Most monthly programs are open to both members and non-members. However, some will have space or venue limitations and will need pre-registration. Indoor programs will typically be held in the Fellowship Hall on the lower level of the Emmaus Baptist Church, 712 Linden Street N, Northfield, Minnesota. Parking is located on the south side of the church.
Chapter Program Schedule
Programs at Emmaus Church unless otherwise noted. We will not start indoor in-person meetings until it is safe to do so. Outside tour dates may change due to weather.
Upcoming 2023 Programs
THIS MEETING HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED DUE TO WEATHER
March 23, 7pm – Intergenerational Nature Connections – Breanna Wheeler – Emmaus Church
Room 215, First Floor
Breanna is committed to getting people of all ages to connect with each other while enjoying nature and having fun. We, as nature lovers, are prime candidates to help mentor folks of all ages and both share and learn from others.
From Breanna: People are spending less time outside which also means less connection with other people. Consequences range from individual to global problems: chronic health conditions, loneliness, not knowing our neighbors, political gridlock, and degraded ecosystems and climate change.
Join us to reflect on your relationship with nature across your life, who your nature mentors have been, and how you can be a nature mentor for others – both younger and older than you and your peers! Help plant the seeds to regain these important connections.
Breanna Wheeler is a MN Master Naturalist and Instructor. She formerly served as Executive Director of River Bend Nature Center and prior to that was a nursing home activity director for many years. Today, she works as an independent contractor with focuses on projects that ensure opportunities for the health benefits of intergenerational nature connections as well as natural resource conservation projects.
April 13, 6pm – Annual Anniversary Dinner
May 13- 7pm (Saturday) – Sakata State Park Ephemeral Tour (date may change) – joint event with S Central Wild Ones chapter
May 20, 9am – Native Plant Sale – Nancy Schumacher – Emmaus Church parking lot
June 8, 1pm – Dragonflies – led by John Arthur, Wild Ones and MN Dragonfly society – starting at Emmaus Church, field part at Carleton Arboretum
July 13, 7pm – Spring Lake Park Bison and Restored Prairie tour – Hastings, MN
July 27, 7pm – Native Garden Tour
August 10, 6pm – Tour Judith’s restored Prairie – Judith Bechtum – Webster
September 14, 6pm – Redwing Memorial Park tour led by Red Wing Park Naturalists
October 12, 7pm – Ducks and Duck Decoys – Gary Bullemer – Emmaus Church
November 9, 6pm – Annual Meeting, appetizers, seed sharing event, and presentation; 7pm – Starting a prairie regeneration project – Jake Froyum, Forester – Emmaus Church
December 7, 11am –Luncheon – St Olaf – loft at Buntrock commons
Past 2023 Programs
January 12, 7pm – “Native Garden Design and Development and the Minnesota State Lawns to Legumes program”, by Becky Rice of Metro Blooms – via Zoom
From Becky: “All Minnesota residents are eligible to apply for a cost reimbursement grant of $350 to plant natives in their yard. Pocket plantings, pollinator meadows, shoreline plantings, trees and shrubs, rain gardens, and pollinator lawns are encouraged. We’ll look at some of the before and after shots of projects installed, recommended plant palettes, design templates and other DIY resources for coaches and gardeners.”
February 9, 7pm – Ferns – Joe Walewski, Wolf Ridge, author – via Zoom
Here is a link to the February 9th presentation: https://clipchamp.com/watch/h6cBqlCrcbp
Past 2022 Programs
January 13, 7pm – “Mushrooms: Delicious, Deadly and Fascinating!” By Laura Teele, via Zoom
Find more information on the presentation and questions/answers here.
February 10, 7pm – “Landscaping with Native Plants”, by Cheryl Culbreth video, via Zoom, with Cheryl in attendance to answer questions. Here is a link to the presentation: Landscaping with Native Plants – YouTube
If you wish to connect with Cheryl her email is: [email protected] Please make sure to note in the header line that you have a follow-up question or request, or whatever it is you are checking on. Here is Cheryl’s landscape-restoration website: landscape-restoration.com
March 10th, 7pm – “Bringing back the Bluebirds”, by Carrol Johnson via Zoom.
April 14th 7PM – “Landscaping with Edible Natives” – Pete Widin, via zoom. If you missed Pete’s presentation you can find it on our Facebook page here.
May 5th, 6pm – Ephemerals Tour– Cannon River Park, led by Janet Petri.
May 21st, 9am-2pm – Emmaus Church Parking Lot – Nancy Schumacher
June 9th, 7pm – “What’s coming up in my native garden?” – Nancy Schumacher
June 16th, 7pm – Koester Prairie Tour – to be led by Dave Kuhnau.
July 14th, 5pm – Lashbrook Park and Potluck picnic at 6:30 – to be led by Ken Kirton.
Aug 11th, 5:30 pm or 6 pm – Whitewater State Park Native Garden tour, led by Joel Dunnette.
Sep 8th, 6pm – Dakota County Whitetail Park
Oct 13th, 5:30 pm – “Identifying Fall and Winter Trees”, Breanna Wheeler
Nov 10th, 6 pm – Annual Meeting and “Unseen and untold stories of a native garden”, Bonnie-Harper Lore
Dec 8th, 11:30am – Luncheon – St. Olaf Stav Hall Loft
December – Nature watching where you are