corydalis spp.).
At this time of year, as we tuck into our cozy homes to watch seasonal favourites, like Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol (Alistair Sim - b&w, of course), think of poor tinytim (*Geocarpon minimum) and his plight. The hope for the future is at stake. Don't be a scrooge and spout "bah, humped bladderwort!" (Utricularia gibba). Turn over a new leaf. Please give generously to increase the (surplus) population of native plants at home and continent-wide.
New this year: CanadaHelps is a registered charity that facilitates donations to NANPS online. You can donate directly or give a donation as a gift to others. http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s41089 *endangered plant native to Arkansas and Missouri ** listed as Special Concern in Rhode I.
Ghosts from The Future
Mark our words...or at least the calendar… 2010 Speakers' Series at the Garden Hall, Toronto Botanical Garden
January 20 - Paul General - Allies in Protecting the Environment: First Nations and the Land
February 17 - Janine McLeod - Tallgrass Prairie: One of Canada's Most Threatened Native Habitats - the Alderville Savanna
April 7 - Jane Bowles - "Rare Native Plant Gems" or Species at Risk
E-FLASH: JUST IN!
URGENT CALL TO ARMS!
NANPS member, Diane Way of North Toronto, has been turned down for an application under the native plant garden exemption. She will be hauled before council to defend her gardens. Please come out and support her (and all gardeners) at the council meeting on January 12 at Toronto City Hall, Committee Rm. 1 (second floor), after 2 p.m. Unfortunately, we don't know the exact time. From all accounts and depending on the agenda, these meeting could run into the early evening, so many of you could attend after work to support her. This reign of intimidation by The City must stop!
email: teycc@toronto.ca (Toronto and East York Community Council)
click here for the agenda
(please note the privacy clause - you can ask them to remove personal info from your correspondence, e.g., email address, etc., from the record, but you must express that desire)
PARTING SHOOTS IN THE PIPEVINE (Aristolochia macrophylla):
It is now official that the Town of Markham through the Markham Environmental Sustainability Fund has granted NANPS funding for an Invasive Species Awareness Program and we will be working towards a program throughout the year to gain awareness through talks, design workshop, invasive species pull days and will culminate at the AGM in October.
LEED for Weeds: New Program Will Rate Green Landscapes. The American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanic Garden have created the first rating system in the U.S. for environmentally sensitive landscapes.
Hedge-mony: the "authorities" (ML&S) take another gardener to task in this heightened age.
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