By Barb Spears
On August 29, 2015, Gail Bong (WWN NE) hosted “Massage in the Woods and Goods from the Woods – Show & Tell, Buy & Sell”. The outdoor massages, provided by Certified Massage Therapist Eric Bong, were greatly enjoyed by several WWN NE members. Some of the women brought "Hand Crafted Goods for Show & Tell, Buy and Sell”.
Saturday, July 25, 2015 we took a "woods walk" with consulting forester, Katie Himanga, at the historic Villa Maria in Frontenac to see how the timber stand improvement and woodland management techniques we learned at our Tuesday meeting apply in a real-world setting.
On June 26, 2015, Metro Area MNWWN member Debra Donath, along with husband Kent, hosted us to learn about honey bees. We were also able to tour her 23-acre property near Welch to learn about their land management practices involving tree planting of white pine, oak, and walnut and their two prairie restoration sites.
Introductions with Deb and Kent Donath, landowners.
Deb showing us how to build a honey bee hive.
Deb showing us how to build a honey bee hive.
Deb showing us the separate box the queen bee comes in.
A short honey treat break.
Getting ready to meet the honey bees!
We're ready to meet the honey bees!
From the bees to the trees!
Deb inspecting her prairie restoration.
At our Metro Area MNWWN gathering in October 2014, we discussed this topic.
Goats are being used in MN on many projects. Here is a link to a local SE MN company that rents their goats for buckthorn and other vegetation management needs: http://goatdispatch.com/.
Also, check out these links for more information on this topic:
Goats - Conservation Minnesota 2014: https://www.conservationminnesota.org/newsstream/goat-grazing-as-an-alternative-tool-to-invasive-plant-management/
Goats - River Bend NC 2014: http://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/news/local/article_38cad234-3694-571f-af92-f4c5070912df.html
Goats - Strib 2013: http://www.startribune.com/local/south/222820581.html
Goats - MPR 2013: http://blogs.mprnews.org/statewide/2013/08/goats-have-an-appetite-for-buckthorn-in-se-minnesota/
Hogs - North Central SARE: http://www.northcentralsare.org/Educational-Resources/From-the-Field/Minnesota-Producer-Experiments-with-Hogs-to-Control-Buckthorn
Northeast MNWWN and Peggy Meseroll Host a Tour of an Active Timber Harvest by Jan Bernu, MNWWN Northeast
On February 28th, the MN Women’s Woodland Network (MNWWN)-NE local network sponsored a tour of an active timber harvest at the Maki Family LLC property near Esko, MN. Peggy Meseroll, MFA Board Member and member of the WWN-NE local network, and her sister Mary are members of the Maki family and hosted this tour. Jan Bernu, Two By Forestry consulting forester and contracted forester for the Maki family, led the tour and discussion on “Private Timber Sale Nuts & Bolts Basics.” Jan is also leading the WWN-NE group and arranged this tour. There were 12 participants, including 3 from the Metro Area MNWWN, who braved the cold temperatures to learn about timber sales, timber harvesting and woodland management.
by Angela Gupta, University of Minnesota Extension
On Friday, March 14, 2014 nineteen women woodland owners gathered in Bemidji to “talk trees”, learn more about caring for their woodlands, meet with female natural resources professionals, and learn about the MN Women’s Woodland Network and how they can become involved or start a network in their local area.