Category Archives: Uncategorized

Author: Ethan Perry Photos: Kelly Beaster Can there be any better way to welcome spring than strolling among early woodland wildflowers? The Arrowhead Native Plant Explorers kicked off the outdoor season on Saturday, May 20 with a walk at Jay Cooke State Park. It was a repeat from last year, and it looks to becomeContinue reading “Spring ephemerals at Jay Cooke State Park 5.20.23”

Author: Tim Larson On April 13, 2023, entomologist and Duluth-area farmer Claire Lande discussed die-offs of native bumblebees, with a specific focus on bumblebee mortality related to linden trees. Claire began her talk by passing around insect exhibit boxes.  One displayed several species of bumblebees of many shapes and sizes that are native to ourContinue reading “Bumble bees and linden trees presentation 4.13.23”

Author: Ethan Perry By now most of us in northern Minnesota have heard the predictions of what’s going to happen to our forests as the climate warms over the next century. Some of our iconic Northwoods trees will get baked out by summer heat and droughts, or fall victim to surging pest populations. Other treesContinue reading “Forest Assisted Migration Presentation 3.26.23”

Author: Ethan Perry On Sunday Feb 26 we met at the Bagley Nature Center classroom to mount pressed plant specimens onto acid-free archival herbarium sheets. Dr. Amanda Grusz, a biology professor at UMD and curator of the Olga Lakela Herbarium, gave us an introduction to the importance of plant specimens for science. One use forContinue reading “Plant mounting workshop 2.26.23”

Author: Ethan Perry On February 5, Brad Evraets, a Water Resources Science graduate student at UMD, gave us a presentation of his earlier research on fossil leaves and paleoclimate. Have you ever seen a leaf floating downstream and wondered where it will end up? Mr. Evraets can tell you exactly what happened to over 200Continue reading “Paleobotany presentation 2.5.23”

The Arrowhead Native Plant Explorers gathered together to celebrate their first year and a half of events with a spread of homemade dishes, including quiche, pumpkin muffins, lentil salad, mini hotdogs, and a meatball cook-off: vegan vs. meat lovers. No winner declared. Both were great! Along with a recap of each of our events andContinue reading “Member Night at UMD on December 17, 2022”

The Arrowhead Native Plant Explorers met on November 19 at the Boulder Lake Environmental Learning Center about 30 minutes north of Duluth. Zane welcomed us to the Center, which is a partnership between UMD, Minnesota Power, and St. Louis County set within an 18,000 acre management area. Our speaker was Rubin Stenseng, who is bothContinue reading “Boulder Lake orchid presentation 11.19.22”

On the gorgeous afternoon of Sunday October 2, the Arrowhead Native Plant Explorers met at the Cloquet Forestry Center with Dr. Artur Stefanski, a University of Minnesota Research Associate. He took us inside a deer exclosure covering several acres where a variety of research projects are running. For most of our visit Dr. Stefanski discussedContinue reading “Tour of B4WarmED experiment”

On a beautiful Fall evening, the Arrowhead Native Plant Explorers met with Jeffrey Flory of the 1854 Treaty Authority to learn about invasive non-native species in the Arrowhead region and their effects on native species. Jeffrey discussed the threats that invasive plant species can pose to native species by displacing their habitat. We met atContinue reading “Nature walk at the DWP Trail Corridor 9.13.22”

Author: Ethan Perry On Saturday, August 28, Arrowhead Native Plant Explorers held our first annual Plant Foray. The Forays are intended to provide the Olga Lakela Herbarium at UMD with fresh plant specimens for educational and research purposes. The morning showers ended, but our feet certainly got wet as we headed into the Blue DasherContinue reading “2022 Native Plant Foray”