Mornin,

I had a great visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden last week. They are really doing their part to teach visitors about the need for responsible stewardship of the earth. If every botanic garden would focus some part of their horticultural and educational energy towards turning back the rising tide of environmental degradation and disinterest, our descendants might still have a healthy planet to call home. The time has passed for half measures on this topic. We are riding "shotgun down the avalanche" right now, going about our daily routines as if our planet was not facing the prospect of the largest public health, ecological, and food crisis humans have ever experienced. The next 40 years will determine the future of our planet, and it's time for us all to act.

On a lighter note, we had a good group of folks attend the latest "Walk on the Wild Side" in the Blomquist Garden. I've included a photo of our group. We had a good discussion about the pervasive problem of invasive plant species in the environment, how they do what they do, and why they MUST be removed from our wild landscapes.

Finally, please consider volunteering this Saturday (10/10) at Easley Elementary in Durham to help with phase one of their Discovery Garden construction. We'll be out there from about 10-2, with some folks coming in a bit earlier and staying a bit later. I'll post a photo album of the workday next week on this blog.