Field Trip to Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden

Six of us travelled up the 605 to Claremont to visit Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden. It was a beautiful overcast day full of plants, flowers, lizards, snakes and Thai food. Check out the videos and photos:




The largest Opuntia prolifera I've ever seen.


An amazing wall of dudleya welcomed us into the gardens.

A couple huge chalk dudleyas.

The EcoLink Field Trip crew minus myself and a brother who was throwing something at me outside of the frame.

Events in May!!!!

May’s EcoLink Field Trip is to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont! On Sunday May 22 at 10am, we will meet at the old Borders Parking Lot at Bellflower and Stearns in East Long Beach to carpool up to the Botanical Gardens. Garden admission is free for RSABG members; $8 adults; $6 seniors and students; $4 children 3-12. Also, they will be holding a sale of succulent, cactus and agave plants on the day we will be there plus they will have their butterfly pavilion for an extra $2. I, as always, suggest bringing your own sack lunch (or lunch money plus a good argument to grab lunch somewhere) and some extra cash to help out the driver of your carpool.

Oh, and EcoLink Partner Timothy Dunham of Somethings Creative is hosting a Conservation Arts Show at Viento y Agua on May 21st. Check out the attached flier for more information!

Also, EcoLink will be facilitating a Northwest Earth Institute “Sense of Place” reading circle. The reading material is $20. This reading circle is one of my favorites and definitely worth it. For more information on NWEI or Sense of Place check out their site: http://www.nwei.org/ and to sign up for the reading circle, please contact Chris Ward at crward947@hotmail.com. There is a limit of 20 people, so please RSVPsoon.

April Meeting Minutes

Minutes

April 28^th, 2011

The meeting was called to order by Taylor Parker at 7:10 p.m.

In attendance –

Austin Parker, Bruce Monroe, Chris Ward, Taylor Parker, Kerry Martin, Whitney Graves, Sharon Hesse, Mary Parcell

Introduction

“The Movement with no name” - Bruce Monroe

5 minute brainstorm session to the benefit the discussion of The Movement with No Name. The motto of the movement is: restoring grace, justice and beauty in the world. If you divide the entirety of the world up by the amount of people on the planet everyone is responsible for 10 acres. The goal is to develop a token/ brand/ identity marker/ that identifies:

· ven diagram of earth elements

· deep ecology logo in a ‘tv’ screen

· tree of life within a circle

· seed concept somewhere because of the many implications of nurturing a seed

· mother and child within a water drop

· child superimposed upon a seed

· turtle symbol

Please give your input on potential symbols

El Dorado Nature Center - Kerry Martin— longbeach.gov/naturecenter/

· Discussion of activities at Nature Center

· Turtle show

· Madrona Marsh naturalists giving native plant discussion.

Visit website for more information

Shipley Nature - Kerry Martin— shipleynature.org

· April 30^th – 9-2pm – Spring Festival

· Demonstration garden is in full bloom

Visit website for more information

EcoLink - Chris Ward– ecolinklongbeach.blogspot.com

· NWEI discussion Sundays starting June 5^th from 4pm-5.30pm

Contact Chris Ward for more information: crward947@hotmail.com

El Dorado Audubon - Mary Parcell - eldoradoaudobon.org / eldoradoaudobon@yahoo.com –

· Potential illegal lot line split with Marketplace Marsh discussion at planning department with the City of Long Beach

· Comment period for the Draft EIR has ended. Egretsnotregrets.com

· May 14^th 10am- Gum Grove Walk

· May 15^th 8am - Gum Grove Walk

· Hellman Walks every 2^nd & 4^th Wednesday off of PCH & 1^st

350.org – Taylor Parker– 350.org

· Discussion of “Moving Planet”

Community Organizer- Taylor Parker—ecolinklongbeach.blogspot.com

· EcoLink:

o Discussion of field trip to Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve.

o Discussion of field trip to next Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden``

· Los Cerritos Wetlands Stewardship Program: Discussion of community-based restoration: www.lcwetlands.org

· Friends of Colorado Lagoon: Discussion of activities: www.coloradolagoon.org

Next Field Trip: May 22nd –10am – Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden (meet at the Borders parking lot on Bellflower and Stearns at 10am)

Next Meeting: Thursday May 26^th – 7pm -Unitarian Church on Bellflower and Atherton