Past events
Celebrate the Re-emergence of the Children’s Butterfly Garden Saturday, September 14th, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.
The community is invited to a dedication event for the Children’s Butterfly Garden at Silva Creek Botanical Garden on Virginia and State Streets. The gathering will include live music by Andrew Dahl-Bredine, an interactive butterfly activity for all ages, a puppet show, and cake to celebrate the butterfly's re-emerging. This free event is co-sponsored by the Gila Native Plant Society and Heart of the Gila.
Improvements to the Children’s Butterfly Garden are part of Phase One of the Gila Native Plant Society’s Master Plan for the Botanical Garden. It has been funded by Heart of the Gila, the Gila Native Plant Society, and a New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division Trails Plus grant. The Butterfly Garden was created by local middle schoolers in 2014 and dedicated to the memory of three local teens, Ella Kirk, Ella Myers, and Michael Mahl, after their untimely deaths in a small aircraft accident. The three were all dedicated to protecting the environment.
Photo by Patrice Mutchnick
BCI Talks Bats at the Zócalo, June 23rd
Rachel Burke of Bat Conservation International (BCI) will give a talk on nectivorous bats at the Whiskey Creek Zócalo on Sunday, June 23rd, at 1:00 pm. She will explain the threats facing the nectar-feeding bats that migrate through our area and why our agave-planting efforts are so important.
She will also explain a new citizen science project we can participate in. As some of you have noticed, in August and September when no agave are in bloom, nectar-feeding bats may visit our hummingbird feeders. By collecting eDNA samples for BCI, we can help them determine the species that are present and the timing of migration. With enough participation, BCI could also an idea of numbers. Rachel will have some eDNA kits to give out. Come learn more about this fascinating citizen science project.
Gila Wilderness Centennial, Late May through Early June, 2024
We’re joining the celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Gila Wilderness by offering three field trips and a presentation. You can read about the hikes on our field trips page and read about the presentation below.
Pollinators, Native Plants: A Two-way Street, Saturday, June 1, 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Location: Open Space Brewery, 11990 US-180 Santa Clara Armory, Santa Clara, NM.
Agapostemon native bee
Join us for a presentation that explores the vital relationships which exist between native plants and their pollinators. Of course, native plants depend on pollination services from bees, butterflies, moths, and others, but the pollinators also depend on native plants to produce pollen for their young, food, building materials, etc. In this presentation we will delve into examples of the two-way interactions which have evolved between these two important components of a functioning ecosystem, illustrated with the amazing photographs of Elroy Limmer.
Don Graves taught biology in the community colleges of northern Minnesota for thirty years. Elroy Limmer has been taking amazing photographs of the natural world since he was a boy.
Dark Skies in New Mexico
Immediately following the pollinators’ presentation, Jon Holtzman, professor of astronomy at New Mexico State University and chair of the State Council of the recently formed New Mexico Chapter of DarkSky International, will speak about the threat to dark skies in New Mexico and around the world, as light pollution continues to increase. Light pollution is reversible, however, if reasonable principles of good lighting are adopted and followed. In this presentation, we'll discuss the nature of light pollution, some of its adverse effects, principles of good lighting, and some of the tools we can use for improvement. We'll also describe the formally designated DarkSky places in New Mexico and highlight some opportunities for expansion of New Mexico DarkSky places.