Native Orchid Conservation Inc

President's Report - by Doris Ames

The next NOCI Annual General Meeting will be on Friday, February 25, 2011. At that time we will have a business meeting and election to our board of directors. We will also put forward an amendment to our bylaws to be ratified by our members. Long-time board member John Neufeld will not be running for re-election. John served for many years as vice-president and field-trip leader and he was master of ceremonies on many occasions. We also benefited greatly from his legal expertise through the years and he always found time to help us with legal matters in spite of having a busy law practice. I want to thank him very much for all his help. He was always enthusiastic about field trips and I hope he will still find time to come with us on some of our orchid adventures. This year we need to elect three members to the board. The biographies of those members who have allowed their names to stand for election will be included in this issue. We also welcome nominations from the floor. If you want any more information on the election please phone our nominating chair, Mike James, at 663-0408 or email mkjames@mts.net.

We will be having a vote on an amendment to the Dissolution Clause 29.2 in our bylaws as follows: "After dissolution, funds or assets of NOCI remaining after satisfaction of debts and liabilities shall be distributed to one or more qualified donees at the discretion of the Board at the time." (It used to read "to another bona fide conservation group".) The CRA Charities Directorate requests that we make this change to ensure compliance with the Income Tax Act. You can view our bylaws Here

Following the business meeting and elections etc. we will have a PowerPoint presentation by NOCI members Will Milne and Doris Ames featuring some wonderful images taken by Will of our native orchid seeds revealing their extraordinary structure and beauty.

We will have a raffle, cheesecake and fruit, and member sales as well that evening. (See a more extensive write up of the AGM elsewhere in this newsletter.) We welcome donations for the raffle table and volunteers to help us put on the annual meeting. If you can help please contact Peggy at 261-9179 or email bainardp@mts.net. Peggy and the other volunteers put much time and effort into making our annual general meetings so interesting and so much fun so please come out and enjoy it and volunteer to help if you can.

There are several other upcoming events as follows:

Saturday, February 5, 2011, 12-5:30pm - Reel Green Film Festival put on by the MB Econetwork at the University of Winnipeg (Lockhart Hall). For tickets phone 947-6511.

Saturday, February 19, 10-3:00pm - Seedy Saturday put on by Friends of Assiniboine Park Conservatory at Canadian Mennonite University South Campus, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd.

March 25 (Friday) - March 27(Sunday) - MOS Orchid Show - Assinibione Park Conservatory. Theme: Orchid Celebration

U of M Herbarium Tour

There is also another very special opportunity arranged by NOCI member Derrick Ko Heinrichs. Join us on Thursday, March 3, 2011 for a Herbarium Tour at the University of Manitoba led by well-known Manitoba botanist Elizabeth Punter. This tour is limited to 20 people so contact our field-trip coordinator, John Dyck, at 222-7188 or email jwdyck1@mts.net to register if you would like to attend.

Thursday, March 3, 2011.

Time: 7 PM

Place: Room 426, 4th Floor, Buller Building (up the stairs or elevator to the 4th floor, turn right to the end of the corridor, turn right again to the Herbarium)

Parking: Parking Lot A, K or Q (free after 4.30 p.m.).

Please note - only 12 spaces are left available, so reserve now.

Call John Dyck, our Field-Trip Coordinator at 222-7188 or email jwdyck1@mts.net.

Annual General Meeting 2011 -  By Peggy Bainard Acheson

Native Orchid Conservation Inc will be holding its thirteenth Annual General Meeting on Friday, February 25, 2010 at 7:30 pm at the Manitoba Lawn Bowling Centre, 1212 Dakota Street in St.Vital.

In addition to the annual board-of-directors election and business meeting, we are pleased to have our members Will Milne and Doris Ames give us a presentation called "Through the Looking Glass".

A limited number of sale tables will be available for $10 each. Deadline for vendors to sign up is FEBRUARY 18. Please send a cheque made out to Native Orchid Conservation Inc. to Peggy Bainard Acheson, 45 Skowron Cr., Winnipeg, MB R3W 1N6 by February 22, 2011. VENDORS MUST ARRIVE TO SET UP THEIR TABLES BY 6:50 pm OR THEY WILL LOSE THEIR PLACE.

All welcome but only members in good standing may vote in the election. In addition, we will have a raffle, door prizes, and wonderful refreshments! For more information contact Peggy at 261-9179 (leave message) or email bainardp@mts.net . Hope to see you all there!

Information on Candidates

Peggy Bainard Acheson, a graduate of the Environmental Science program at the University of Manitoba, has been a director of NOCI and its Membership Chair for twelve years. She has organized the annual Members' Night and AGM, arranging for speakers, as well as advertising and promotion. As a field-trip leader, she enjoys sharing her love of the outdoors while helping to conserve habitat for native orchids. Peggy works full time in the environmental industry. Her other interests include cross-country skiing, hiking, the arts, and reading.

John W. Dyck grew up on a farm in the Municipality of Franklin in southern Manitoba where he spent much time enjoying the beautiful Roseau River. He served on the executive of the Manitoba Fly Fishers Association from 1982 to 2000 including six years as president. While with the MFFA he was involved in some stream rehabilitation work on the Lonesands Project and Whiteshell River Project. In 2004 John joined the Franklin Crow Wing Trail committee on which he still serves. Having discovered NOCI and its work in protecting native plants and flowers, John attended a meeting and joined NOCI in 2006. He enjoys meeting new people and learning new things on NOCI field trips, and especially likes the NOCI mandate to identify, inventory and protect the special habitats that plants like the native orchids need to survive.

AGM Presentation - Through the Looking Glass and what Will and Doris found there:  -  a Photomacrography/photomicroscopy exploration of Manitoba's native orchid seed capsules and their morphology.

Many of you have accompanied us on field trips during the early summer to see and to photograph native orchids in bloom but we usually don't pay too much attention to them when they are finished flowering. That's too bad because that's when things really start to get interesting. The interesting cellular structure and subtle colour differences in the seed capsules and the seed coats are really marvellous. Join us this evening for a rare glimpse of an aspect of our terrestrial native orchids that most of us are not lucky enough to see.

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Plant of the Month

Small Bellwort  (Uvularia sessilifolia)

by Doris Ames

This rare (S2) perennial plant is a seldom-seen member of the Lily Family. The genus name Uvularia is the Latin word for the human uvula, the flap of skin that hangs down from the palate at the back of the throat. The drooping single flower was thought to resemble the uvula. The species name sessilifolia refers to the sessile or stalkless leaves that have no petioles but sit right on the stem. The common name bellwort is made up of bell referring to the bell shaped flowers and wort is an old English word for a common plant or herb.

Small bellwort is found in shady and rich mixed woodlands in the southeastern part of the Province. It blooms in late May to early June and is often found growing alongside Eastern bloodroot and spotted coralroot. The slender plant is 15-30cm high with a smooth stem that is forked above the middle. The leaves are stalkless and alternate with whitish undersides. The single flower is creamy-white and drooping and only lasts a few days. It turns a blotchy brown and falls off leaving a sharply angled triangular seed capsule with several seeds.

According to the Doctrine of Signatures early pioneers thought that the plant would make good medicine for a sore throat because the flowers resembled the uvula. Unfortunately it proved to be ineffective for that purpose but the Native Americans found out that it was an edible green and a good substitute for asparagus.