COLUMBUS AUDUBON Monthly Program April 26th: "Native Plants and Why They Are Important". Former Ohio First Lady, Hope Taft. Columbus Audubon is honored to present Hope Taft, former First Lady of Ohio, who will talk about her work promoting the benefits of native plants and gardening. Mrs. Taft, served as Ohio's First Lady from 1999- 2007. She focused on promoting positive youth development, alcohol and other drug prevention and community volunteerism during her tenure. She transformed the Governor's Residence into a Living Museum to preserve the property's rich heritage and created a showcase of artistic, industrial, political, geological and horticultural histories of Ohio for educational purposes. This project includes the Ohio Heritage Garden, Ohio's botanical garden of native plants, designed to replicate the major ecosystems of the state. She still oversees the garden's development and maintenance as chair of the Heritage Garden Committee of the Friends of the Ohio Governor's Residence and Heritage Garden, a non-partisan, non-profit organization and leads over 100 volunteers to help maintain it on a yearly basis. Mrs. Taft is an honorary Master Gardener and an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist. She has been trained for and taught the Landscape for Life program developed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center, the U.S. Botanical Garden and the American Society of Landscape Architects. The April 26th Columbus Audubon meeting is also the Annual Membership Meeting, members will vote on trustee positions for a three-year term to begin July 1, 2016. Details will be posted on the Columbus Audubon website. Conservation Spotlight: Tom Sheley will share his insights on our annual Birdathon and its importance to Columbus Audubon and the birding community. If you haven't yet joined a team or would like to get inspired to pledge a donation, you won't want to miss Tom's presentation! Columbus Audubon, with over 3,000 members, is one of the largest local Audubon chapters in the nation. Columbus Audubon offers a variety of opportunities for members and other nature enthusiasts to learn about and enjoy all wildlife with an emphasis on birds. CA meets at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center in the Scioto-Audubon Metro Park, 505 West Whittier Street, Columbus, OH 43215. Free monthly programs on the fourth Tuesday of each month, September through April, begin with refreshments at the new time of 6:45pm, announcements at 7:00pm and the Conservation Corner at 7:15pm followed by the main program at 7:30pm. Go to http://www.columbusaudubon.org/ for more information. Arrive by 6:30pm and take our monthly bird quiz and enter a drawing for a prize. Visit our calendar of events to join us on adventures till we meet again in September for a monthly program. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]