Denver Botanic Gardens’ Post

Learning plant names is a life skill - There are hundreds of plants in our world - some benefit man in ways that others don't/ If you don't know the difference, you can destroy plants that benefit you. Everyone needs to know what dangerous animals they should avoid - shouldn't everyone also know what dangerous plants to avoid? More plant labels in more public places is one of the best investments per dollar we can make in education.

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL!!

Step up your genealogy game in 2024! 📜 My fresh presentations are ready to help you share your ancestors' stories & thrive online. Check them out on my website! #Ancestry #GenealogyCommunity

Step up your genealogy game in 2024! 📜 My fresh presentations are ready to help you share your ancestors' stories & thrive online. Check them out on my website! #Ancestry #GenealogyCommunity

National West Virginia Day – June 20, 2024 Before the arrival of European settlers, West Virginia used to be a favorite hunting ground for numerous Native Americans. It has old earthen mounds constructed by different mound builder cultures. Once the Europeans arrived and settled here, the locals were pushed to the outskirts. The earliest civilization in the region was in 10,500 B.C. when the Paleo-Indian culture appeared along the major river valleys and water sources. Subsequently, the Adena culture was the dominant influence in West Virginia in the year 500 B.C. The Adena Indians would use ceremonial pipes almost like works of art. They were also called the Woodland Indians. They lived in round wicker-sided and bark sheet roofed houses — wigwams and grew sunflowers, gourds, and squash. Their community had farmers and cultivators. They also reared dogs as pets. The formation of West Virginia as a state in the U.S. was a tumultuous one due to the sectional differences that existed within it. In fact, around 2,000 residents had even petitioned for the creation of a 14th colony that would be named ‘Westsylvania.’ This colony would have included Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania if the petition had been approved by the Continental Congress. In 1829, the Virginia Constitutional Convention met in Richmond to discuss reforms to Virginia’s outdated constitution. Philip Doddridge wanted western Virginians to get a more democratic system of government but these desires were rejected by leaders from east of the Alleghenies. The state of Virginia voted to break away from the United States during the time of the Civil War in 1861. This was unsuccessful, leading to the formation of the state called West Virginia which would be in support of the Union. When the American Civil War occurred, Virginia almost left the United States and was all set to join the Confederate States. However, on April 20, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made a decision that changed history as we know it — he declared that West Virginia would be a part of the U.S. as a separate state. Virginia became a member of the Union in 1863. By 1864, the informal celebration of West Virginia Day was common and it formally became a state holiday in 1927. After the formation of the state, there was also some discourse regarding making the city of Wheeling the capital. In 1870, Charleston became the capital instead, but the decision was again reversed to make Wheeling the capital in 1875. To solve the matter once and for all, a statewide vote took place in 1877, and Charleston was finally elected as the capital. Every year on West Virginia Day, ample festivities take place across the state, as well as in the Charleston capitol complex. Seeing the complicated history of West Virginia, it is not a surprise that people go all out in celebrating its creation. #PhoenixDelivers #westvirginia

Is the US a Civilized Country? You Decide. Whether it's in the news or on social media, we often hear discussions about how civilized the United States is as a society. I decided to delve into this topic. A civilized society is typically defined as one that has a well-developed system of government, culture, and way of life, and treats its residents fairly. In most people's minds, a civilized society is distinguished from an animal society. In the animal kingdom, species tend to live separately, with little interaction with other species. The primary condition for belonging to a group is having similar physical traits. Lions live with lions, monkeys with monkeys, elephants with elephants, and termites with termites. In the United States, life is highly segregated: White people often live in predominantly white neighborhoods. They tend to attend white churches and schools. Similarly, Black people often reside in black neighborhoods and engage with black churches and schools. The same applies to recent migrants to America, such as Hispanics and Asians. Can the US be considered a civilized society if the primary criterion for social interaction is one's physical appearance? Isn't this the same criterion that applies to life in the animal kingdom? For those who define a civilized society or country as one that has a well-developed system of government, culture, and way of life, and treats its people fairly, it's worth considering that ants and termites would also fit this definition. They have a developed system of government with a queen at he helm and a way of life similar to humans, but they don't interact with other species. Does that make Ants and Termites civilized animals? So, is the US a civilized society? You decide. #Civilizedcountry,#civilizedsociety,#USCivilized,#Animalkingdom

What do YOU love about collaboration? It's time to help Atticus the peach-faced lovebird answer a question about collaborative conservation. For this "Ask Atti" edition, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, Rox is asking, "What do you love about collaboration?" Share your thoughts in the Ask Atti jamboard: https://lnkd.in/gx2aHRG7 Read past "Ask Atti's" on our blog: https://lnkd.in/gR_nBcqR

Public engagement discuss…. I’m asking the question here of the engaged professionals on LinkedIn. Having heard from tree officers and arboriculturists about the thousands of enquires that they get from the public wanting trees removed because of perceived threats or experienced nuisance; Having tried to facilitate consultation processes around trees where the parties had no desire to allow space in their own minds to comprehend one another’s drivers, needs or perceptions; Having met with members of the public, protesting about a felled tree who said to me “I want to make the tree consultant feel the pain that I feel”; But also having been involved with and seen brilliantly successful tree schemes that have engaged the public and delivered for everyone; I photographed this tree today with a paradigm in my head of what story it would tell. However, it turns out that it tells a slightly different story than is implied by my preceding list. But I’ll share that later, for now I am interested in people’s thoughts… #trees #treeplanting #publicengagement #protest #council #streets #streettrees #arboriculture #vandalism #treeofficer #iliketreesbut

Day 1: Happy Native American Heritage Month! To start off my 30 days of posts, I thought I’d share a little bit more about me and my history. My maiden name is Whitehorn and it is from my Osage family. I am an enrolled member of the Osage Nation, but since I started this series as a result of my earlier post about my Osage side, I thought I would talk a little bit about my Muscogee Creek side. My first name, Kaniah, is Muscogee and means “Beautiful Beads.” I was named after my great grandmother, Kaniah McIntosh, who was Muscogee Creek. You may be wondering about the name, McIntosh - yes, it’s Scottish - her father was mixed Muscogee Creek and Scottish. During the 18th and early 19th Centuries, often due to the law of primogeniture (i.e., the eldest son automatically inherits everything), a large proportion of Scotts came to the New World and married Native women belonging to the Creek and Cherokee Tribes. Interestingly, because both Tribes are matrilineal, property and social status passed through the maternal line, so Creek and Cherokee Indian Chiefs were likely to have as much Scottish ancestry as Native American. (https://lnkd.in/dZqxtmrF). Our Scottish heritage was very important to my Muscogee Creek grandmother and that side of my family. My great uncle, who was Chief when I was a little girl, would sometimes wear a kilt with the McIntosh clan tartan along with his Muscogee regalia. While I don’t have a picture, you can read more about him here (https://lnkd.in/dVaH5uYU). Today, the Muscogee Creeks are referred to as the Muscogee and they are one of the Five Civilized Tribes (yup, that’s really the name). The other four being: Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole. That term came into use because these Tribes appeared to have adopted European cultural habits from having written constitutions and centralized governments to the adoption of horticulture and animal husbandry. It’s important to note that these practices were in place long before Europeans came to the United States and many more Tribes had similar practices than just these five. Here’s a link to the Five Civilized Tribes’ museum, which my grandmother would take me to every summer (https://lnkd.in/d68aNgsg). The Muscogee have over 99,000 citizens are the fourth largest Tribe in the United States. If you are wondering, I am not an enrolled member of the Muscogee Tribe. Generally speaking, you cannot be enrolled in more than one Tribe so notwithstanding my blood quantum, which I’ll talk about tomorrow, I would have to unenroll from the Osage Nation to enroll in the Muscogee Nation. Here’s an image of a book on one of my ancestors who was the Chief of the Creek Nation. I hope you found this interesting!