|
BACPS | Newsletter |
| Winter 2010 |
| Next Meeting: Saturday, April 10, 2010 |
| January Meeting Minutes | |
| Chomp 2: Return of the Carnivorous Plants | |
| Time to Start Thinking About the Annual BACPS Show and Sale | |
| Treasurer's Report | |
| Upcoming Events | |
by Geoff Wong
Date: Saturday, April 10, 2010
Time: Noon-4:00 p.m.
Place: University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley
Program: "A Couple of Years of Field Fun," presented by Barry Rice
The last time Barry spoke at a BACPS meeting, he gave a fast-paced talk in which he
described highlights from some of his recent CP trips and projects. Attendees may remember
he called it a "Dim Sum" talk, jumping from topic to topic without lingering overly
long on any one subject -- the flavors of his presentation moved fast and pleasantly,
just like a fine Dim Sum meal. A few years have passed, new trips have come and gone,
and Barry is ready for another yummy update! Pass the pork buns this way!
Those of you who have heard Barry before know that his talks are always entertaining. Hearing about his latest observations and insights on California CPs will surely get you motivated to head out to the bogs this spring and enjoy our native carnivorous plants first hand.
Also at this meeting, Lau Hodges and Erika Frank from the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers will describe their upcoming carnivorous plant exhibition, "Chomp 2," which will open on May 7, 2010. Lau and Erika will discuss how the BACPS can help and the available volunteer opportunities.
Please bring plants for the show and tell table. Donations are gratefully appreciated for the raffle and auction, which are our major fundraisers. Members are also welcome to bring plants to sell or auction. (A portion of proceeds will be collected as part of our fundraising, 10% for BACPS and 10% for the UC Botanical Garden.)
Attendees are encouraged to bring a snack or drink to share. As a token of our appreciation, donors will receive a free raffle ticket.
For directions to the Botanical Garden, visit the website at botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu.
by Doris Quick
Date: January 9, 2010
Location: University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley
Attendance: 68
Total Membership: 750
Vendors: 5
President Bill Weaver announced that we have been invited to participate again in the Sproutopia (children's) section of the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show this coming March 24 through 28, to be held at the San Mateo Event Center. The show has changed hands over the past year. Stephen Davis is willing to be co-chair again, but Doris Quick is unable to be the other co-chair this year. Bill asked for a volunteer to take the position, which entails setting and managing the schedule of volunteers, working with Stephen to arrange for the plants to be given away to children, and arranging for the display plants. Without a co-chair we will not be able to participate this year. As of the end of the meeting, no one had volunteered.
(Editor's Note: Katie Taylor volunteered to co-chair our participation in the SF Flower & Garden Show, and at press time is still looking for volunteers. She can be reached at littlegreennut@pacbell.net.)
Joe Mazrimas spoke briefly about the annual show and sale to be held June
19 at the Lakeside Park Garden Center. Admission is free, but parking at
the lake has been raised to $5.00. Joe encouraged members to take part
and help make the show a success.
Bug Day: We are on for Bug Day at the Randall Museum in San Francisco again this year. It was a bit early to discuss it. More will follow.
Bill reminded us of the new policy for vendors. We discovered recently that the University has a policy forbidding sales at events in the meeting room. Since they do allow fundraisers for the University, a compromise was struck. We are now collecting 20% from our vendors -- 10% to go to the club and 10% to be donated to the UC Botanical Garden.
Geoff Wong announced that Barry Rice would be doing the program for our Spring meeting in April.
Harry Tryon announced that there is a new preserve in northern California, the L.E. Horton Darlingtonia Bog. He said it is 50 acres and rivals Butterfly Valley. Harry will be bringing slides and doing a presentation for us at a meeting in the near future.
Geoff Wong introduced our speaker, Ron Parsons. Ron is a photographer
and lecturer, well known in orchid circles for his books and lectures (his
website is www.flowershots.net). The
subject of his slide show was CPs in their natural habitat, photographed in
the U.S., Mexico, Italy, and Australia. Ron's photos from the U.S. went from
Darlingtonia, Drosera, and pings in California, to Sarracenia and Utricularia
in Texas and Minnesota, pings in Pennsylvania, VFTs in N. Carolina,
Sarracenia in S. Carolina, and Sarracenia and pings in Florida.
Ron's trip through Mexico was by car.....14 states in 14 days, 2600 miles.
He had some incredible ping pics.
In Austria and northern Italy, Ron got some pics of P. alpina with unusual white
flowers.
His trip through Australia netted him some incredible shots of Drosera --
pygmys, tuberous, etc. -- Utricularia, and Cephalotus.
It was a beautiful presentation by a top-notch photographer.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:25 p.m. At 2:45 we began the raffle and auction of donated plants.
Raffle plants included Sarracenia, Utricularia, pings, and Nepenthes. Auction plants included some very beautiful potted Nepenthes and Nepenthes cuttings. One cutting was for an unnamed Nepenthes that Max Schaefer donated. Next to Max's own plant, it is the only one in this country.
by Erika Frank
The staff of the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers often refers to the space as a "living museum."
This spring, the dark side of the museum's living things is explored with Chomp 2: Return of the Carnivorous Plants.
The Conservatory is asking the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society members to join their team of special exhibit volunteers. Chomp volunteers will share the mischievous wonders of carnivorous plants with Conservatory visitors as well as lead the daily "Fly Trap Theater," when we dissect carnivorous plants and show off how various trapping mechanisms work for the sake of educating our youngest visitors about the wonders of carnivorous plants.
Two trainings will be held for Chomp special exhibit volunteers. The first, held on the evening of Wednesday, April 28, will be at the Conservatory. The second training will be offered at California Carnivores by Peter D'Amato the morning of Monday, May 10. Volunteers only need to attend one of these two trainings.
The conservatory asks all special exhibit volunteers to do an average of two three-hour shifts per month for the duration of the exhibit, which is May 7 through October 31. For more information or to fill out a volunteer application, please contact Erika Frank, Director of Volunteer Services, at 415-637-4326 or efrank@sfcof.org.
by Doris Quick
This year's show and sale will be June 19 at the Lakeside Park Garden Center in Oakland again.
Start thinking about your entries. Remember, it doesn't have to be a rare or expensive plant to win.
The most weight is given to how well you've grown it. Is it vigorous and healthy? Has it been
well groomed and weeded? Nice presentation also counts, but the most important factor is how good
the plant itself looks. This is your chance to show off your horticultural skills. It's also
your opportunity to show off your artistic side in the arrangement category or the art category. Don't
tell yourself "so and so always wins this category." You never know when they may have an off
year or not be able to attend. Even if you don't win, it's fun to have a chance to show off your
favorite plants and creations, and the more entries we have, the more fun and educational it is for
the public to come see these incredible plants. Also be looking around your growing area for starts,
etc., that can be donated for the raffle and auction.
Now for a reminder....... These affairs do not just magically happen. It is a group effort. If you are a member of the club and able to come, please consider what you might be able to contribute to the success of the show. Donations for the raffle and auction are really a big help, but we also need some other help. There will be a sign-up sheet at the next meeting for setting up in the morning and/or cleaning up in the evening. It doesn't take a great amount of time, just the ability to help move tables, etc. Having been pretty much a committee of one the last couple of years, I have decided it's time to share the glory and let some of you young healthy collectors get involved in these tasks. One nice side benefit of helping with set-up is you will be there early enough to get a good parking spot. We also will need the occasional relief person during the show, so yours truly may get away from the Plant Hotel for a few minutes. Other tasks will present themselves, and it would be nice to have a few willing volunteers who can be called on during the course of the day.
If you have not been a vendor at past shows, you probably are not on my vendor e-mail distribution list. If you are interested in selling this year, please contact me so I can add you to the list.
Mark those calendars!!
by Joe Mazrimas
| BACPS TREASURY REPORT January 9, 2010 | |||
| ASSETS | DEBT | BALANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction | $241.00 | ||
| Raffle | $95.00 | ||
| Sellers | $196.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $532.00 | ||
| O-EBGC,Inc. | $50.00 | ||
| UC Fund | $98.00 | ||
| Auction refund | $57.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $205.00 | ||
| Current Balance (01-09-2010) | $327.00 | ||
| Previous Balance (11-21-2009) | $5165.72 | ||
| TOTAL | $5492.72 |
March 24-28, 2010: San Francisco Flower & Garden Show,
San Mateo Event Center
April 10, 2010: Spring Meeting, Barry Rice -- "A Couple of Years of Field Fun,"
University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley
April 17, 2010: Bug Day, Randall Museum, San Francisco
May 7-October 31, 2010: Chomp 2,
San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park
June 19, 2010: Annual Show and Sale,
Lakeside Park Garden Center, Oakland
July 31, 2010: Summer Meeting,
California Carnivores: Potluck, Larry Mellichamp
October 30, 2010: Fall Meeting,
University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley
Dim Sum breakfast in Hong Kong -- public domain photo from Wikipedia, suggested by Dr. Barry Rice; blooming Drosera macrophylla (with her show article) -- Doris Quick; CHOMP! logo provided by Lisa Van Cleef of the SF Conservatory of Flowers at the time of the original show in 2007; table of contents Drosera macrophylla and other photos -- Tony Gridley.
The BACPS Newsletter is a quarterly publication produced by the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society. Please send newsletter submissions to Tony Gridley (tgridley@comcast.net). For more information on membership, subscriptions, or events, please visit our website: www.bacps.org.