May–June 2013 meeting information and field trips are listed below and are available here in PDF form.
BSWP Meetings are held on Mondays at 7:15 p.m. at Kresge Theater, Carlow University, 3333 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA (Oakland). Kresge Theater is on the top floor of the Grace Library and is accessed from the upper campus. Place a note on your dashboard saying “Botanical Society Meeting,” or use your parking permit. If the weather is inclement, a BSWP meeting will cancel if Carlow University cancels classes. To learn if that has happened, call the Carlow Weather Line at 412-578-6677. Monday, May 13, 2013 Meeting We will have with us Richard Pell, professor of Electronic and Time-based Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also the founder and Director of the Center for PostNatural History (CNPH). The center is dedicated to the collection and exposition of life-forms that have been intentionally altered through selective breeding or genetic engineering. CPNH is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge relating to the complex interplay between culture, nature and biotechnology. In 1998 he co-founded The Institute for Applied Autonomy, a collective of engineers, artists and activists united by the cause of individual and collective self-determination. Mr. Pell received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon in 1999 and an MFA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY in 2003. Monday, June 10, 2013 Meeting Alison Hale of the University of Pittsburgh will present “Mustard and fungi don’t mix: Effects of invasive garlic mustard on native plants and their symbioses.” Ms. Hale obtained her bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University in 2007 and her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in November 2012. Her research program focused on the unique chemical “weapons” of garlic mustard. Specifically, she investigated how these potent chemicals can disrupt the function of native plant symbioses. She has found that garlic mustard’s chemicals can kill these soil fungi, and, ultimately, garlic mustard’s disruption of this widespread symbiosis results in reduced photosynthesis, root growth, and reproduction for native forest plants. Ms. Hale is currently working as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Pittsburgh pursuing her broad interests in the management and protection of natural resources. | BSWP Field Trips Saturday, May 25, 2013, 1:00 p.m. State Game Lands 178, Lawrence County Leader: Joe and Bonnie Isaac Contact Information: cell: 724-944-07160; IsaacB@CarnegieMNH.Org Directions: From Pittsburgh, take I-376 west past New Castle. Continue to Exit 9 (Mitchell Road) to PA 18. Follow Mitchell Road east (it only goes one way) for approximately 2.5 miles (you will cross over PA 18) past Neshannock High School and Hess Ice Rink to Sunset Valley Road; go straight through the stop sign onto Sunset Valley Road. Follow Sunset Valley Road to the next stop sign (about ¼ mile). Make a right onto Valley Road (no sign at corner). Follow Valley Road for about ½ mile to Sunrise Drive. Turn left at Sunrise Drive and follow to SGL 178 parking area. Saturday, June 1, 2013, 10:00 a.m. The Wissahickon Nature Club has arranged a day of nature walks and picnicking at Shelter 2 in Mingo County Park. The club will supply hot dogs, plates, condiments; please bring your own beverage and a side dish to share, and a chair is a good idea. Meet at Shelter 4, Mingo Creek County Park, 12 miles east of Washington PA. There will be scheduled nature walks throughout the day; for birds, butterflies and wildflowers and creek critters, beginning at 10 a.m. Please RSVP to Dianne before June 1 so we know how many hot dogs to buy. Directions: From Pittsburgh via I-79: Take I-79 South to Exit 43. Turn right and follow to stop sign. Turn right on Route 519 South and follow to Route 136 East. Follow signs for Mingo Creek Park (left turn into park) and the Park Office. Just past the Park Office (office on right), make a left to Shelter 4, through the Ebenezer Covered Bridge. Alternatively, take Route 51 South to PA Toll Route 43 South. Pay $1 toll and take Exit 44. Turn right on Route 136 West. Follow signs for Mingo Creek Park (right turn into park) and the Park Office. Just past the Park Office (office on right), make a left to Shelter 4, through the Ebenezer Covered Bridge. Sunday, June 2, 2013, 5:30 p.m. We will hike the LHHT to the new bridge over the PA Turnpike and back, about 4 to 5 miles. Expect to see Clintonia, possibly both species. Directions: From Pittsburgh, take the PA Turnpike east to Exit 91/Donegal. Turn left onto PA 31 and then, after a short distance, left onto PA 711. Continue on PA 711 north for about 9 miles. Turn right onto Darlington Road (this may be unmarked) and travel about 1 mile to its junction with PA 381. Continue straight onto PA 381 for a short distance, and then turn right onto Linn Run Road. Travel through Linn Run State Park to the top of the hill to parking for Spruce Flats Bog and Wolf Rocks in Laurel Summit State Park, where we will meet. Saturday, June 15, 2013, 1:00 p.m. Join Steve for a riverside grassland community on the open floodplain and scour zone of the Allegheny River. Blue false-indigo (Baptisia australis) will be blooming. Wear very sturdy shoes and expect adventure along the tall grasses and river cobble! Directions: From Pittsburgh, take I-79 north to Exit 116A for I-80 east. Travel I-80 east for 22 miles to Exit 42 for PA 38 Emlenton. Continue 2 miles to Emlenton. At Main Street. (PA 38 turns to the right), leave PA 38 and continue straight one block. Bear left onto Kerr Ave and continue 0.7 mile. After a water treatment facility on the right, bear left onto Dotter Road. Continue on Dotter Road for 3.5 miles to parking for the Allegheny River Trail. Dotter Road after about 1 mile bears left and eventually becomes a dirt road. Sunday, June 23, 2013, 10:00 a.m. This wetland preserve, cared for by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, has both alkaline and acidic environments that allow for an unusual diversity of native plants. Directions: From Pittsburgh, take I-79 north to Exit 166 (US 6N Albion Edinboro). Head east on US 6N for 9.8 miles to its intersection with PA 19 and US 6. Continue straight on US 6 to Union City. After taking the turn out of Union City (continuing on PA 6), drive 5.7 miles to the intersection of PA 89 and PA 6, where we will meet at a drive-in theater on the left (the northeast intersection). |
