TWIGS _FJOA Quarterly Newsletter

~ TWIGS ~

A Quarterly Newsletter of

Friends of Jensen - Olson Arboretum

Winter Issue December 2016

Quarterly News and Updates

In this issue: Docent Training details, Pictorial 2016,

2017 Arboretum event dates, and more...

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Research and the Jensen - Olson Arboretum

In gifting the Arboretum to CBJ and its residents, one of Caroline’s stated goals was for it to become “a place that both teaches and inspires learning in horticulture, natural sciences and landscaping…” To that end we have made the Arboretum’s unique location and some of its resources available to local researchers as well as sending plant material to academics around the world.

Locally, USFS personnel have utilized the Arboretum site for multi-year studies in both entomological and ornithological data collection and analyses. ADF&G personnel have conducted surveys using our location in order to obtain baseline data for Southeast Alaska’s bat populations. UAS Anthropology students have conducted field work at the Arboretum to gain glimpses into its cultural history and as an opportunity to explore excavation methods. And this past fall, plant material was collected, prepared and sent to three different universities in Europe.

The most notable of these deliveries was to Dr. Heidi Lie Andersen of the Natural History Museum at the University of Bergen, Norway. Her small cadre of students was looking for plant material from specific northern plants for phylogeny studies. In short, they are attempting to trace the family tree of these species by comparing their DNA to find common ancestors.

Dr. Andersen was able to query our plant database which is shared on Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) database that houses over 1.3 million plant records from 1,143 contributing institutions. We were the only garden able to respond to her global request for tissue samples. I collected, processed and sent dried samples of five-leaved bramble, Rubus pedatus and hairy cinquefoil, Potentilla villosa. Both of these plants are very common in the uncultivated areas of the Arboretum.

During this process, Dr. Andersen and I both agreed that we formed an important partnership to further the quest for knowledge. She shared, “It is very good and important to communicate that gardens and arboreta are involved in scientific or learning activities.” She (far right) is pictured here in her lab in Norway with graduate students (from left): Ingrid Toresen, Nannie Persson, and Ardian Høgøy Abaz. M. Jensen

New in 2017! Docent Training Workshop

Are you interested in learning more about the Arboretum, its history, and its plant collection? Would you like to share your knowledge with Arboretum visitors? Are you a “people person” with 8 hours of time to offer this summer?

The Arboretum is pleased to offer Docent Training beginning for the 2017 season. Two training sessions will be offered during the Spring; each 3 hour session will cover the following visitor services topics as well as a few others: cultural history, plant collections, ecosystem highlights, veggie garden production, garden safety, and garden etiquette.

Requirements for volunteering as a docent include: completion of the 3-hour training workshop; 2, 4-hour volunteer shifts during the gardening season; and most importantly, a passion for sharing your knowledge about the Arboretum. Benefits of volunteering as a docent include: spending time experiencing the Arboretum in a new way; an opportunity for one-on-one training; and most importantly, an opportunity to make new friends – locals and visitors.

A variety of instructors sharing their expertise, along with handouts, a light meal, and specialized time in the garden will provide a solid foundation of knowledge for anyone interested in serving as a docent.

If you are interested in taking on a visitor services role at the Arboretum, please send an email merrill.jensen@juneau.org to, or leave a phone message (907.789.0139) for Merrill Jensen and we will send you the paperwork necessary for registration. We look forward to seeing you at the Arboretum!

2016 - A Pictorial Retrospective...

no captions, just images...enjoy the year...

2016 - by the numbers

*~7800 person visits *2 weddings *8 baskets of Arboretum-grown produce delivered to The Glory Hole *11 kids participating in newly-offered children's programs *Number of new animal sightings at the Arboretum?: 1!...a snowshoe hare who has become a regular visitor

2017 Calendar - SAVE the DATE

* A Day of Primula - May 6 *Annual Plant Sale - May 13

*Alaska Public Gardens Day - May 27 *FJOA Annual Picnic - July 30

*August 5 - Juneau Garden Club Annual Picnic

Is it time to renew your Annual Membership? Visit our website to renew today!

2017 Calendar - Tentative Dates

(see the Spring issue for final details)

*Docent Training Workshops - March 11 and April 12

*Children's Program: Seeds and Leaves - June (TBD)

*Watercolor Workshop (hosted by SEAL Trust and The Canvas) - July (TBD)

*Children's Program: Art in the Garden - July (TBD)

*Children's Program: Bug Day - July/August (TBD)

~ Look for these highlights in the Spring issue of TWIGS ~

*Celebrating 10! Years

*Chilkats View Shelter - special thanks

Autumn at the Arboretum, October 2016

Mission Statement

The vision of the Arboretum is to provide the people of Juneau a place that both teaches and inspires learning in horticulture, natural sciences and landscaping - to preserve the beauty of the landscape for pure aesthetic enjoyment - to maintain the historical and cultural context of the place and its people.

Caroline Jensen