WALK NOTES REGISTRATION & FEES: Pre-registration is required for all events with fees (and sometimes for those without fees). CONFIRMATION: Registered participants will receive directions to the site and more details prior to the event by EMAIL OR BY PHONE IF NECESSARY. DIFFICULTY: Our walks are rated "easy," "moderate," or "strenuous" for your guidance in selecting events. These levels are for people of average physical ability who are in good health. Our leaders are volunteers and may have no special training in first aid; therefore, participants assume full responsibility for their well being on RIWPS walks. CANCELLATION: If it is necessary for you to cancel, please notify the person with whom you registered as soon as possible so that we may contact the people on the waiting list. Please leave a message on the answering machine if no one is there. If you cancel within 24 hours of an event, or on a weekend, call the coordinator listed on the event confirmation form so that someone on the waiting list can be called. DRESS AND EQUIPMENT FOR OUTDOOR EVENTS: Dress appropriately. This means, in almost all locations, long pants and sturdy shoes and socks (for protection from poison ivy, briers, and ticks). Other options, depending on the season, weather, and subject, might include insect repellent, hat, rubber boots, field guides, hand lens, small notebook, hiking stick. PLEASE HELP US PROTECT OUR NATURAL AREAS: No smoking, collecting, or pets at our events.

WE WELCOME people of all botanical abilities at our events. Beginners or experts, amateurs or professionals, we all come to enjoy and learn about wild plants.

Advance registration is required. Register by contacting the person noted for the event who will provide directions. Payment must be made at the event with exact change (cash or check). Please do not register any earlier than two weeks prior to the event.

 15th Annual RI Spring Flower & Garden Show
February 21-24, 2008
Rhode Island Convention Center
   Thursday-Saturday: 10am-9pm
   Sunday: 10am-6pm
Blossoming at the 15th Annual Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show is its 2008 theme, "Fairy Tales," exhibiting the myth of Mother Nature, as her magic becomes all the more captivating when combined with some of the best loved fables and tales of all time: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and more. Spring brings these fantasies to life, melting away winter's wicked spell.

Show Highlights

• Meet the artists and designers.
• Expand your garden horizons at lectures and demonstrations by nationally recognized experts.
• Exquisite floral arrangements by Federation of Garden Clubs.
• Grow your garden purchases at our Garden Marketplace.
• Professionals for designing your landscaped garden.

For more info visit www.flowershow.com or call 272-7811. Tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for children.

RIWPS at the Flower Show
The Rhode Island Wild Plant Society invites you to enter into this years exhibition garden, our woodland fairy tale: "The Legend of The Lady's Slipper."

Our story takes place in a local Native American village about 4 centuries ago. Experience the story in 3 seasons; fall, winter and a long awaited spring. Learn a tale of the origin of the Lady Slipper, also known as "Moccasin Flower." Discover how each lady slipper is a gentle reminder of the beauty and courage that lives in each of us.

Have YOU ever seen a Lady Slipper in the wild? Learn more about this treasure and its habitat in Rhode Island's woodlands.

Garden Designer – Judy Ireland
Flower Show Chairman – Jules Cohen

PRESS RELEASE

MORE INFO
PRESS RELEASE

Rhododendron arborescens - Native?

 Amphibian Vernal Pool Walk
Saturday, April 12, 2008 -- 10:00 a.m.
Carolina Management Area
This walk will focus on vernal pools and breeding ecology of pond-breeding amphibians.  We will visit a number of vernal pools in the Carolina Management Area, hiking on trails with a mild terrain. Meet in Stop and Shop parking lot in Hope Valley (east side of I-95, on Rte. 138).

Leader: URI Professor Peter Paton. Pre-register with Peter at ppaton@uri.edu or call the RIWPS office at 789-7497. Fee: $3.00 RIWPS members, $5.00 non-members.

 Visit to Garden in the Woods
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Framingham, MA
Meet to car pool at 9 a.m. Time of tour: 11 a.m.

There is no better place to visit in early May than Garden in the Woods. The trails will be full of spring blossoms including blue phlox, white trillium, and yellow ladyslippers.  There are many different habitats with all sorts of native plants. We will have a guided tour. After the tour, relax with a picnic lunch (bring a brown bag lunch) and then continue wandering through the woods. The plant sale area at Garden in the Woods will be full of plants to purchase, and the shop full of books and gifts. A tour by electric cart is available, but restricted to those who have difficulty walking. Reserve early and indicate to RIWPS.

Transportation: Drive by private car and meet there. We will meet just off I-95 in South Attleboro at 9:00 for carpooling. The return to the same location will be around 3:30 or 4:00. If you are willing to drive, let us know when you register. Riders in car pool cars are expected to assist in furnishing gas and expense money to the driver.

Pre-registration required. The tour is limited to twenty. Please register early by contacting the RIWPS office at 789-7497. Fee: $12.00 RIWPS members, $15.00 non-members. NEWFS members can deduct $5 from the fee but MUST bring their membership card with them.

 Habitat Changes and the Forest
Saturday May 10, 2008 -- 10:00 a.m.-12 Noon
Powder Mill Ledges, Audubon Headquarters
Smithfield, RI
Come and tour the Audubon site and see how nature can coexist so close to a major business district. This area is very unique in the different types of habitat found in close proximity to each other. See the definite line when agriculture was abandoned. Learn how to read the forest. The emphasis will be tree identification and basic forestry concepts. Moderate hike, 2 -3 miles.

Leader: Paul Dolan Assistant State Forester. Register at pcdolan@cox.net. Fee: $3.00 RIWPS members, $5.00 non-members.

 Sprague Farm
Sunday, May 18, 2008 -- 1:00 p.m.
Chepachet, RI
The two primary forest formations of New England are the northern hardwood forest and the central hardwood forest. There is also an overlap region, the "transition zone" where many species of both formations can be found. This transition zone dips into parts of the northwest corner of Rhode Island, as evident in the forest at Sprague Farm that is owned and managed by the Glocester Land Trust. This thousand plus acre preserve includes the best striped maple (Acer Pensylvanicum) stand in the state, some magnificent chestnut oaks (Quercus prinus) and an Atlantic white cedar swamp (Chamaecyparis thyoides). With luck we should also catch some woodland spring ephemerals in bloom.

Leader: Garry Plunkett, naturalist and NEWFS Certificate Program graduate. Fee $3.00 members, $5.00 non-members. Register with Garry at 401-624-2549.

 An Introduction to Newcomb's Wildflower Guide
Saturday, May 24, 2008 -- 9:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon
Sunday, June 8, 2008 -- 9:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon
If you've ever looked at a flower and said "Gee, I wish I knew what that is," then this is the program for you. Newcomb's can give the answer with an easily used key that will leave you gasping with amazement. Okay, maybe not quite that good. But it is quick and fast. This class will have two sessions -- the first a workshop followed by field work/walk and then a second field trip to another site to help you get started with your life list.

Leader: Kathy Barton, past president of RIWPS, Plant Conservation Volunteer for NEWFS and a Certified Interpretive Guide.  Bring a Newcomb's guide and wear sturdy walking shoes.

Fee $25.00 RIWPS members, $28.00 non-members. Fee includes extra study materials and site fees. This class is limited to 15 attendees; preference will be given to RIWPS members. Please register early by contacting the RIWPS office at 789-7497.

SAVE THE DATE!
 RIWPS Harvest Dinner & Auction
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Yawgoo Bakes
Slocum, RI
Details to be posted.

• See list of our 2007 event sponsors and donors

RECENT WALKS

 Christmas Tree Farm Tour
Scituate, RI
December 2, 2007
10:00 am - 12:00 noon
Please come join us as we tour Shire Christmas Tree Farm in Hope, RI. Learn what it takes to grow and manage Christmas Trees, and how this business enhances our environment and helps conserve open space by active management. Shire Tree Farm is located in the Hope Section of Scituate.

Leader: Paul Dolan, Assistant State Forester. Register at pcdolan@cox.net. Free.

 Thanksgiving Adventure
West Greenwich, RI
Saturday, November 24, 2007
1:00 pm - sunset (approximately 5:00 pm)
Join Matt Largess on a full-moon walk. It gets dark early in late November, so starting the walk around 1 pm assures that it will end as the sun sets and the moon rises. The walk will be in the wilds in West Greenwich, on the border lands. Hikers should wear good hiking boots and bring a snack. A lot of the walk will be off-trail in search of rare trees and plant communities. End your Thanksgiving weekend with an adventure!

Leader: Matt Largess. Register with Matt at Largesstree@aol.com or 401-533-2722 (cell) or 401-423-0508 (home). Free.

 Fall Coastal Habitats Walk
Conanicut Island, Rhode Island
Sunday, October 14, 2007
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm (low tide)
Crisp fall air, a moon low tide ... what better time to explore Rhode Island's coastal habitats? The Jamestown Salt marsh is one of the largest in the state, bisected by a tidal river that meanders out to the bay. We'll explore the various habitats, within and along the edge of the marsh, and discuss plant adaptations to the saltwater environment. We'll travel to the southern tip of Conanicut Island and walk along the coastal bluff of Beavertail State Park, looking at plants living at the juxtaposition of freshwater seeps and raging surf. You may want to bring an evening picnic and stay to watch the sunset and the moon rise. Participants should be prepared to walk on a combination of wet mud and sloping rock surfaces.

Walk Leader: Hope Leeson. Register with Hope at 401-783-5609 or
hleeson@rinhs.org . Cost $3 RIWPS members/$5 non-members.

 Oakland Forest and Meadow
Portsmouth, RI
Sunday, October 14, 2007
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Once hailed as the only "old growth" forest in Rhode Island, this magnificent stand of trees was saved because a local arborist was hired by a developer to mark trees for cutting but couldn't bear to see it happen.  His subsequent public outcry over the potential development eventually led to its preservation by the Aquidneck Land Trust. We will take a walk through this rare twenty-acre estate woodland, and discuss the ecology of old growth forest systems en route.  We will also take a lap through an adjacent meadow to check out the land trust's efforts in managing an early successional habitat.

Leader:  Garry Plunkett, Co-chair of the Tiverton Open Space Commission and long-time student of old growth forests. Register with Garry at 401-624-2549 after October 1. Free.