AGM Registration Form

AGM Registration Form

AGM Schedule

2009Annual General Meeting

The AGM is a two day event with two field trip options on Saturday and two on Sunday. When you sign up for a trip, you will receive detailed instructions on where to meet one to two weeks prior to the date. The evening meal and talk, and this year’s Annual General Meeting (open to executive and members) will be held at The Highwayman Inn. The Orillia Highwayman Inn and Conference Centre is located at 201 Woodside Drive in Orillia.

Saturday Banquet and Guest Speaker

Following Saturday’s field trips we will meet at The Highwayman Inn. The Highwayman Inn & Conference Centre is located at the intersection of Highway # 11 and Coldwater Road. From Toronto: Follow Hwy. # 400 North to Hwy. # 11 on to Orillia. Take the Coldwater Road exit and turn right at Westmount Drive. Turn right again on Woodside Drive. From Sudbury: Follow Hwy. # 69 South. Exit Hwy. # 12 East to Orillia. Turn right on Westmount Drive and turn right again on Woodside Drive.

The AGM agenda is as follows:

Social Hour - 4:30 to 5:15: Arrive/return to The Highwayman Inn, opportunity to meet and greet fellow FBO members.

Buffet Dinner - 5:30 to 6:45: we will partake of the buffet dinner served at The Highwayman Inn

Guest Speaker - 7:00 to 8:00: Steve Varga, ecologist at Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, will be our guest speaker.

Annual General Meeting - 8:30 to 9:30

All members are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the executive after the presentation.

Make cheques payable to: Field Botanists of Ontario

Send your registration form to:

Bill Crowley

19 Burnham Blvd.

Port Hope, Ontario L1A 4H5

Home Telephone: (905) 885-2123

Carden Alvar

Field Trips

Saturday Field Trips:

Alvar Ecology on the Prairie Smoke Nature Reserve

Leaders: Margo Holt and Kyra Howes

Start Time: 10:00 am

We will observe various types of alvar such as pavement, grassland, shrubland & see how the plants have adapted for survival in this harsh environment. We will see extensive Little Bluestem grasslands, the rare (S3) Northern Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), Kalm's Brome (Bromus kalmii), the rare (S3) Cooper's Milkvetch (Astralagus neglectus), & various alvar shrub species like Fragrant Sumac, Snowberry, Shrubby Cinquefoil. We will also descend into a moss-lined limestone grotto.

The Little Bluestem Alvar

Leader: Dan Kraus

Start Time: 10:00 am

Join us to explore the newest addition to the growing network of protected areas on the Carden Alvar. The 654 acre Little Bluestem Alvar Nature Reserve includes several high quality alvar types, limestone plain forests and headwater wetlands. This property was acquired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and partners in 2009, and the field trip will offer an opportunity to explore and inventory some new areas in Carden.

Sunday Field Trips:

Kawartha Lakes

Leader: Dale Leadbeater

Start Time: 9:00 am

Dale Leadbeater will lead a trip to an as yet undecided location near Orillia, in the Kawartha Lakes region. She is helping the local naturalists with their flora, and this will be a big summer for finding new and delightful places. So participants on the trip will benefit from the expertise and excitement associated with intensive surveys and new botanical findings.

Torrance Barrens Hiking Trail, Southern Muskoka

Leader: George Bryant

Start Time: 9:45 a.m.

Most FBO trips penetrate the barrens about 400 metres before running out of time. On this occasion for the first time we hike the whole six-kilometre circular trail. Walking is relatively easy as it is also a mountain bike trail. The barrens are a heavily glaciated uninhabited expanse of exposed rock, bogs, fens, marsh, beaver meadows, savanna-like oak openings and small lakes. We will endeavour to spot as many of the 42-odd Atlantic Coastal species as well as various asters, goldenrods and ferns typical of the southern Shield. The area has a wide diversity of fauna and interesting snakes, butterflies and odonates are virtually guaranteed.