ANTIGO — The Northwoods Gateway Chapter of Wild Ones will host a free presentation on protecting endangered songbirds tonight, Aug. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Pollinator Garden near 2nd Ave. alongside the Johnson Electric Coil Company.
The presentation will be given by Lisa Gaumnitz, a former public information officer for the Wisconsin DNR that now coordinates SOS Save Our Songbirds, an initiative by the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership to raise awareness about native birds endangered in Wisconsin.
Beth Castaldi, the co-president of the Wild Ones Northwoods Gateway Chapter, said hosting Gaumnitz was ideal for her organization, which advocates for native landscapes.
“The success of native plants and the success of the songbirds go hand in hand,” Castaldi said. “She will be speaking about which native plants people should include in their gardens to benefit the songbirds, along with other steps that people can take to improve the number of songbirds that share our world with us.”
Castaldi said many songbirds, both in Wisconsin and across the planet, have become endangered.
“There is a songbird crisis literally worldwide,” Castaldi said. “It was my extreme pleasure to move to Langlade County in 2001. One of the things that I enjoyed most was listening to two birds: the meadowlark and the bobolink. I couldn’t tell you when the last time was that I heard either one of these birds. Of course, a lot of that stems from what we as cohabitants of the world do that’s to the detriment of the songbirds. But the good news is, there are things that we can do to greatly improve the songbird population.”
She encouraged individuals to add native plants to their properties wherever they have space.
“No matter if it’s a case where they might have window planters, vegetable gardens, or a rim of native flowers around the driveway, everyone, regardless of what type of space they have available for these native plants, can do something. If everybody were to do a little bit, it would be a huge help for our environment,” Castaldi said.
She said those interested in joining Wild Ones would likely find it to be “a great resource.”
“We offer hands-on experience, educational opportunities, everything from informational books to speakers,” she said. “For instance, Wild Ones publishes numerous articles every year that when you’re a member you have access to. So it’s a wonderful way to share your passion for native plants with like-minded people. You don’t have to have a garden, but if you care to work in a garden, we have gardens available like the Noboken School Forest and the Johnson Coil property. Those are our gardens currently, and we’ll be expanding more.”
One of the most valuable resources, she said, were other club members themselves.
“There are several of our members that have a wealth of information about native plants,” Castaldi said. “They’ve been working with native plants for years and they’re very willing and eager to teach anyone who’s interested in anything about native plants. The big thing that I’ve learned in belonging to this group is what I know is a drop in the bucket compared to what I should know and I’m trying to learn.”
Those interested in learning more about tonight’s Save Our Songbirds event or the Wild Ones Northwoods Gateway Chapter can email northwoodsgateway@gmail.com or go to the organization’s Facebook page.
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