Monday April 25th Meeting

Our next Transition meeting will be this coming Monday  April 25th from 6:30 to around 9 p.m..  

It will be held at Tom Jablonski's house locate at 866 113th Lane NE in Blaine.  If the weather is nice we will meet in the back yard and have a fireside chat (hopefully the smoke will keep any mosquitos at bay), or if the April showers show up we can meet inside.  

For a topic how about we talk about what brought us to Transition.  This will be a lead in for some future topics where we can take a look at firstly what are the problems in this world and our communities that we are concerned about, what do we think some of the root causes of these problems are, and what are some alternatives we would like to see in the future.  These discussions might then help us figure out what some of the solutions or possible paths might be to help us transition towards a better life. 

Hope to see you there.  Contact Tom at jablonski@usfamily.net or 763-807-3698 if you have any questions.

 

Green Expo Saturday April 23rd.

The Coon Rapids/Blaine Green Expo ( https://mngreenexpo.org/ ) is Saturday and we will be hosting a table there.  Anyone that is interested in sharing your take on Transition with visitors that stop by is welcome to come and sit at the Transition table as your time allows.  

The event is at the National Sports Center Campus located 1700 105th Avenue NE in Blaine.  Doors to the public are open from 9 am to 2 pm.  

I will be setting up our table and misc. stuff around 8 am and taking stuff down at 2 pm.  If you have something that speaks of your take on Transition that you would like to share, feel free to bring it along.  There will be some extra table space if you need it.  

I plan on bringing along an extra table, my box of free seeds to give away, maybe some examples of books I like that relate to Transition (and three slightly used ones that Bob is giving away as door prizes), the table poster backdrop Bob made that I added some new stuff too, maybe a garden plant or two, a clip board with email signup sheets, and a couple extra chairs (should be four total for us and visitors to rest in).  

No obligations to show up, but an open invite to anyone that is interested to come when you can and leave when you need to, and join in what I think is a fun time to meet and greet our neighbors, visit some of the other exhibits, just stop by to say hi, or share a little bit about what we do.   

April 11 Meeting Notice and Upcoming Events

Our next Transition meeting will be tomorrow Monday  April 11th from 6:30 to around 9 p.m..  It will be held in the community room of the Cub Foods located at 2050 Northdale Blvd in the Village 10 Center in Coon Rapids.  The community/conference room is located up the stairs located to the left of the checkout lanes as you enter the store.  Mary will be sharing with us her ideas on the fine art of making yogurt. 

 

We will also be finalizing plans for the April 23rd Green Expo that will be at the National Sports Center in Blaine on Saturday April 23 with doors opening from 9 am to 2 pm.  See more info here:  https://mngreenexpo.org/.  If you can’t make the meeting, let me know if you are interested in helping out with a tabling and/or have ideas you would like to share with folks during the tabling and we can work you into the working the booth schedule. 

 

Emily also suggested sharing the events pasted below with our group that came to her via the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation.  Check them out as they do look interesting.

 

Urban Pollinators

Thursday April 21st, 2-4pm

Ramsey County Public Works, Marsden Room 1425 Paul Kirkwold Drive, Arden Hills, MN 55112

This event is centered on conserving native and managed pollinators in urban areas. I'll be focusing on bumble bees, including their amazing biology; conservation status; and ways you can improve habitat for these animals in your landscape. Other speakers include Dr. Marla Spivak (University of MN Bee Lab), Heather Holm (Restoring the Landscape with Native Plants), and Victoria Reinhardt (Ramsey County Commissioner). Thanks to the Ramsey Conservation District for organizing! More information here:  http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/April-2016-Pollinator_Final.pdf 

 

 International Migratory Bird Day and Pollinator Party 

Saturday May 14th,

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge: Oak Savanna Learning Center,

1/4 mile west of Refuge HQ on Sherburne Co. Rd. 9.  

Don't miss this fun, family-friendly event at Sherburne's brand new Oak Savanna Learning Center! Bird tours begin at 7am. I'll be speaking at 10:30 am about native pollinators and what you can do to promote them in your own landscape. More information here: http://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/IMBD%20and%20Pollinator%20Party%20Flyer%202016.pdf

 

 Bee Monitoring "Refresher" Field Day

Sunday May 15th (rain date Sunday May 22)

Fish Creek Natural Area, Maplewood MN

This field day is open to participants who completed our “Bee-come a Bee Monitor” native bee identification and monitoring training workshop last September.  We will be practicing our ID skills and the monitoring protocol in order to prepare you for the monitoring season ahead. Please contact Maplewood Nature Center for further details and to register. (651) 249-2170. If you are interested in being added to our wait list for future Native Bee Monitoring training workshops, let me know!