The Michigan Wildflower Conference is designed for persons who are interested in Michigan native plants and their habitats. There will be general and concurrent sessions both days. We are excited to bring back the Educators' Workshop, which will take place on Sunday only.

The conference is held at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center on the MSU campus. Please click here for links to directions and further information about the facilities.

Please find below the general schedule for the 2013 conference. Specific times will be finalized by the end of January. The registration form is available here.

PLEASE NOTE: Walk ins are welcome if you cannot meet the registration deadlines, but a lunch cannot be guaranteed.

Sunday, March 3
7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Kellogg Center, Big Ten Wing
Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. in the Red Cedar Room
Refreshments provided

THE EDUCATOR’S WORKSHOP

8:30 am – 9:15 am Mary Haysan and Carrie Assenmacher from Mattawan Later Elementary School, Kalamazoo (Past Glassen Grant Recipient) – St. Barnabas Peace Garden” & “Mattawan Later Elementary Native Prairie Teaching Garden
Find out how church members got interested in native plants, planned and planted their garden, and educated the congregation and the Chelsea community about the importance of native plants. Then, learn how one teacher’s love of the outdoors and native plants grew to the creation of a Michigan Native Prairie Teaching Garden at Mattawan Later Elementary School. The development and maintenance of the garden will be discussed, along with how "Our Outdoor Classroom" is incorporated into the school’s curriculum.

9:30 – 10:15 am Celia Larsen, Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor (Past Glassen Grant Recipient) - Growing Environmentalists at a Waldorf School
This project encompasses a woodland restoration and rain garden projects that are fundamentally tied to the school curriculum. This presentation will also cover the school’s development of a Natural Playground Master Plan and their application to the Michigan Green Schools program.

10:30 – 11:45 Join with General Session for Doug Tallamy’s Presentation

2:00 - 4:00 pm Michelle Serreyn - Native Plants and Michigan Ecosystems in the Curriculum.
Learn fun ways to teach students about ecosystems and receive materials for classroom use. Topics include: food webs and energy flow, nutrient cycling, non-native invasive species, threatened species, and people and the environment, all with a Michigan focus.

If you have any questions regarding the Educator’s Workshop please contact Michelle Serreyn at: Michelle.Serreyn@metroparks.com .

GENERAL SESSION: begins at 8:30

MORNING SESSIONS

Conservation and Ecological Restoration at different scales - LAUREL ROSS, Director of Urban Conservation for the Field Museum in Chicago and Chair of the Chicago Wilderness Executive Council

WAM Annual Meeting

Networks for Life: Your Role in Stitching Together the Natural World - DOUGLAS TALLAMY, Professor & Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology University of Delaware and author of Bringing Nature Home - How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants

GRANT AWARDS LUNCHEON (Vegetarian meal available)

WAM grant awards by Maryann Whitman, Educational Grant Coordinator

AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Mushroom Cultivation Workshop - CHRIS WRIGHT, Research Mycologist at Michigan State University

Wildflowers in a Michigan Garden: Transforming an Urban Lot into a Native Oasis - CHERYL ENGLISH, Advanced Master Gardener of Wayne County, President Emeritus of Master Gardeners of Greater Detroit Owner/Operator, Black Cat Pottery/The English Landscape

Monarch Watch & Monarch Tagging - DEBBIE JACKSON, Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist

Milkweeds: Diversity, Ecology, Threats and Solutions - STEPHEN MALCOLM, Dept. Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University

Fireside Gathering - Please join us in the Red Cedar Room to visit and for book autographs from our author presenters.

Monday, March 4
7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Kellogg Center, Big Ten Wing
Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. in the Red Cedar Room
Refreshments provided

MORNING SESSIONS

Treasures Amount our Natives - DOUGLAS TALLAMY, Professor & Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology University of Dela-ware and author of Bringing Nature Home - How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants

Beaubien Woods Case Study:Rescuing an Orphan Public Natural Area - LAUREL ROSS, Director of Urban Conservation for the Field Museum in Chicago and Chair of the Chicago Wilderness Executive Council

LUNCHEON (Vegetarian meal available) - Special Recognition Award and Door Prize Drawing

AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Seed Starting Workshop - BILL SCHNEIDER, Owner of WildType Design, Native Plant & Seed, LTD

Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership Update - JANE HERBERT, Senior Extension Educator, Water Resources, Michigan State University Extension, Greening Michigan Institute

Going 100% Native: A Home Landscape Transformation - DREW LATHIN, Owner of Creating Sustainable Landscapes, LLC

Insect & Flower Pollination Relationships. Flowers & Bees Really Know How to Get Things Done - ROGER SUTHERLAND, Retired Professor Emeritus- Biology Schoolcraft College

Urban Wildlife - MATT CLYSDALE, HorsePower Pictures, Professional Photograph/Video

Educating Tomorrow’s Naturalists - MICHELLE SERRYN, Interpreter, Lake St. Clair Metropark Nature Center

Wild Ones/WAM Panel Discussion - MIKE KLUG, Professor Emeritus MSU Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Co-President Kal-amazoo Area Chapter Wild Ones.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS
A wide variety of vendors offering high quality arts and crafts, gifts, books, photographs and original paintings. A variety of business and organization exhibitors will provide educational information about native plants, habitats, products and programs.

Registration:

The registration form is available here.

PLEASE NOTE: Walk ins are welcome if you cannot meet the registration deadlines, but a lunch cannot be guaranteed.