On May 28th, Communities First, Inc. met community members at For-Mar Nature Preserve and Arboretum of Burton to participate in a Wildflower and Tree Tour. The event began with delicious snacks at For-Mar's picnic area, followed by a brief discussion on native, non-native, and invasive plants. Invasive plants don’t belong to the area in which they’re found and are very good at surviving and reproducing. With this knowledge, participants were asked to guess how many seeds an invasive plant, Purple Loosestrife, produces in a single year. The answer- 2.7 million seeds, each seed the size of a grain of pepper! Those with the closest answer won a native wildflower to plant at their home.
Biologist Dr. Jim Cohen of Kettering University then led an engaging and exciting tour through For-Mar as guests discovered newly bloomed spring wildflowers such as Mayapple, which has white flowers hidden under its leaves! They saw some real-life examples of invasive plants including Autumn Olive, an invasive shrub that’s easily identified by its leaves’ silvery underside. Lastly, the group identified Black Cherry trees which have bark that looks like burnt potato chips. The next time you’re outdoors exploring, see if you can find a Black Cherry tree!
Are you interested in participating in programs like the Wildflower and Tree Tour? Contact us at info@communitiesfirstinc.org and check our Facebook page to hear about our upcoming Green Life activities.