What's Happening

Join the Washington Native Plant Society South Sound Chapter for a native plant, lichen, and bryophyte walk with Jeanne Ponzetti and Cyndy Dillon. 

Februrary 10, 2018 from 1 to 3 pm. 

Directions: From I-5 South take exit 99. Turn left onto WA-121/93rd Ave. S. and go 1.5 miles. Turn right onto WA-121S (Tilley Rd. SE), heading south. After 2.6 miles, turn right into a gravel parking lot adjacent to an old orchard. This lot is about 0.3 miles north of the main park entrance; parking is limited so please carpool if you can.

The Rockport Interpretive Center, along Hwy 20, will host a presentation on lichens by Dr. Katherine Glew, Associate Curator from the University of Washington Herbarium, Burke Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Glew will introduce lichens through photos and live material. The importance of lichens in the forest and all environments will be discussed. We will walk through the forest to view lichens​ on rocks and hanging from trees.

Fun lichen facts will be shared, such as using them for creating the dyes in Scottish kilts and the making of lichen schnapps in Iceland. Did you know that lichens can be used as indicators of air pollution? They also have medicinal properties that have been use over centuries. Join me in discovering these fascinating fungi that form partnerships with green algae and cyanobacteria.

Bring water and a snack. Dress for rain - frequently occurring in Rockport at that time of the year.  ;-)

Daphne Stone leads a walk through the forest and savannah at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, explaining what lichens are, what part they play in our lives and how they fit into the forest ecosystem. Rain or shine, bring hand lenses and raingear.

Scot Loring and I put together a map and table of locations for past certifications, fall field events and blitzes. Fun to see where we have been! See News | Certification and Fall Field Trip Locations.

Registration is now available for the 2017 certification in macrolichens west of the Cascade crest.  This year it will be in western Washington. This is always a fun event -- sign up for either the training side or the certification itself. See Events for more information.

Discovering Lichens

Lichens are a vital yet overlooked part of the ecology in our local environment.  Dr. Katherine Glew is the Associate Curator of lichens at the University of Washington Herbarium, Burke Museum. She will discuss lichens; explain what they are, how they grow, and provide a list of the common types found in our forests.  She will also address common urban lichens and what their presence/absence can tell us about plants and air quality.

Location:
Chico Alliance Church, 3670 Chico Way NW Bremerton, WA.

LICHENS: MYSTERIOUS FUNGI OF THE FOREST

Dr. Katherine Glew will lead a lichen tour in the Cedar River Watershed, east of Seattle to introduce you to the fascinating lichens of the forest. If you have wondered about what a lichen is and why they are in the forest, this will be a great opportunity to view the lichen diversity in the watershed and learn the names of our most common species. There will be a short classroom session, followed by visits in the watershed, identifying and studying specimens collected from various forest habitats.

Date: Sunday, June 11, 2017

Time: 10am to 3pm

Bring: a hand lens and a few paper bags for collecting.

Talk presented by Katherine Glew.

Katherine will discuss what lichens are, how they grow, where they are found, and the common types found in our urban and wild habitats.

Thanks to everyone who submitted photos for the Lichens and People photo contest of 2017.

The winner is the Lichen Desperados in the Blue Mountains by Terri Knoke, who will receive our Letharia-logo hat and cloth patch. First runner-up: Children admiring saxicolous lichens by Rabah Khedim. Second runner-up:Lichen mandala by Nathanial Stewart.

See the winning photos at the bottom of the NW Lichenologists main page.

The latest issue of Kelseya (journal of the Montana Native Plant Society, spring 2017) has a report on our activities at the Milton Ranch in eastern Montana, "Exploring Mosses and Lichens in Musselshell County" by Andrea Pipp. Andrea organized a great event for us in an ecosystem that was unfamiliar to many of us but rich in lichens.

Eventually this issue will be freely available at the MNPS website:

http://www.mtnativeplants.org

Support your Native Plant Societies! They support us.