Dunnville Horticulture Program Night
January 17, 2019. 7pm
Deb Z welcomed everyone to the evening’s program by wishing them all a Happy New Year. She gave a hearty hello to newcomers. Reminders to everyone to sign in every time for safety reasons, as well as periodic draws. There were 60 members signed in.
Please purchase membership for 2019. The price is only $10 per person. $15 per couple. Grants from OMAFRA are given based on membership numbers, so the more members the better! Last year we got $1500 as a membership grant for having over a 200 membership. Membership sales tonight were $285
Treasurer’s report, minutes from the AGM and other information is on the back bulletin board, please peruse this information during the break. Direct questions to any board member.
Gloria Hunter thanked Martha Glaw, Jenny Elgersma, Kim Dickie, Sharon Sykes, Letha Burden, Pat Henderson for bringing the wonderful treats for this evening’s snack table. Volunteers for next month are Susan Milligan, Hellen Edl, Joan King, Angela Latham, Florence Zynomirski. Other members were encouraged to sign up for other months for snack.
Several members passed away recently. Chris Pinnance, past president of the Optimist Club. Barb Whyte’s husband passed away. Mary VanOosten, a DHS life member.
Councillor Bernie Corbett is holding a Year In Review at the Dunnville Lifespan Centre, Jan 23 at 7pm. This will be open to the public for anyone wishing to hear about local activities.
Debbie T read a letter from the recipient of the DHS Scholarship: Riley McConachie, who thanked us for the generous scholarship gift that has enabled him to go to college in the field of Environmental Sciences..
The Floral Clock in Dunnville refurbishment was hoped to be completed by 2019, but due to various time constraints, we are not quite done. Various repairs have been done over the past decades.. The repairs to clock have been costly. After careful consideration and due to the site itself having changed over the years,the board has decided to repurpose the clock. plan. The Clock structure will become a large storyboard and will depict the history of the original water tower, the dam and the hydro electric dam and the Floral clock.. We to complete by spring.
Thompson Creek Project: the phragmites have been sprayed, working on cutting them down, a spring burn will take place in the tall grass area to remove the dead grass, encourage new growth. More work will be done on the pathways, and other work done on the under canopy, (removal of trees, brush, etc.) We are hoping that stage one will be all done by fall. New directional and educational signage will be added. Still having some trouble with motorized vehicles entering the protected area and rutting the new trail.
We will be hosting District 9 Forum. Members from 13 different society will be attending on September 27. We will be able to showcase our town and DHS. More details TBA.
Several positions need to be filled in our society. By the end of the meeting the following volunteers have stepped in to help: Marlene Link to become the new writer for the Sachem column replacing Sandi Marr.. She will be providing articles that discuss horticulture in various way. .Sharon Sykes has volunteered to be mentored by Kim and slowly take over the job of treasurer by 2020. Ellen Gunther has volunteered to fill in as recording secretary when Petra is absent. Susan Emory to assist with the website, taking over from Sandi Marr.
Quint night. All are welcome to attend on Feb 13. This is an evening where all the service groups gather to share all the great things that are done in our great town. Contact Deb Z if you are interested.
Deb then encouraged everyone to take a short break, purchase tickets at the Ways and Means, as well as get a snack and stretch their legs.
After the short break, Deb Z began the second half of the program by explaining how we like to keep our January program to showcase local speakers. If anyone has a skill or knowledge they would like to share, please speak to someone on the Board to set this up. We still have 2 program nights to fill for this year, contact Deb Z if you are willing, or know some interesting speaker. The following is the year’s program night speakers:
Feb: Phragmites- why and how they should be eradicated.
March: All about bees, starting your own hive
April: Movie. The Gardener. A documentary of a lifelong gardener.
May: Adam Koziel from EarthGen. Talking about growing truffles
June: Open still
September: Mark Zelinsky. An international photographer of gardens and plants
October: Raj Gill. Lake Erie Alive. Speaking on lobbying the government on taking care of our lakes and rivers.
November AGM: Open still
Deb Z then started her presentation on drying and pressing flowers, then introduced Petra who spoke of planting a cut flower garden.
Deb reminded the general membership again to offer up their knowledge by volunteering as a presenter at a program. A special thank you was said to the board members who always show up early to set up for the evening.
Deb closed the meeting at 8:30pm and wished everyone a great night. Ways and Means brought in $63.85 and the kitchen brought in $40.35