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, by renowned conservationist and author, Heather Holm.
2. A panel discussion, titled What’s the Buzz about Ecological Restoration, with Heather Holm, Dr. Ken Bridle, President of the NC Native Plant Society, and Dr. Gary Gunderson, Professor of Divinity 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.
Heather Holm, National Honorary Director for Wild Ones, sets the stage for this program by stating: “Natural landscapes in the US and Canada have been drastically altered by human activities such as infrastructure development, logging, overgrazing, introduction of invasive species, and fire suppression. With the current threat of climate change, it is crucial to understand the past and present ecological conditions of these landscapes to inform future restoration efforts.”
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.
Heather Holm’s lecture, titled 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, moderated by Dr. Stan Meiburg, Heather Holm, Dr. Ken Bridle, and Dr. Gary Gunderson 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, Heather Holm 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 with Heather Holm at Parkway United Church of Christ
3:00-4:30pm Panel Discussion – What’s the Buzz about Ecological Restoration with Heather Holm, Dr. Ken Bridle, and Dr. Gary Gunderson. 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.
- Heather Holm, National Honorary Director of Wild Ones, pollinator conservationist and award-winning author.
- 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.
Heather Holm’s Bio:
Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). Both Bees and Wasps have won multiple book awards including the American Horticultural Society Book Award (2018 and 2022 respectively). Heather’s expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and many local publications. Heather is also an accomplished photographer and her pollinator photos are frequently featured in print and electronic publications. Heather is a National Honorary Director of Wild Ones. She also serves on the boards of the following non-profits: Friends of Cullen Nature Preserve and Bird Sanctuary and Friends of Minnetonka Parks. In her spare time, she is an active community supporter, writing grants, and coordinating and participating in volunteer ecological landscape restoration projects. The latest project is a 13-acre oak savanna restoration that will provide thriving habitat for pollinators, birds, mammals, and passive, nature-based opportunities for people.