Chapters in Michigan

PLEASE NOTE: Early start time so we have enough daylight for the outdoor portion of our program.

Presenter: John Metzler

We will start with a slide show in the auditorium and then move outside to Matthaei's gardens to take photos. 

Topics to be addressed include seeing through the lens, lighting, shooting from different angles, e.g., lying on the ground, capturing the essence of the subject, and proximity to the subject.

About John Metzler 

John Metzler is a partner at applEcon, LLC, an antitrust economics firm in Ann Arbor. He got his start in photography sixty years ago with a sister's Kodak Brownie, learned to shoot 35mm on his Dad's fully-manual Minolta Rangefinder ten years later, and switched to digital in 2004. An avid explorer of regional natural areas, John shares his pictures of various natural areas with their stewards to use as they choose. He began learning botany and native plants on Ellen Elliott Weatherbee's WedAm walking botany lectures in 2018, and he then joined the Michigan Botanical Society in 2022.

All of John's pictures are on his website, https://johnmetzler.smugmug.com/.  All are available as full resolution downloads free of charge for non-commercial use.

PARKING: Metered parking is available at Matthaei Botanical Gardens; Matthaei members park for free.

The Symposium features three presenters: 

Keynote speaker Kim Eierman will present "Selling Native Plants with Cues to Care." Not all neighbors and city officials are on board with the look of natural landscaping. Kim will illustrate how to show intent in your native landscape and demonstrate to others that you are gardening with purpose.

Kass Urban-Mead, a pollinator specialist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, will speak on "Pollinators in the Woods: Exploring the Many Ways Wild Bees Nest and Forage in Woody Habitats."  Join Kass for an adventure exploring how wild bees use the woods, from the leafy forest floor to the top of the canopy. She will connect these to some suggestions on forest stewardship for pollinators.

Michelle Wietek-Stephens, owner of U.P. Native Plants, in Marquette, will present "Butterfly Bonanza: U.P. Native Plants for U.P. Native Moths and Butterflies." She will discuss the importance of moths and butterflies both as pollinators and as components of the local food chain; why what we plant matters; and specific pairings of native plants for U.P. moths and butterflies.

Description TBA

Join Mid-Mitten Member Rand Kursinsky as he presents information on how to landscape for wildlife.  In addition to planting native plants, there are other techiques that can be applied to your landscaping to encourage local fauna.  Randy will give examples of what he has accomplished on his own property and their results.

Meredith will invite the audience to explore with her, through pictures, the newly planted native meadow at the Oudolf Gardens on Belle Isle, MI, 

Meredith Simpson is  a longtime perennial gardener with particular interests in modern planting design and environmental stewardship. As a member of the all-volunteer “grounds crew” and serving as Chief Operating Officer of Friends of the Oudolf Garden, she currently leads the garden’s plant sourcing, operations and maintenance efforts.