–submitted by Jessika Kasten
This week’s meeting was held at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, featuring horticulturist Samantha Malone. Sam spoke on the important role inspects play in our gardens, as well as the mutualistic relationship many plants and insects have with each other. Sam also presented on the resilient nature of insects due to their size (they don’t need much food to survive), their strength (many have a strong exoskeleton) and their reproductive systems that allow for millions of eggs. Sam’s calls to action for the group were to keep your fall clippings onsite over the winter and to focus on growing native plants.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 