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BUILD A BUG MUG FOR NATIVE BEES Date: Wednesday, March 11 Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Location: Arboretum Ages: 5 through adult (children must be accompanied by an adult) Cost: $5 per bug mug. Pre-registration required. Instructor: Senior Park Naturalist Laura Bush Everyone loves honeybees, but our native bees are even more important as pollinators of early-blooming plants like fruit trees. One of many native species, the Orchard Mason Bee is a small, iridescent blue bee that is non-aggressive because there is no colony or hive to defend. Instead, these bees nest inside a hollow plant stem or a hole previously bored by another insect in wood. We will learn about the life cycle of these bees in a short PowerPoint, and then build a Bug Mug to provide some habitat for these native bees. Cost is per mug; participants may make and take home one or more mugs. Photo: bug mug Caption: Create a bug mug like this one to welcome native bees into your yard! PROPAGATING NATIVE PLANTS Date: Saturday, March 21 Time: 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM Location: Arboretum Ages: adults Cost: $17 per person. Pre-registration required. Guest Instructor: Judy Glattstein This informative and entertaining class will explore propagating native plants, some from seed and others by division. Students will learn how to collect, clean, and store seed. The instructor will discuss timing for division, demonstrating the techniques. Students will go home with seeds to plant in their own gardens. Judy Glattstein has been a popular instructor at The New York Botanical Garden and Rutgers Gardens in college-level classes, as well as a lecturer across the United States and abroad at many garden clubs. She has guided a variety of garden tours around the United States and Europe and is an author of nine books on gardening. Explore her website at www.bellewood-gardens.com. RAIN BARREL/ RAIN GARDEN WORKSHOP Date: Thursday, March 26 (snow date: April 2) Time: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Location: Echo Hill Lodge Ages: 13 through adult (children must be accompanied by an adult) Cost: $50 per barrel (includes materials) or $8 to attend the presentation and not create a rain barrel. Pre-registration required. Guest instructors: Lauren Theis (Education Director) and Shealynn O’Toole (Americorps NJ Watershed Ambassador), Raritan Headwaters Association A rain barrel is attached to your home’s gutter and collects rainwater that can be used for watering plants. This is a great way to prevent runoff that may collect pollution, and also to prevent erosion. Rain gardens also collect storm water, but direct it straight into a garden that cleans the water by trapping pollutants in the stems of native plants while draining the clean rain water back into the groundwater. Lauren Theis and Shealynn O’Toole of Raritan Headwaters Association will show us the importance of saving rain water, and will teach us how to do it effectively. Those who are interested can create a rain barrel ($50 option). To attend the presentation and receive literature but not create a rain barrel, the cost is $8. TOT WALKS Location: Echo Hill Ages: 2 to 3 (children must be accompanied by an adult) Cost: Each walk $3 per child; accompanying adult attends for free. Pre-registration required. Instructor: Senior Park Naturalist Laura Bush Join us on these early adventures to discover nature at your local park! Leave the strollers behind as we take a walk outside to see plants and animals around us. We will use our senses to focus on each theme. Each one-hour program will include a walk and an indoor time of a story and craft. We are offering three walks of the same theme in a row; please select Session A, B, or C. MAPLE SUGARING Session A: Thursday, March 12, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Session B: Friday, March 13, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Session C: Friday, March 13, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM WORMS Session A: Thursday, April 2, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Session B: Friday, April 3, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Session C: Friday, April 3, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM TURTLES Session A: Thursday, May 7, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Session B: Friday, May 8, 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Session C: Friday, May 8, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM All programs require pre-registration. To download a registration form, please visit http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/depts/parks/parks.htm. For more information on Hunterdon County Division of Parks & Recreation, please call us at (908) 782-1158 or email us at parks@co.hunterdon.nj.us.