Search Results for: ddt

Banning DDT

March 30, 2016

Reference my previous post on Lorrie Otto and DDT. Since I mentioned that banning DDT led to the charter of Wild Ones, I thought you might like to read a synopsis about how it all happened:

1942: DDT First Used
DDT was introduced during WWII to protect our troops from the mosquito-borne disease malaria. It is still being used selectively in some tropical countries.

1949: A Sand County Almanac
Aldo Leopold published his landmark book, A Sand County Almanac, calling for a “land ethic” connecting people and nature.

1950s: Citizen Activists Got Involved
Citizen activists started sending letters and confronting editors, WDNR, and local municipalities. These activists included not just conservationists, but also hunters, fishermen, professors, members of garden clubs and many others. [Read more…]

September 9th is the 100th Anniversary of Lorrie Otto’s Birth

September 9, 2019

Queen of the Prairie (*Filipendula rubra*) grows in sunlight or shade, preferably moist soils but will grow in any soil. Its flowers are hermaphrodite, but are also pollinated by many other insects. This tall sturdy plant with its spray-like pink flowers give it a regal appearance. Photo by Steve Maassen

Today, September 9th would have been Lorrie Otto’s 100th birthday. Lorrie Otto — Queen of the Prairie. Lorrie Otto — the inspiration for Wild Ones.

LORRIE’S STORY

Lorraine “Lorrie” Stoeber was born in 1919 near Madison, Wisconsin. She lived on a farm where she learned to love the soil and the biodiversity of the landscape. As a young woman who was tall and smart, she got involved in many things from modeling evening gowns for wholesale houses to preparing to be a pilot in the World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program.

She graduated from the University of Wisconsin and married her 6’4″ boyfriend Owen Otto, son of Max Otto who was a pioneer of contemporary humanism. They moved to a north Milwaukee suburb near Lake Michigan and a twenty-acre ravine called Prairie Chasm. In the 1950s when the chasm was to be sold for development, Lorrie worked with The Nature Conservancy to save the ravine.

In the 1960s, she took on DDT and by now you know the rest of the story. See also Banning DDT.

Lorrie became the heart and soul of the natural landscaping movement and many of us remember her each year by donating to the Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Program administered by Wild Ones.

LORRIE OTTO SEEDS FOR EDUCATION PROGRAM

Lorrie in her library in her home at Bayside, Wisconsin. Photo from Wild Ones *Tapestry of Learning* video.

In 1996, Wild Ones Natural Landscapers Ltd honored Lorrie with a celebration and a program in her name – The Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Program. Such an honor was so fitting. Because of all her efforts to save the natural landscape, her desire to save it for the children was the greatest.

As part of that education program, grants are offered each year to non-profit organizations planning to develop an outdoor learning area. Grant applications for the Seeds For Education Grant Program are due October 15th of each year.

Let’s make this year special when remembering the 100th anniversary of Lorrie’s birthday.

The Art of Mending the Earth

July 9, 2019

The following post is from an e-mail received from long-time Wild Ones member Nancy Aten regarding Art at the Urban Ecology Center now through September 2019 at the Riverside Park Branch in Milwaukee*.

If you’re in the area, this Thursday, July 11th from 5-7 pm is the free opening reception of The Art of Mending the Earth. There will be refreshments, good company, and the artists will speak informally at 6 pm. Bring your copies of their books and get them signed by the author.

Ney wrote of the showing: “Yesterday, a colorful van decorated with images of spiders, birds, lizards, fish etc arrived at my house with a team to transport the paintings to the Urban Ecology Center. Image above is of a 60” x 30” oil painting of the view from my porch.

The orange milkweed planted in monarch way station at Doctors Park returned and is in bloom. Last week, we planted more common milkweed. The week before, a group of young people from Cream City Conservation took out seven Ace bags full of day lilies. Progress continues.”

The Artists

Artist and Photographer Ney Tait Fraser

[Read more…]

Earth Day 2019

April 22, 2019

Although not a national holiday, Earth Day is celebrated each April 22nd. Founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970, after the banning of DDT, this observation should be a reminder to we humans about just how much our livelihood depends upon the health of this Earth.

It is a good day to reread We went to the moon… and we discovered the Earth.

From Mars, the view of Earth would be just as lonely as this view shown here from the moon.

Although I won’t be around when it becomes necessary, if I was, I’d prefer to live here on Earth and not settle for Mars. Going to Mars may be a great adventure, but I’m certain most humans would not like to spend the rest of their lives there.

I hope the time comes when humans stop taking Earth for granted and start valuing what it is providing for us — before it is too late.