News Releases
News from Lane Community College
March 11, 2009
NATIVE LANDSCAPE ATTRACTS HUMMINGBIRDS, PEOPLE AND PUBLICITY
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Gail Baker |
Eugene, Ore. - Yearning for springtime?
Gail Baker, assistant instructor of biology at Lane Community College, will point you to the Native Landscape Project on main campus for encouragement.
The project includes red flowering current bushes surrounding the science and math building that are breaking bud now, Baker says. “Sprays of red flowers will soon appear and attract hummingbirds.”
Later in the year, the meadow west of the building will show camas, flowering mock orange, showy milkweed, and lupine.
Until then, the flowers can be enjoyed through Baker’s photo essay published on page 31 of the March 2009 bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon. The bulletin can be downloaded from http://www.npsoregon.org/publications.html
Gail initiated the Native Landscape Project at Lane in 2000. “We are now seeing establishment of an ecosystem that includes highlights of native Willamette Valley species,” she writes in her essay. April through June reveal a progression of wildflowers that will continues into the summer.
Students and the public can learn more at two upcoming events sponsored by the local Emerald Chapter of the NPSO. A presentation by Baker describing the history of the Native Landscape Project and current onsite research will be held Monday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the EWEB Training Room at 500 East 4th Avenue in Eugene.
A subsequent tour and restoration work party will be held at the science building meadow on Lane main campus on Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to noon. A two-hour tour will be followed by data collection and removal of invasive species. Volunteers should bring their own lunch, dress for wet weather, and bring gloves and tools if possible.
For more information, call Baker at 463-5085 or visit her web page at http://teach.lanecc.edu/bakerg
Baker has taught at Lane since 1994. She has a master’s degree in biology from San Diego State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California-Irvine.
Lane is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
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PIO: Joan Aschim, (541) 463-5591, aschimj@lanecc.edu
Contact: Gail Baker, bakerg@lanecc.edu or (541) 463-5085
Photo: Gail Baker, photo by John Bauguess
