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Strategic plan targets invasive species
The Superior Daily Telegram (11/17)
Douglas County’s Land Conservation Committee is forwarding a plan to the county board that takes aim at invasive species.

Mich. Clean Marina Program: Public-private partners work together to improve water quality
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/9)
Partners from the public and private sector in Michigan are working together in a voluntary program to improve the quality of the Great Lakes.

Researchers seek funding for wind test site in Lake Michigan
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/7)
In a recent article in The Muskegon Chronicle, it was reported that researchers at Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) cited a lack of year-around data (on wind platform testing) needed by prospective development companies.

COMMENTARY: Senate needs to pass clean energy act to help Michigan
The Grand Rapids Press (10/26)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was absolutely correct with his recent proclamation about the current condition of the Great Lakes State: "The State of Michigan," Reid declared from the Senate Floor, with a copy Time Magazine in his hand, "is in trouble."

First Nation women 'walk the environmental talk'
WeNews (10/23)
Tomorrow's global day of climate activism aims for media and political attention. First Nation women have another way. Since 2003, they've walked the shoreline of a Great Lake or major river, meditating on the needs of an unborn generation.

City making big push for water school
The Business Journal (10/23)
The push is on to convince the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that the best location for its new School of Freshwater Sciences is near the university’s existing Great Lakes Water Institute on East Greenfield Avenue.

TEACH Calendar of Events
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
Great Lakes native flora

7 | Great Lakes native flora quiz!


1. To be considered a plant, an organism must possess the following characteristics EXCEPT:
photosynthesis
a way to move on its own
cellulose
water-conducting tissue

 
2. Leaves and stems of plants stand up straight with the help of:
dirt
oxygen
cellulose
people

 
3. Logging was an important industry in the Great Lakes region during:
World War II
mid-1800s
1970s
never

 
4: Purple loosestrife is an example of:
a nonindigenous plant
a plant useful to wetlands
a native plant
an endangered plant

 
5: Native plants are:
plants without a stem
plants that need fertilizer and irrigation
green plants
plants that have evolved in a particular region

 
6: All of the following are benefits of native landscaping EXCEPT:
wildlife love mowed grass
less expensive
saves energy
promotes natural balance and biodiversity

 
7: Which tree is NOT native to Illinois? (Hint: Read through Illinois' native tree list!)
eastern red cedar
flowering dogwood
redwood
Ohio buckeye

 
8: Why is the American chestnut rare?
housing and road development
chestnut blight
humans harvested too many chestnuts
extensive logging

 
9: On the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources "Native Plant Gardens" page, the DNR recommends the following steps when designing a native landscape garden EXCEPT:
get to know your site
budget money and time
managing and maintaining
plant non-native plants for diversity


 

References
Encyclopedia Britannica -- Plants
Great Lakes Atlas, Third Edition, U.S. EPA and Environment Canada
Green Landscaping with Native Plants, U.S. EPA-Great Lakes National Program Office
PLANTS National Database, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
Using Native Plants in the Landscape, University of Minnesota Extension Service
 
Published on October 1, 2000

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