Our Birchwood Home: Lessons in Natural Landscaping

"Our Birchwood Home: Lessons in Natural Landscaping" will be presented by Bill Volkert, a retired employee of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17. Volkert and his wife Connie have lived on Birchwood Lake for more than 35 years and have worked to restore their land to a series of natural communities, including an oak-hickory woods, restored prairie and a wetland with natural springs. They have removed invasive shrubs from their woodlot and turned a former cornfield into a native prairie and prairie nursery. Connie collects seeds from the nursery to grow in a greenhouse to establish new gardens and enhance existing ones and obtained permits to grow several state threatened species which thrive at their home. Over the years, the couple has cataloged more than 650 species of plants and animals, including 207 kinds of birds, on less than 10 acres. The The webinar, sponsored by the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory, focuses on their experiences in natural landscaping and land management and provides a range of examples for using native plants for both small gardens and managing larger areas of land. Register at wglbbo.org/news/register.