Program Description:
Wild Ones of Central North Carolina Chapter and the North Carolina Sierra Club Foothills Group, in collaboration with the Town of Lewisville, NC and the Gateway Nature Preserve in Winston-Salem, NC, are pleased to invite you to this extraordinary program focused on the importance of ecological restoration.
This multi-event program on November 8-9th, 2024 consists of:
1. A lecture, titled Oaks, Fire, and Climate Change.
2. A panel discussion, titled What’s the Buzz about Ecological Restoration, at Wake Forest University. The discussion is moderated by Dr. Stan Meiburg, Executive Director, Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.
3. A tour of the Gateway Nature Preserve in Winston-Salem, NC led by Salvador Patino, Co-Chair of the Preserve.
4. A tour of the grounds of the Mary Alice Warren Community Center led by Jon Hanna, Director of Public Works for the Town of Lewisville, NC.
Clearly, massive restoration efforts are necessary to overcome the challenges unfolding because of our reckless destruction of nature. Climate change is a serious concern. We need to restore depleted parts of our ecosystem to prevent it from demise. If we can save enough of the ecosystem, we will have enough elements of Nature’s benefits to survive.
Our program highlights the importance of protecting planet Earth, the role of ecological restoration, and how mankind can be a force of healing and regeneration of planet Earth and its inhabitants. Our guest speakers emphasize the need to conserve, preserve, and restore planet Earth so that it can regenerate. The program provides practical informaton on how to take an active role in the regenerative process.
Oaks, Fire, and Climate Change, examines the past to understand grassland systems at the time of Euro-American settlement and discusses how Native Americans managed and influenced the composition of these grassland systems with their regular use of fire. Heather will also discuss the impacts of fire as a strong selective pressure on keystone plants and bees. Pivoting to look into the future using projected climate modeling, Heather will address the ecological conditions today, focusing on oak ecosystems and grasslands, then paint a picture of what a functional, biodiverse, and resilient landscape may look like in the future, and what actions are needed to achieve these outcomes.
In the panel discussion, What’s the Buzz about Ecological Restoration, will emphasize the importance of actively engaging in restorative activities to protect, conserve and restore the health of planet Earth. Dr. Gunderson, an ordained minister, brings a spiritual focus to restoration. Mankind has been endowed with the responsibility to protect the Earth and all its creatures. We must reclaim a role that has been ours all along. Dr. Kenneth Bridle, Conservation Advisor for the Piedmont Land Conservancy, discusses how we can all contribute to these efforts in our own personal and collective ways. Since 1990, the Piedmont Land Conservancy has been active in protecting our region’s natural lands, family farms, and waters for the benefit of all living things through land protection, stewardship of conserved spaces, and connecting people with nature.
In the tours of the Gateway Nature Preserve and the grounds of the Mary Alice Warren Community Healing Center, explains how that in urban environments, natural landscapes that were once biodiverse and contiguous have been transformed to small and often highly degraded fragments. What potential do these sites hold for ecological restoration, pollinator habitat, and public demonstration sites? How does one go about restoring a site such as this? Step one is developing a plan that includes goals, objectives, and methods. Heather will address these steps and highlight some of the challenges, opportunities, and amazing outcomes that have unfolded in her neighborhood corner lot restoration. She will also discuss pollinator habitat enhancement and management considerations and celebrate the diverse pollinator populations that can thrive in the landscape.
The program is free. See registration links below. Please note that the events are held in different locations and have different Eventbrite registration links.
For more information, please contact Siham Muntasser: [email protected].
Agenda:
November 8th
1:00-3:00 pm Tour of the Gateway Nature Preserve, led by Salvador Patino. Address: 1490 S Broad St, Winston-Salem, NC 27127,
Eventbrite link to register for this free event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1057974884359.
November 9th
10:00-noon Tour of the grounds of the Mary Alice Warren Community Center led by Jon Hanna. Address: 7632 Warren Pk Dr, Lewisville, NC 27023.
Eventbrite link to register for this free event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1057983660609.
2:00-3:00pm Lecture on Oaks, Fire, and Climate Change at Parkway United Church of Christ
3:00-4:30pm Panel Discussion – What’s the Buzz about Ecological Restoration. Moderator: Dr. Stan Meiburg.
Both the lecture and the panel discussion will be held at Parkway United Church of Christ, 1465 Irving St, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
Eventbrite link to register for the free lecture and the panel discussion: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1054005541949.
Participants:
- Kenneth P. Bridle, PhD. President, North Carolina Native Plant Society.
- Jon Hanna, Director Public Works, City of Lewisville, NC.
- Gary R. Gunderson, MDiv., DMin., DDiv. Professor, Divinity School, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.
- Stan Meiburg, Ph.D. Executive Director, Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.
- Siham Muntasser, MD. President, Wild Ones Central North Carolina Chapter.
- Salvador N. Patino, Co-Chair, Gateway Nature Preserve, Winston-Salem, NC.