Spotlight on
H. Honor Roll ... cont. from previous
Kathryn Franklin, Bronte Fry, Eugene Fry,
Julia Fry, LuAnn Fry, Daniel Gill, Miriam
Gingerich, Angela Handshoe, Houston
Haney, Alisha Hochstetler, Lynita Hochby David Lane
stetler, Paul Hochstetler, Seth Hostetler,
Advanced Indiana
Master Naturalist
Kody Hunt, Cheyenne Kalb, Sierra Kimmell, Aaron Lambright, Jane Lambright,
Marcus Lambright, Alyssa Lehman, Jared
Lehman, Logan Lewton, Brody Long, Peyton Martin, Dylan Mast, Amiah May, Amy
s the saying goes, April
after being picked. Over the years, the Miller, Andreya Miller, Andy Miller, Derek
consequences of wildflower picking by D. Miller, Derek L. Miller, Emily Miller,
showers bring May flowers.
Wildflowers are starting to
people, goes far beyond the loss of the Esther Miller, Joan Miller, Jordan Miller,
make their appearance
flowers themselves. Wildflowers supKaren Miller, Kevin Dale Miller, Kevin
port ecosystems for pollinators, birds, Dean Miller, Kevin Z. Miller, Loren Miller,
growing in our backyard. They can
be found almost anywhere, from the
and small animals on a micro scale.
Michelle Miller, Roman Miller, Wendall
cracks in city sidewalks to non-farmed The list goes on to include butterflies
Miller, Dalton Misner, Kali Plutowski,
fields, prairies and wooded areas. Wild- and other insects, small birds, and
Sarah Raber, Brady Roth, Beth Schlabach,
flowers are not weeds, although some animals. These creatures depend on
Kevin Schlabach, Rachel Schlabach, Anna
may think they are. Planted pretty
seeds, nectar, and pollen for their food Schmucker, Emily Schrock, Kara Schrock,
much from nature’s natural way of
supply and life support. Have you ever Kaylee Schrock, Seth Schrock, Jennifer Schwartz, Lavon Schwartz, Leora
planting them, on their own. There are heard the saying, “Leave nature well
literally thousands of wildflowers, and enough alone and it will take care of its Schwartz, Maci Schwartz, Alexis Shaneythere are some yet to be discovered by self?” Well, this same principle applies felt, Adrianna Sharick, Regan Sharick,
researchers/scientists. Different wildhere too. In addition, some pollinators Valerie Sisco, Breanna Strand, Diane
flowers are found all over the world
are not very mobile or have very small Stutzman, Taylor Trittipo, Aaron Troyer,
and the weather determines where,
home ranges and or depend on just one Kari Troyer, Marcus Troyer, Matthew
when and how you can find certain
species of plant and they die once their Troyer, Jaci Vaughn, Sue Ann Wagler, Jeryl Weaver, DeAnne Wingard, Esther Winones, but not others. The region and
habitat has been destroyed.
gard, Karl Wingard, Rita Wingard, Todd
habitats of where you live also deterEnjoy the new beginnings of spring
Wisler, Christopher Yoder, Jared Yoder,
mines this as well.
as you venture out into great outdoors. JoDena Yoder, Karen Yoder, Karla Yoder,
For a lot of us, when you find
Maybe go on a wildflower walk for
Lori Yoder, Lucas Yoder, Milan Yoder, Sansome wildflowers it is one of the most
yourself and see what you will find on
dra Yoder.
A
Nature
Wildflowers
beautiful experiences you can encounter in nature. I know when I was
a kid I had a deep impulse, when it
came to wildflowers, to reach out and
pick them. I still might from time to
time, but I have learned from studying the ecosystem that it is not such
a good idea. Wildflowers are fragile
and many will wilt and perish soon
your next adventure. I would highly
recommend that you take a field guide
with you on ‘wildflowers’ so you will
better understand what you are seeing
and exercise your senses. Familiarize
yourself with the different parts of t he
flowers. Look, feel, smell, and observe,
but don’t pick!
I like to play
with my mom.
— Carolyn, age 8
Grade 9
Ammera Alshuga, Holly Berger, Jeanie
Bontrager, Lauren Bontrager, Hope Brandenberger, Andrew Brown, Jacques Cruea,
Erika Gamble, Asher Gingerich, Shanna
Greene, Gracie Hales, Stephani Hallgarth,
Karey Haney, Riley Hochstetler, Jeran
Hoopingarner, Alexis Hostetler, Kaitlyn
Hostetler, Chris Janik, Bradly King, Arthur Koehler, Miranda Kresse, Maria McCoy, Brandon Meadows, Donna Miller, Jaocb Miller, Sierra Miller, Timothy Miller,
Dhruti Patel, Savannah Rang, Chris Reed,
Adriene Roth, Jayden Schlabach, Trace
Scoles, Spencer Shank, Megan Steider,
Benson Stoltzfus, Brianna Strong, Alex
Stutzman, Wade Troyer, Andrea Weaver,
Sierra Weaver, Andrew Yoder, Tessa Zimmerly.
continued on next page
The Hometown Treasure · May ‘13 · pg 7