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District 2 News - May 2010
by Jeff Blackadar

Dear member of District 2,

Please see news items below.

Jeff

Jeff Blackadar

Director, District 2

Ontario Horticultural Association

2010 OHA Convention

http://www.gardenontario.org/sho/up_conf.php

Convention details are now available on the web page.

Please talk to your members about attending.

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District 2 Constitution

I'm pleased to tell you that revisions to the District 2 Constitution were passed at the District 2 AGM. The revised constitution is here:

http://www.gardenontario.org/docs/district_2_constitution_10apr2010.doc

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District 2 Plant / Floral Emblem

At the Spring Advisory Council meeting we decided to seek suggestions from our members for a plant or flower to serve as an emblem for the District. So we're having a contest for the District 2 Plant / Floral emblem.

Interested members can submit their suggestion along with a written piece in support of why their choice would make the best emblem for District 2.

Contest Dates: The contest will close 1 March 2011. Entries must be received by the District Director by 1 March 2011.

Contact: Send entries to the District Director Jeff Blackadar, web@ottawahort.org 1143 Burgundy Lane, Ottawa, ON, K1C 2M9

Judges: A committee of the assistant district directors chaired by the past district director will vote to choose the top three suggestions (if there are more than three.) Up to three choices will be voted on at the 2011 District 2 AGM to chose the emblem.

Prize: This contest is just for the fun of it. Choose your plant or flower for the District emblem and say why it's the best!

Members may submit more than 1 entry. Any plant, including a tree is eligible. If more than 1 member submits the same plant and that plant is chosen as the emblem, all of those members will receive credit.

OHA Trillium Summer Newsletter is out.

See

http://www.gardenontario.org/docs/trillium_news_2008-03_summer.pdf

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Call for volunteers for the District 2 Summer Show

Show details:

http://www.gardenontario.org/site.php/district2/news/online/1511

Volunteers needed for:

Show setup: Friday 5:00-7:00 pm (Lots would will be needed to get this done in 2 hours)
Finish of show set-up (if needed): Saturday 7:30-8:30 am
Management of Show competition entries: Saturday 8:00-11:30 am
Keeping an eye on the show during public viewing: Saturday 2:00-4:00 pm
Providing lunch for Show competition crew/judges at 1:00 pm or so on Saturday
Public Tea shifts: 2:00-4:30 pm
Show take-down: Saturday 4:30-5:30 pm

To volunteer, contact Maureen Mark, Secretary, Ontario Horticultural Society

Please ask your members to help out.

Results from District 2 Show at Ottawa is Blooming

Thanks to everyone who volunteered and entered the show. Thank you for donations of books to the District 2 book sale.

Results
Horticulture Total entries 47 from 12 competitors
Class
1 1. Kathleen Lang
2 1. Pauline Armstrong 2. Kathleen Lang
3 1. Pauline Armstrong 2. Rosi Mikolajewski
4
5 2. Kathleen Lang
6
7 1. Pauline Armstrong
8. 1. Rosi Mikolajewski 2.Pauline Armstrong 3. Emily Henkelman
9 3. Emily Henkelman
10 1. Rosi Mikolajewski
11. 1. Rosi Mikolajewski 2. Emily Henkelman
12. 1. Judy McGrath 2.Emily Henkelman
13. 1. Rosi Mikolajewski 2. Sheila King 3. Anne Clark-Stewart
14. 1. Sheila King 3. Anne Clark-Stewart
15. 1. Pauline Armstrong
16. 1. Margaret Farr 2. Sheila King 3.Kathleen Lang
17. 1. Judy Fine
18. 1. Josie Pazdzior 2 Anne Clark-Stewart
19. 1. Rosi Mikolajewski
20. 1. Emily Henkelman
21. 1. Pauline Armstrong 2. Anne Clarke-Stewart
22.
23.
24. 1. Sheila KIng
25. 2. Gay McQuarrie
26. 1. Pauline Armstrong
27. 1. Sheila King 2. Pauline Armstrong
28. 1. Sheila King 2. Pauline Armstrong

Best Horticultural Specimen in Show

Rosemary Plant, Class 10 Rosi Mikolajewski

Decorative Maximum four classes per competitor 53 entries from 17 designers
Class
29. 1. Pauline Armstrong 2. Anne Clark- Stewart 3. Gay McQuarrie
30. 1. Judy Fine 2. Anne Clark-Stewart 3. Madeline Archer
31. 1. Linda Bartlett 2. Linda Gilmer 3. Joyce Wood
32. 1. David Archer 2. Josie Pazdzior 3. Emily Henkelman
33. 1. Sheila King 2, Madeline Archer 3 Gay McQuarrie
34. 1. Sheila King 2. Helen Halpenny 3 Linda Gilmer
35. 1. Emily Henkelman 2. Anne Clark- Stewart 3 Sheila King
36a. 1. Pauline Armstrong 2. Linda Bartlett 3. Madeline Archer
36b. 1. Madeline Archer 2. Helen Halpenny 3. Judy McGrath

Best design in Show Class 30 Judy Fine

Best Pot et Fleur in Show Class 34 Sheila King

Top overall points in entire show Sheila King By 1 point!

OHA Offices - Nominations

Nominating Committee Report

From the Summer 2010 Trillium Newsletter

It with great pleasure that the OHA Nominating Committee forwards a full slate of officers for election at the upcoming convention in Barrie in 2010.

VICKIE WIEMER, OHA 1st Vice President, has consented to let her name stand and move up the ladder to President.

CAROL DUNK, OHA 2nd Vice President, has consented to let her name stand and move up to 1st Vice President.

At this time, two nominations have come forward for the position of 2nd Vice President. The Nominating Committee is pleased to report that SHEILA KING of District 2, and JOHN SELLERS of District 4 have been duly and properly nominated [in] their districts. An election will take place at the 2010 convention in Barrie on August 13th -14th, 2010.

Respectfully submitted by Ken Fink, OHA Past President & Nominating Committee Chair

Sheila King

I was born in the beautiful County of Essex, England, privileged to be the daughter of two extraordinary gardeners. I learned from childhood to grow flowers and food for the table, and I continue to grow, show, and share to this day. Educated in Mechanical Engineering, I have worked and gardened on both sides of the Atlantic.

Surviving a varied career in design engineering in what is mainly a man’s world, I was never unemployed. My last ten years of full time paid occupation involved managing a successful consulting company. OHA would greatly benefit from my experiences and knowledge gained during my career.

With many years of volunteerism and service on boards of Horticultural Societies, I have proven to be a useful and capable organizer. I served three years as Assistant Director and two years as District Director for District 2 and took an active part in the 2006 OHA Centennial Convention. My seat on the OHA board gave me insight into the workings of the OHA. Presently I have the honour of chairing an OHA Judging School, training students from three districts. It has become apparent that it will be necessary to update the teaching requirements, testing, and continuing education of our judges. As the

most recent Judging “guru” I would be the ideal candidate to head up a committee to investigate this

important part of OHA life.

OHA must consider change over the next few years, restructuring and re-engineering along the way, growing in membership numbers, and giving our members what they and their societies want.

Aided by my past career knowledge and years of horticultural knowledge, my commitment to “growing to show and showing what I grow; sharing and teaching”. I know I can be a strong and dedicated nominee and a valuable addition to the board of OHA. Please consider me for this position and entrust me with your vote.

John Sellers

I would like to offer myself in nomination for Second Vice President of the OHA. I have been an active

member of the OHA Board for six years, have a thorough understanding of how it operates, and have had much experience in chairing and organizing meetings.

As OHA Director of District 4, I have acted as Chair or Co-Chair of the Constitution Committee since 2004 and co-chaired the revision of the OHA constitution in 2005/06. Those of you who have attended recent conventions will know me as the chair for the debates on constitutional revisions and fee increase. I am presently the Board member on the Organizational Advisory Panel reviewing the manner in which OHA operates.

My concerns for our future in OHA are: increasing our membership, staffing, and improving and streamlining the delivery of our services, perhaps through reorganization.

As District 4 Director, I chaired the organizing committee of the 2009 Convention in Peterborough.

Last year’s convention was a considerable success as a result of the tireless efforts of the District 4 Convention Committee and our volunteers. After retiring from the Toronto Board of Education where I held various positions of responsibility, I was appointed as a Member of the federal Immigration and Refugee Board. There I sat as a refugee claims judge in centres from Newfoundland to Alberta.

Upon my second ‘retirement’ in 1994, my wife Jill and I moved from the city and became members of the Colborne, now Cramahe, Horticultural Society. I became a Director and later was elected as President in 1998. I served five years as Assistant Director of District 4 before being elected Director in 2004.

Please consider me for Second Vice President when you cast your ballots at the convention this year in Barrie.

Algonquin Horticulture Technician Program Facing Elimination

Very recently a Strategic Programs and Services Planning Committee at Algonquin College identified the Horticulture Technician Program as a program that may be phased out. The decision is not final and we have been given a brief opportunity to respond to this recommendation early next week. The final recommendations will go to vote at the Board of Governors Meeting in late June.

We are asking for your support in this urgent matter!

Key Points to Consider:

This is the only Horticulture Technician Program in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. The loss of this program will have a significant impact on the green industries in the Nation’s Capital.
Horticulture and landscape are growing fields.
Leaders in the Industry have assured us that there is a high and expanding demand for college trained professionals which is supported by our high graduate placement rate.
The program provides many benefits to the College including gardens, ponds and green space for the college community and greater Ottawa to enjoy.
The Horticulture program maintains 4 acres of manicured property for the College community at the programs expense. Without the students in this program, it will cost the College a minimum of $60,000 to maintain the current gardens.
The cost of running this program is expensive. The elimination of the greenhouse is a possibility.

We encourage your involvement and support on this issue. Please consider attending and or speaking at the Town Hall Meeting, next Tuesday, June 1^st, 7:00 pm in Room T102. To register please follow the link

http://algonquinspsp4.eventbrite.com/ .

To provide online feedback to the Committee please follow this link http://lts3.algonquincollege.com/spsp/login.aro . Once you have entered your email address, please go to the specific programs tab to enter your comments.

The contact person for the Horticulture Department is Phillip Tuba; Cell phone: 613-791-9663

Sincerely,

Phillip Tuba

David Goodfellow

Janice Ife

Mary Anne Jackson-Hughes

This lecture might be of interest to members. Please circulate if you feel it is appropriate.

Thank you

Marilyn

Just When the Wild Roses Bloom

Seasons and Biocultural Diversity in a Changing World

A public lecture at the Canadian Museum of Nature

Celebrate International Year of Biodiversity in this public talk by author and world leader in ethnobotany, Dr. Nancy J. Turner. Over the past 40 years, she has worked closely with British Columbia First Nations elders to document their knowledge and understanding of plants, ecology and use of natural resources. For thousands of years Indigenous Peoples across North America have relied on seasonal events to help choreograph their activities as well as predict the best times for harvesting their food and other resources. Such events have included the blooming of certain flowers like the wild rose, the appearance of different migratory birds, and the ripening of various kinds of berries. In her talk, Dr. Turner will explain the effects of the changing global climate upon these indicators – which remain an important component of Traditional Knowledge Systems.

Date: Monday, May 31, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Canadian Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod Street, (corner of Metcalfe), Ottawa
Fee: Free. Seating on a first-come, first served basis, limit of 160 seats
Information: 613-566-4791
For information about directions and parking visit nature.ca

This lecture is presented by the Canadian Museum of Nature's Canadian Centre for Biodiversity as part of the Native Plant Biodiversity Programme and in celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity, with support from The Salamander Foundation.

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