Plants are emerging from their winter sleep. We have a few wildflowers peeking up through the fallen leaves such as bloodroot and Dutchman’s breeches. Trillium and trout lilies may be next. Hopefully, we will be able to increase the number of spring wildflowers, or ephemerals, as we remove more and more invasive plants.
On Friday, we had a small Woods crew of Mindy Sommer, Brenda Rodeheffer, Nancy Scott, Mary Blackburn and Terry Trierweiler work on the courtyard to get it ready for our first in-person worship service on Easter Sunday. Terry has saved the seeds of coneflower and black-eyed Susans for the children. The Annabelle hydrangea, Little Henry sweetspire, dwarf oak leaf hydrangea and Tiny Wine ninebark shrubs are sending out new shoots. We have a cluster of Tiny Wine ninebark shrubs in the northeast corner of the courtyard that were donated by Helen Davenport’s family. The Davenport family has a tradition of planting a shrub in memory of a loved one. Look for the white blossoms appearing in April and May and think of our dear Helen.
We plan to work every Thursday morning from 10- 12 noon to remove invasives and perform other maintenance. Look for the new spicebushes that will be planted this week in the wet northeast corner.
Get Ready for the City Nature Challenge!
For the fifth year, Indiana Sciences and a coalition of partners are challenging Indianapolis residents and surrounding communities to stay connected with the urban wildlife around them by becoming citizen scientists. People of all ages are encouraged to participate in the “social distancing edition” of the 2021 global City Nature Challenge from April 30 – May 3, 2021.
If you’d like to create a First Friends Nature Team, please contact Mary Blackburn.
For more information about the program, click here.
Do you have extra Tee Shirts that you’ve worn out or outgrown? I’ve just learned about a company that recycles old Tee Shirts into new fibers to create new clothing. You can get $5 credit per T-shirt, up to $25 credit. If you’re interested, check out MarineLayer: Respun https://www.marinelayer.com/pages/respun-2020
Earth Day is coming April 22, 2021. Think about something that you can do to love God’s creation. Is it planting the right native tree in the right place in your yard? Is it cutting down on plastic use in your daily life? Is it turning off your lights when you leave the room?
Send your suggestions for loving the Earth and we’ll post them here in the Woods section of F2F.