Early spring is the time of ephemerals, the wildflowers which take first advantage of the warming soil and full sun to push through the previous year’s leaf litter towards the life-giving light. Their colors bear sharp contrast to the austerity of the winter months. Beautiful they may be, but these wildflowers will only be with us a short while. Their existence is an annual sprint against time. They have only a handful of weeks to take full advantage of the ample spring sunlight hitting the forest floor to photosynthesize, flower, and produce the seeds to continue their species. It all must happen before the deciduous trees that tower above them grow their leaves and block as much as 97% of the available sunlight from reaching the forest floor. Join us Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m. at Kawartha Land Trust’s picturesque John Earle Chase Memorial Park on the shores of Buckhorn and Pigeon Lakes as we search for the earliest ephemerals and learn about their fascinating wintering, growth, and pollination strategies. For further details on where to meet, carpooling and to register, contact outing leader Lou Smyrlis after April 6 at [email protected]. Accessibility: Easy to moderate.

Sunday, Apr. 28 1 to 4 p.m. 15 participants