Recently I was talking with one of my adult programs about successional and keystone species. Successional species are those early plants which come into disturbed landscapes, helping to knit the ecological neighbourhood back together. They are quick to come and quick to go, providing the land with nutrients to heal and grow. Keystone species are those species who are provide for many other forms of life. Their work in sustaining the community around them is vast relative to their abundance. They provide food and the place to eat it. The make space for life to thrive and sustain. If the keystone suddenly goes missing than the community make up will drastically change, often for the worse. Goldenrods, especially those which make up the Canada Goldenrod complex are some of the most important successional an keystone species in my area.

Over the years I have investigated Goldenrod on different levels, from the technical and scientific to the intuitive and relational. Both vantage points have served in getting to know these amazing and powerful plants better. I decided to head out with a makeshift milkcrate studio to sit with the Goldenrod, Bumblebees and Crickets and make a show together. I hope this helps shed a warm golden glow on these essential components of the Great Lakes bioregion.

To learn more :
The Asters, Goldenrods and Fleabanes of Grey and Bruce Counties. Owen Sound Field Naturalists, 2000.
Wild Urban Plants of the NorthEast (2nd ed.) by Peter Del Tredici. Cornell University Press, 2020.
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb and Gordon Morrison. Little, Brown, 1977.
Stokes Nature Guide to Enjoying Wildflowers by Donald & Lillian Stokes. Little, Brown 1985.
Summer Wildlflowers of the NorthEast by Carol Gracie. Princeton University Press, 2020.
NorthEast Medicinal Plants by Liz Neeves. Timber Press, 2020.
The Book of … Field and Roadside by John Eastman and Amelia Hansen. Stackpole Books, 2003.