Minutes of the meeting of March 21, 2023
The members met in the home of Dolly McKenna. Jeanne Braha, executive director of Rock Creek Conservancy, gave a talk on Rock Creek Park and current challenges to its health. The entire watershed of the creek is included in the park, and all but the last half mile of the creek. There are 3,000 acres in the park, of which 1,800 acres are forested. There are 2 million visitors per year.
The main challenges to the park are stormwater runoff and invasive species. Both of these are exacerbated by climate change. The conservancy has learned to plant in the fall rather than the spring to avoid having to water through the hot summer months. They are choosing natives like spicebush, redbud, and American holly, and avoiding plants like mountain laurel and other plants at the southern edge of their range, which suffer in the greater heat of climate change. They have established six mini-oases to test strategies for eliminating invasives. The goal is fewer than 5% invasives in a particular area. In some of the areas, there were 80% invasives, though the average is 40%. The native seed bank is there and will germinate, given the opportunity.
After Ms. Braha’s presentation, President Jane Dana welcomed members and thanked Dolly for her hospitality and Connie Anderson and Xenia Wilkinson for the delicious refreshments.
Membership Chair Xenia Wilkinson presented the name of Ann Williams, who recently resigned, for reelection to the club. There are no more vacancies in the membership. Cathy Farrell will conduct an online election before the end of the program year.
Winkie Crigler, Claire Marshall, and Cathy Farrell were the nominating committee. They presented a slate of officers for the coming year:
President Winkie Crigler
First VP Doris Dixon
Second VP Donna Roberts
Treasurer Susie Taylor
Assistant Treasurer Catherine Farrell
Corresponding Secretary Anne Snodgrass
Recording secretary Mary Jane Glass
The 70th anniversary luncheon plans are nearly complete. Invitations will go out shortly and will require an RSVP by a specified date. A working group to put together a history presentation for the luncheon will meet at Jane Dana’s house on Thursday, March 23, and April 12.
In the absence of Treasurer Winkie Crigler, Jane read the treasurer’s report:
We currently have $11,708.67 in the bank. As you will recall, we increased the dues amount from $100 to $150 in 2019, and at the same time we increased the budget for speakers’ fees and a year later we added a line item for website development and maintenance. But we have not spent nearly as much as we budgeted in those two categories (in part because of the pandemic). In addition, we have not printed a directory since 2019. So – long story short – income has been exceeding our expenses for the past few years and our reserves are up substantially. We could afford to spend $6,000 to $7,000 this year on our grants, or alternatively, $6,000 this year and next. This would not be a permanent increase in the amount we spend on grants – just a one-time spending down of our reserves. It is up to the recommendations of the grants committee and the membership how we decide to spend down these reserves, and whether to make one or more larger than usual gifts in honor of our 70th anniversary.
The grants committee (Mary Jane Glass, Susie Taylor, Ellen Thrasher) met by phone to talk about the past year's grants and to decide what the grant recommendations for the coming year would be. Their job was made much easier because the club's past year meeting programs included a visit to one of our grantees, the Washington Youth Garden at the National Arboretum. (Yay, Jane DeCell, program chair.) In addition, Mary Jane and Jane Dana met with Jeanne Braha, executive director of Rock Creek Conservancy, to learn about what the conservancy is doing to mitigate and control the spread of invasives in the park. More recently, Susie and Mary Jane visited one of the city farms our organization funds through Building Bridges Across the River. The site we toured was THEARC facility in Anacostia. Manager Carrie Vaughan showed us raised beds, fruit trees, composting, and greenhouses. There is also a footpath she and her volunteers are extending from the garden to the river. When finished, it will be a mile long, and a great opportunity to experience nature. Our fourth grantee, Tregaron Conservancy, is a place many of us are familiar with from our volunteer work days there at least twice a year.
The committee's recommendation is to maintain our four grants at the current levels if the sum available for grants remains the same as last year. These amounts, which total $5000, are: Tregaron Conservancy $1,500, Rock Creek Conservancy $1,500, Washington Youth Garden $1,000, and Building Bridges Across the River $1,000.
Based on the treasurer’s report, the club could also make a one-time gift of $2,000, for a total contribution of $7,000 in grants in celebration of the club’s 70th anniversary year. After discussion, the club members present voted
· to make the recommended four grants at the current levels, as recommended above,
· to request the grants committee to investigate to whom the additional $2,000 gift might be offered in honor of our 70th anniversary,
· to present their recommendation to the membership for a vote at a meeting later this year.
Jane Dana announced that she has reached out to presenters to coordinate visits to some of the member gardens from January’s Zoom tour, as well as some of the ones from last year’s Zoom tour. If the visits cannot be scheduled for this spring, they hopefully can be included in next year’s programs. Any all-day or overnight visits to more distant gardens must also be on the schedule for next year.
Dates to remember:
· Next meeting April 18
· Tregaron work day May 2
· Anniversary luncheon May 16
Jane thanked Dolly and all those who served on the membership, nominating, and grants committees for their work and adjourned the meeting.