Earth Day All Species Parade - Come Join the Milkweed Ecosystem

Super Swampers and other members of the wet meadow community will once again be participating in the All Species Parade at Ann Arbor's Earth Day Festival.

The earth day festival will be held on Sunday, April 25, 2010 Noon to 4 p.m. at Washtenaw Community College's Morris Lawrence building.

The wet meadow team will be there with our display focusing on recruiting people to come to the Wet Meadow III planting.

As usual, we'll be participating in the all species parade. We encourage people to come dressed as a milkweed or a member of the milkweed ecosystem. See the list of possibilities below, or check out the Milkweed Web of Life document.

Plant:

• Common Milkweed
• Butterfly weed
• Swamp Milkweed

Insects:

• bees (pollinators)
• bumblebees
• honey bees
• green metallic bee
• carpenter bees
• gray striped "leaf-cutter" bees
• wasps
• Pompillid
• spiders
• Crab
• butterflies/moths
• Monarch
• Milkweed Tussock Moth
• Clear-wing hawkmoth
• caterpillars
• Monarch
• Tussock
• beetles
• Long horned milkweed
• Lady bug
• bugs
• Small milkweed bug- nymph
• Small milkweed bug- adult
• Large milkweed bug- nymph
• Large milkweed bug- adult
• Milkweed assassin bug
• flies
• Tachinid flies
• ants
• aphids

Birds:

• Orioles
• Goldfinches

Prescribed Burn A Great Success on Thursday, April 1, 2010

“Wet Meadow Burn”: Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow. City natural area program staff conducted the annual prescribed burn of the wet meadow on Thursday, April 1, 2010. “It’s quite a sight--my daughter has gone to prescribed burns since age 2 and loves them,” says one parent. “I think it’s quite safe for kids of any age if they’re with a parent.”


Dozens of kids and parents showed up to help collect seeds and learn about how this helps wildflowers, birds, butterflies and other creatures. Stop by in a week or so to see new growth sprouting from the deep roots of our native plants. Buhr Park, 2751 Packard 48104. Free. 971-5870

(These photos are from past years; we'll have new ones soon.)