Koma Kulshan January Newsletter

the Whatcom County chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society

Jan 06, 2025

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January Chapter Meeting

To register for Zoom meetings, go to the state events website and scroll down to find the appropriate Koma Kulshan event among other Zoom events associated with WNPS. Meetings begin at 7:00 PM. In person meetings are in the Sustainable Living Center education room at the ReStore (2309 Meridian St.). The entrance is off the back alley and the SLC is upstairs

January 15 (Zoom): Diving into Winter Ecology with David Lukas. Register here.

Description: While most plants and animals seem to be asleep in the winter, it’s actually a fascinating time of year and more is going on than you might realize. In this talk we’ll cover everything from the atmospheric conditions that create snow, to the microbes that live in snow, to the ways that plants and animals adapt and survive in snow and ice.

David Lukas is a well-known naturalist and author based in Washington’s Methow Valley. David has led thousands of natural history tours, classes, workshops, and presentations, plus he has written seven books and contributed chapters to another 40 books on a wide range of bird and nature topics, including Sierra Nevada Birds, Sierra Nevada Natural History, and Language Making Nature (www.languagemakingnature.com). David’s most recent project is producing a weekly nature newsletter at www.lukasguides.com and a weekly nature almanac for the Methow Valley at www.methownaturenotes.com.

January Field Trips/Work Parties

January 18, Saturday 11:00AM to 12:30PM. Introductory Plant Walk: 100 Acre Wood. Fairhaven.

This event especially welcomes nature novices. Your guide, an experienced amateur naturalist, will help you learn some of the common trees and plants of the forest, and help you learn to see the living story unfolding in the forest, that differs from place to place, and is unfolding over the years, decades, and centuries. Meet at the Interurban Trail Rotary Trailhead, on Old Fairhaven Parkway just west of 20th Street.

Leader: Eric Worden, eric@ericworden.seattle.wa.us, (360) 778-3542

Whatcom Conservation District Plant Sale Pre-Ordering Open

The plant sale will be held March 15 at Pioneer Park in Ferndale, but from now until February 28th you can put in pre-orders at their online shop. There is a $100 minimum. You can then use the drive-through order pick-up on Friday, March 14th at Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association or at the in-person sale.

2025 Plant Species Descriptions

2025 Simple Price List

The WNPS Koma Kulshan chapter will also have a table during the sale, and we can use volunteers. To help out, contact Allan Richardson at 360-305-5270 or asrichardson5@gmail.com.

Some Like it Cold!

by Fritz Ulrich

On my winter hike to Lake 22 on Dec. 24, I encountered plants that apparently like it in the cold wet weather. I was surprised to find a bog St. Johnswort (Hypericum anagalloides) biting its time under water and ice until summer. Not a cozy place if you ask me. More expected were snakeskin liverworts glued to a soggy rock. I also found some copperbush (Elliottia pyroliflora) seeds still attached to their twigs.