Macphail Woods – Celebrating 20 Years, will be the feature presentation at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of the Environmental Coalition of PEI. The meeting will be held on Thursday, February 3 at the Colonel Gray High School lecture theatre in Charlottetown.

The business meeting begins at 6:30pm and will outline the year=s activities, including Macphail Woods and the renewable energy project. Elections will also be held for the 2011 board.

The Macphail Woods presentation by Gary Schneider and Eric Edward will start at 7pm. Through the Environmental Coalition of PEI, Gary started Macphail Woods from very humble beginnings and has watched it mature into a important resource in the areas of forest restoration, nature conservation and environmental education. Eric helps with all aspects of the project and carries out much of the teaching that Macphail Woods is involved in – everything from school visits to plantings to the summer children’s program.

The two presenters will outline the history of the project and also look at future directions. The first twenty years have seen an incredible growth in the scope of activities carried on at Macphail Woods, and the next twenty look to be equally exciting. There are plans to certify some of the public forest lands the project manages for the province, and to develop markets for a variety of native woods. There will be time for discussion on a variety of forest issues after the presentation.

Whoops. Just got an email from the organizer saying that it is fine if the Homestead doesn't have food, we should still go ahead with the planned walk. So we will be doing a walk Sept. 15 at 2pm at the nursery, looking at Identifying Native Shrubs. Hope to see you there.

In light of the growing interest in native plants across Prince Edward Island, the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project will be hosting a workshop on native plant propagation on Saturday, September 18. The workshop begins at 10am at the nursery on the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in Orwell.

There is a wide range of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers that can easily be grown from a variety of methods. Presently, the nursery is growing most of our native trees and shrubs, everything from white ash and ironwood to witch hazel and hobblebush. Over the past few years the nursery has also expanded to grow native wildflowers, including painted and nodding trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpit, yellow coneflower and blue flag iris.

The workshop will cover proper seed collection, cleaning methods and storage. Many trees and shrubs are presently in seed and participants will be able to collect seeds of witch hazel, common elder, bayberry, yellow violet and other native species. There will also be a demonstration on how to prepare and grow cuttings, as well as information on proper transplanting of young plants.

If you are looking to enhance the diversity and value of your forest, improve the area around your home for wildlife, or just enjoy growing plants, this workshop will be of interest. It will provide an excellent opportunity to not only learn more about plant propagation but also plant identification and where to use native plants. Admission is free and registration is not required.

In celebration of Island flora, biologist Kate MacQuarrie will be sharing her love of plants at Macphail Woods on Saturday, August 7. Kate will be walking the nature trails of the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in Orwell, starting at 10 am at the nursery. She will point out common and uncommon species of flowering and non-flowering plants. Wildflowers, ferns, club mosses, shrubs - all these and more will be part of the discussion and identification.

Over the past years, hundreds of people have taken part in the plant workshops at Macphail Woods and become more observant of the natural world around them. This walk will be an excellent opportunity to learn about common woodland flowers such as bunchberry and false lily-of-the-valley, as well as rarer wildflowers and our many non-flowering plants.

Kate has been a driving force behind the data collection for the upcoming Flora of Prince Edward Island, travelling the many different types of habitats across the Island looking for both rare and common plants. In her work with the Island Nature Trust and now as Director of Forests, Fish and Wildlife for the province, she has studied dune systems, bogs, old growth forests, and everything in between. This field work has given her an intimate knowledge of native and non-native plants.

There is no charge for the walk and no registration is necessary. Participants are advised to bring good walking shoes and clothing appropriate to the weather conditions. For more information, call 651-2575.

Are you looking for alternatives to clear-cuts and plantations? Do you want other ideas on how to improve your woodland? This weekend’s walk at the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project will help answer many of your questions.

Learning about native trees and shrubs

The public is invited to a workshop on native trees and shrubs sponsored by the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project on Saturday, July 17. Led by forest technician Ruth Richman, the workshop will focus on all things related to native woody plants. It begins at 10am at the nursery on the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in Orwell.

?The use of native plants to improve wildlife habitat, beautify yards and reduce the size of lawns is attracting increasing attention across the country. The wide variety of native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and ferns can be combined to create everything from wild areas to formal hedges.

Just wanted to let everyone know that we had one of our best owl prowls ever last night (April 17). There were about 70 people out, lots of children, and the barred owls came in very quickly once we started calling. Two were right around us for about an hour, flying back and forth overhead across the road and giving great opportunities to see the birds up close.

Woodlands are wonderful places at all times of the year and the spring season is an especially beautiful time to get out and enjoy nature. The numbers of migratory birds continue to grow almost daily and there is lots of activity in the forest. In celebration of Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, staff of the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project will be hosting a volunteer afternoon on the Macphail Homestead in Orwell.

Come celebrate the wonderful world of owls at the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in
Orwell on Saturday, April 17. The Sir Andrew Macphail Foundation will be opening up the
Great Room of the Homestead at 6:30pm and serve warm apple cider, tea and coffee. Visitors
can warm themselves by the fireplace and have a specially-baked Owl Cookie treat to