www.mybaycity.com
July 30, 2006
Rotary Article 1216
Dow Gardens and Whiting Forest Topic of Last Week's Meeting
July 30, 2006
By: Stephen Kent
Announcements
August 1 Special Board Meeting with incoming District Governor at 11:00 before club meeting.
August 8 Regular Board Meeting at 11:00 before club meeting.
International Night: Bucket of Fun and auction items needed.
Tall Ships Report: Many members stood to compliment the city on the successful Tall Ship Celebration 2006. Shirly Roberts noted all of the Rotary members who volunteered to make the event a success.
Mike Stoner reported that Bay Metro Transit counted over 38,000 passengers on their shuttle buses. That's more than the entire population of Bay City. 99% of the passengers were happy with the Celebration and the City in general.
Member Mike Meyer of the Salvation Army reported that the new Soup Kitchen is open and has been well received.
Member George Charles announced that he will soon be making the move south after his retirement as principal of Central High School. He then won the day's 50/50 drawing which, being the last drawing of the month, will go to the Rotary Foundation in his name.
LAST WEEK'S PROGRAM: Doug Chapman, 32 year directory of Dow Gardens, presented a program about the history and objectives of the well known and popular Midland attraction.
Chapman began his talk by asking then answering the question "Why Dow Gardens?" The answer: "Well, we're feeding the deer. There's nothing they don't eat. In one night they ate 18,000 tulips. My only regret is that I'm not a deer hunter."
More seriously, the purpose of the Garden is to show what will grow in Mid-Michigan. The area is fortunate to be in a temperate zone between the northern and southern forests. The Gardens grow some 16,000 types of annuals. The entire field of horticulture has expanded many times. When Chapman was in school there were some 100 type of perennials that a student would know. Today there are easily 1,500 variations.
Commenting on the Emerald Ash Borer, Chapman said that the problem is one of diversity. Any forestry student learns early to plant no more than 5% of any one species. The Marshall Seedless Green Ash, grown from cloned plants, accounts for over 25% of the ash trees in Michigan. When the borer arrived on the scene it was a recipe for disaster.
A new addition to the Dow Gardens is the Whiting Forest. The objective is to grow native trees from seedlings. Recently Chapman talked to colleague who's forest had lost some 300 Red Bud trees. That person had purchased cloned trees from Tennessee saving maybe $3.00 per tree. Dow Gardens lost no trees because they grew native trees from seedlings.
Dow Gardens is a rich resource for horticulturist from all over the region. They can see what will grow, get new ideas, learn techniques and scientific techniques.
The Gardens are seven days a week year round except for a few holidays. The hours are 9:00 am to an hour before sunset. Admission is $5.00 for adults and $1.00 for children. An annual admission card is $10 per person. For more information visit their web site at
www.DowGardens.org and
www.WhitingForest.org.
RotaryBayCity.org Rotary Club of Bay City Web Site
eClub-One:
Members with internet connections are encouragedto visit eClub-One monthly for a makeup. To get makeup credit you need to fill out the makeup form on that site. Print the acknowledgement for you receive and turn it in to receive credit. Be sure to enter our club's district number (6310) on that form.
Click this link to open eClubOne in a new window:
www.rotaryeclubone.org.
The Bay City Rotary Club meets at Noon each Tuesday at the Lumber Barons resturant on the West Side.
Rotary Club of Bay City Web Site
District 6310 meeting schedule
0202 nd 04-20-2024
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