Minnesota Native Plant Society 

Field Trips

Come join Daniel Jones (MN NPS board member and senior ecologist for Barr Engineering) at Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park for an afternoon of hiking and woodland plant identification. Through the sugar maple, basswood, elm, green ash, and ironwood trees that shade the early spring wildflowers, participants will get to see plants like hepatica, bloodroot, Dutchman’s breeches and trout lilies in full bloom.

We will begin the day at 1:00 PM at the entrance of the visitor center with a brief introduction before hiking for the afternoon. Parking is next to the visitor center. Remember either a daily or annual state park pass will be required for this field trip.

Directions Take I-35 to State Highway 19 east into Northfield. Go south on State Highway 3, east on State Highway 246, then turn right onto County Road 29. Follow signs to state park.

On Saturday, May 24, writer Dan Dietrich and naturalist Bruce Ause will present “A Walk with Thoreau.” Sponsored by the Anderson Center, the event is free and open to the public. The day will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the main gallery of the Anderson Center with brunch and a brief talk by Dietrich on Thoreau’s trip to Red Wing. This will be followed by a walking tour of Barn Bluff from 10:30-12:00 a.m. Led by Dietrich and Ause, the tour will retrace Thoreau’s exploration of the bluff and locate the many plants and flowers noted in his journals and letters.

Dan Dietrich, one of Minnesota’s finest outdoor writers, is a much-published author and photographer from Frontenac. His stories and outdoor articles have appeared in more than 80 national publications, and he is currently completing a book about Thoreau’s Minnesota journey. Bruce Ause, retired director of the Red Wing Environmental Learning Center, works as a volunteer naturalist for Frontenac State Park and Red Wing Eagle Watch. His outdoor articles appear regularly in the Red Wing Republican Eagle. Additional info from Press Release Thousands have found inspiration at the top of Red Wing’s Barn Bluff. Some have come for the rock formations and geologic wonders, others for the breathtaking vistas of the Upper Mississippi River valley. Visitors who venture to the top will tell you that everything is a little clearer up there, that logic and the daily list of “things to worry about” take a break while clear thoughts take hold. One visitor to Barn Bluff is notable. In 1861, celebrated writer and naturalist Henry David Thoreau, author of such American classics as Walden, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, The Maine Woods, and Civil Disobedience, headed west from his birthplace in Concord, Massachusetts, on what would become the longest journey of his life. He suffered from tuberculosis, and doctors in Boston had prescribed a change of climate. As Thoreau wrote, “I had an incessant cough, and the doctors told me I had to ‘clear out’ to the West Indies or elsewhere. So, I selected Minnesota.” Accompanied by amateur botanist Horace Mann, he arrived in Red Wing on June 23, 1861, exploring Barn Bluff and the bottomlands of the Mississippi River. While touring Red Wing’s famous bluff, he compiled a botanical list of nearly three dozen plants. Thoreau and Mann left Red Wing on June 26 and returned to Concord. All total, Thoreau’s journey covered 3,500 miles and took two months to complete. The fresh air of Minnesota did not cure him. He died a year later at the age of 44, his Minnesota field notes never incorporated into any of his journals. With wildflowers in bloom, this is a perfect way to spend a beautiful spring morning. For more information, call the Anderson Center at 1-651-388-2009.

Come join DNR botanists/plant ecologists Chel Anderson and Lynden Gerdes for a day of hiking the shores of Lake Superior and the interior forests of the North Shore Highlands for a look at the many diverse plant communities found in this part of northeast Minnesota. Participants will see plant communities unique to the North Shore Highlands and the rare species and ecosystem processes associated with those communities. You will also hear about how these communities and plants fit into the vegetation history of northeast Minnesota. Dress appropriately for the weather and the field, we will lead the trip rain or shine. We recommend good hiking footwear and please wear a hat and bring drinking water. Also pack a picnic lunch for the day.

Saturday July 19th 8:30 to 11:30 AM George Crosby Manitou State Park

Participants will meet at George Crosby Manitou State Park and begin by hiking the interior forests of this wilderness park where waterfalls cascade through a volcanic canyon surrounded by majestic forest. The trails in the park are carved through a forest of fir, cedar, spruce, and northern hardwoods.

12:15 to 5:00 PM Split Rock Lighthouse State Park After lunch at this historic state park, the tour will continue with a look at the plants found along the shores of Lake Superior. Camp at one of the many state parks or other lodging opportunities found along the north shore.

Field trip participants should get to the area Friday night since the trip will begin in the morning and then continue through the afternoon. It is highly recommended that you reserve a campsite or other accommodations well in advance of this trip due to the popularity of the area in the summer. You are on your own for all meals and lodging/camping.

State Park permits will be required for this trip since all activities will be within State Park boundaries.

Spend part of a day in the prairie pothole region of western Minnesota helping the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collect native seed for their prairie restoration projects.

Join members of the MN Native Plant Society and other volunteers in helping the Morris Wetland Management District for part of a day hand-harvesting seed from a local remnant native prairie. This is a great chance to get out and enjoy some beautiful fall weather and learn about prairie restoration. Training and transportation to the site will be provided from the district headquarters.

The day will begin at 10AM at the district headquarters east of Morris for an interpretive tour of their facilities. Participants will then break into groups and be taken to a local remnant prairie for the late morning and afternoon. Please dress for the weather and bring a lunch for the day.

We will meet at the Morris Wetland Management District Headquarters, located approximately 4 miles east of Morris on County Road 10. For directions or more information, visit the Morris Wetland Management District’s website http://midwest.fws.gov/Morris or call J.B. at 320-589-4970.

You can register with the MN Native Plant Society or call J.B. Bright at (320-589-4970) to sign up by September 21. Registration is not limited and you do not need to be a member of the MN Native Plant Society to attend.

A look at plants as they enter the winter months

Join Jason Husveth (Ecologist and former MN NPS President) at Lee & Rose Warner Nature Center for a morning of plant identification. The day will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a brief lecture inside the nature center on how to identify plants outside of the growing season. Following the lecture, Jason will lead participants on a hike throughout the 600 acre nature center property. This undeveloped tract of land includes excellent examples of oak forest, lake systems, bogs and other high quality wetlands and woodlands. This is a great opportunity to hike through an otherwise not-open-to-the-public nature area. For more information and directions to Warner Nature Center follow the link to their website at www.smm.org/warnernaturecenter

A hand’s on look at how to identify plants outside of the growing season.

Join Scott Milburn (Botanist and MN NPS President) at Maplewood Nature Center for a morning of winter botany. The day will begin at 9:00 AM with a brief lecture inside the nature center on how to identify plants outside of the growing season. Following the lecture, participants will explore the trails around the nature center property. You will get to take a closer look at what grows around the lake and in the oak woodlands of Maplewood Nature Center.

Spend a warm afternoon browsing for new books for your plant library and help raise money for the MN Native Plant Society.

Join other members of the MN NPS to part of a morning and afternoon at Terrace Horticultural Books in St. Paul. Kent Petterson (owner of Terrace) is please to open up his book store for the day to all members of the Minnesota Native Plant Society.

Not only will you be able to find that missing book for your plant library but 20% of all sales from MN NPS member purchases will get donated back to the Minnesota Native Plant Society.

Join Janet Larson (Natural Resource Specialist for the City of Minnetonka) and Ken Arndt (Forest Ecologist for Critical Connections Ecological Services) at Nine Mile Creek Natural Area for an afternoon of winter plant identification. The hike will begin at 1:00 p.m. from the parking area at Moir Park along 104th Street (look for signs) where we will hike on a the trail that follows Nine Mile Creek.

Participants will hike along scenic Nine Mile Creek in a ravine of mesic oak and lowland hardwood forests. If we are lucky the skunk cabbage in the seeps should be up and starting to bloom at that time, so bring your camera and a good pair of boots. We will be on a groomed city park trail for most of the hike with some wandering allowed!