Building Pollinator Habitat, December 1, 2020
“Building Pollinator Habitat in Towns and Cities: Southwest Region” is a program from the Xerces Society, presented by Kaitlin Haase. Learn what plants pollinators need, how to provide nesting habitat, and what steps you can take to create habitat where you live.
https://youtu.be/N59mjqnpdFo?si=zX7KuCWlNBPTLqMc
Gardening for Caterpillars, April 20, 2016
Although this is the oldest presentation here, you’ll learn something from New Mexico butterfly expert Steven J. Cary. Most primary consumers of plants are insects, making them critical in a food web. He explains what plant families are important for hosting butterfly larvae and how vital caterpillars are as food for baby birds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK_HSwuIrC8&list=PLErzuALToGNzMzw34I-Tly0W9TsI_xITZ&index=35
Native Trees for Climate Resilience, February 17, 2023
“Native Trees for Silver City: Ten Best Practices,” a program by Ann Audrey, Environmental Consultant, discusses ten best practices for using native trees in urban environments to improve climate change resilience. Native trees are well adapted to our Southwest climate and weather: they have endured extremes of heat, drought, and cold over countless years and still thrive. With more extreme weather events, adding native southwest trees into urban areas will help secure a shady future. Learn ten best practices to help select, plant, water, and care for native trees to support their health and longevity in urban environments.
See Ann’s helpful document here: Useful Resources for Silver City Climate Resilience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4CKxXAV6ak
Ferns and Fern Allies, October 26, 2023
In “Ferns and Fern Allies of New Mexico,” Harpo Faust, Collections Manager of the University of New Mexico Herbarium, discusses the Ferns of New Mexico, her work in collecting fern specimens for the herbarium and updating the checklist of ferns and fern allies found in New Mexico.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoxY-fvt4Mc
Penstemons, July 21, 2023
“Seven Great Penstemons for Southwest Gardens” is a short presentation for the Taos Chapter.
Penstemons are beautiful native wildflowers needing little care in Southwest gardens. This short talk covers both well-known species and some lesser-known ones. It will help you identify penstemons you might see on hikes in the Intermountain West. Species covered: Penstemon strictus, P. palmerii, P. clutei, P. barbatus, P. pinifolius, P. strictus 'blanca', and P. pseudospectabilis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzuYGQKThTU
Sunflowers, January 20, 2023
“Knowing the Sunflower Family in New Mexico,” a presentation by Dr. Richard Spellenberg, Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University and author of The Sunflower Family: A Guide to the Family Asteraceae in the Contiguous United States. Richard will cover what makes this family so difficult to grasp, the structure of the sunflower head, the features valuable in identification, and the value of learning taxonomic tribes in the family. Anyone with at least a beginning knowledge of botany will enjoy this talk.
https://youtu.be/a16lTRcr_D0
Tall Tales About Small Plants, January 18, 2023.
Russ Kleinman, Karen Blisard, and Kelly Allred reveal the world of Bryophytes, mosses, and liverworts not only through description but also through true-life accounts of their plant-hunting expeditions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Q6DdEbrTY
Insect Galls, April 19, 2024.
“Insect Galls of the Southwest” is a presentation by Quin Baine, Museum Research fellow at the Museum of Southwestern Biology. Galls are growths on plants caused by another organism and can be all sorts of shapes and forms. If you’ve seen them, you may have wondered: what is the function of these weird growths, and how can I identify them? The presentation summarizes the main groups of insect gall formers, their specialized relationships to plants, and how to recognize common galls of native plants of the southwest. Gain an insight into an unusual plant interaction, and hopefully be inspired to start identifying species of a cool and understudied group of plant-dependent animals.
https://youtu.be/kAp0LSyhGVI?si
Native Bees, January 19, 2024
This program, “Native Bees and Their Favorite Native Plants,” had the largest audience of any Gila Chapter program. Oliver Neria, PhD student at the University of Texas at El Paso, shared his enthusiasm for native bees. He gave an overview of our native bees, their life histories, floral preferences, nesting behaviors, and strategies that thoughtful gardeners can use to create useful bee habitats.
https://youtu.be/WoFr2Ho_T2Y
Native Bees, May 15, 2019
Dr. Olivia Carril's presentation “How to Woo a Bee” outlines the first simple step toward protecting our pollinators: Provide the flowers they need without pesticides. With abundant native wildflowers, your task is even simpler: Don't mow them down! Dr. Carril helps us identify the plants that native bees find most nutritious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM7JQotOSlg