Chapter Events

Join us for the second in our series, at which we'll talk about when and how to plant native seeds. We provided seeds at our first  program on January 25, but we'll try to bring some extra in case you missed it. 

Our final program is April 26!

Meredith Hoggatt, Associate Extension Agent, on behalf of 4 the Soil, will talk about building soil health.

All of us have direct and indirect efforts on the soil. Whether when we maintain acres of farmland, an urban garden, or a lawn, or when we purchase produce and meat at the store, we all influence soil health. 

While soils are complex, taking care of it can be simple. Come learn about the four core principles of soil health:

(1) Keep soil covered; (2) Minimize disturbance; (3) Maximize living roots; (4) Energize with diversity. 

Each principle builds on each other. We can start with one and implement each as we grow in ways that fits our lifestyle and landscape.

Public gardens hold tremendous power to influence landscaping norms and inspire change. By showcasing the beauty, functionality, and ecological value of native plants, these spaces help foster biodiversity, advocate for sustainable practices, and engage communities in environmental stewardship. 

This webinar will explore how public and demonstration gardens serve as powerful tools for native plant advocacy. Attendees will learn how gardens move beyond aesthetics to spark action—turning appreciation into engagement and inspiring participants to replicate these practices in their own communities.

We will hear insights from Nicole Machuca, Environmental Social Scientist at the Field Museum, on how public gardens influence behaviors, foster stewardship, and connect people to conservation efforts through research and community engagement. The Wild Ones Capital Region NY and the Wild Ones San Diego (CA) Chapters will share their experiences building native plant demonstration gardens and how these spaces drive community engagement, education, and advocacy. And We'll finish with a conversation exploring how public gardens create a lasting impact beyond planting day moderated by Kelly Kapuzzi, Demonstration Garden Char with the Wild Ones Hocking Hills (OH) Chapter.

Members are welcome to attend our Chapter Board Meeting to discuss the direction of the Chapter.

Grassland loss is the single greatest conservation issue currently facing eastern North American biodiversity. Our precious Southeastern grasslands are nearly extinct and the species that depend on them are fading fast. Many of our Southeastern grasslands that managed to persist through the past 200 years have disappeared in the past quarter-century. Cities such as Charlotte, Chattanooga, Huntsville, Montgomery, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, and Tallahassee, among others, are as much "grassland cities" as Austin, Fort Worth, and Tulsa.

Alaina Krakowiak of the Southeastern Grassland Institute will discuss the importance of Southeastern Grasslands to our ecosystems, what's being done to preserve them, and how you can help.

More information about SGI can be found at https://www.segrasslands.org/ 

Find a PBS documentary about this effort here: 

https://youtu.be/FJdpt2x57BI?feature=shared

In this final program, we'll talk about how to care for and/or transplant your new seedlings from the prior programs. Feel free to bring what you have growing to add to the discussion.

Does your camera see what you see when you look at your beautiful garden? Chances are you are disappointed in the images you capture.  

Stephanie Klein-Davis, fine art photographer and teacher, will discuss and demonstrate how to look at your garden through your camera's eye. She will talk about our most common camera – our phone – and how to achieve the best photographs you can. 

Klein-Davis is an award winning, career photojournalist. Her professional experience includes years of working for newspapers, magazines, books, and international publications.  She taught college photography at Hollins University and Virginia Western Community College, and now teaches full-time in the Fine Arts Department at William Fleming High School in Roanoke, Virginia.

For more about Klein-Davis, see her website at https://www.klein-davis.photography/ 

Can you reliably identify some of our common native trees? It can be an overwhelming task with so many different sources - field guides, phone apps, Google images, your friends' opinions! Each method is different and has varying levels of reliability. 

Professor Heather Butler will teach us how to apply some basic steps and tips for identifying the trees that surround us. You'll never look at the trees on your walks in the same way you did before.

Prof. Butler is  an Assistant Professor of Biology and Program Head of Science at the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Virginia Western Community College. She teaches Dendrology, Biology, and other subjects.

Sharon Burnham, President of Wild Ones, has been developing her one-acre property into a native plant and habitat garden for over 10 years. The property has shady gardens, sunny shrub borders, a hazelnut grove, and a mixed fruit and shrub hedgerow. Habitat features include creative uses for woody debris, water features, insect habitat, and bird boxes. Sustainability features include multiple compost bins, including separate bins for composting dog waste.

Although there are areas in transition from conventional planting to native, come see over 110 native species in a real-life garden! 

We'll conclude with refreshments in a lovely courtyard garden.

Due to space limitations, we regret that we must restrict this event to members only. Join Wild Ones today at https://members.wildones.org/ Registration link to be posted in June.

Dr. Shannon Bell, Professor of Sociology, Virginia Tech, is the project director of The Forest Botanicals Region Living Monument, which celebrates the historical and present-day traditions and relationships that many different Appalachian peoples have long held with the bountiful medicinal herbs and forest foods that can be found growing wild throughout the Appalachian woodland understory. 

She will talk about why the monument was created, and the histories of Appalachian peoples' longstanding relationships with our woodland medicinal plants and forest foods. 

More information about the Living Monument and an online exhibit can be found here: https://forestbotanicalsregion.vt.domains/exhibits/show/online-exhibit

Dr. Bell is an environmental sociologist and Appalachian Studies scholar whose current research projects focus on forest-based traditions and lifeways in Central Appalachia.

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Get up close and personal with soil microorganisms! Following up on our February presentation on healthy soil, Ruth Reyer will give us a live microscope presentation scanning through a different soil samples from field and forest. She'll discuss the soil food web and the reciprocal relationship between it, the plants, and ourselves.

Ruth raises honey bees, coturnix quail, microgreens, native nursery plants, vermiculture, herbs, and vegetables. She sells at local markets and through a seasonal CSA.

We'll also have an overview of our year, hold elections, and discuss the coming year.

Details coming soon!