Wild Ones Twin Cities Minnesota

October Program

Tuesday, October 18

Zoom Social 6:45 pm

Program 7:00 pm

In-Person & Online Meeting

Wood Lake Nature Center, 6710 Lake Shore Dr S, Richfield, MN 55423

Program is free and open to Wild Ones members and public, registration is required to access meeting.

Want to join Wild Ones Twin Cities or renew your membership? Click here!

Insect Tracks & Signs on Native Plants

Presenter: Eric Vehe

Did you know there are far more insects interacting with native plants in gardens and natural spaces than just pollinators and persistent Japanese Beetles? Many of these visitors leave obvious signs, while others are much more obscure and cryptic.

Naturalist and certified wildlife tracker Eric Vehe will lead you through the basics of identifying some of the major types of sign that show evidence of insect interaction on plants. Not a purely insect talk nor a purely plant talk, but a look at the ecology and natural history of both types of organisms to highlight the fascinating stories of coevolution found in gardens and natural spaces. Guaranteed to give you obscure facts to wow your friends with on your next walk outdoors!

Eric Vehe is a naturalist and the interpretive program coordinator at Wargo Nature Center. He has previously worked at numerous other environmental education sites, including the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. He holds a level III certification in Track & Sign identification through Tracker Certification North America and a certificate in ecological restoration from the University of Minnesota.

Miss our September program?

Watch it here:

Vanessa Van Alstine - All About Seed Saving | Monthly Presentation Sep 2022

September Program

Tuesday, September 20

Zoom Social 6:45 pm

Program 7:00 pm

In-Person & Online Meeting

Wood Lake Nature Center, 6710 Lake Shore Dr S, Richfield, MN 55423

Program is free and open to Wild Ones members and public, registration is required to access meeting.

Want to join Wild Ones Twin Cities or renew your membership? Click here!

All About Seed Saving: Glorious, colorful, wonderful seeds!

Presenter: Vanessa Van Alstine

Have you ever wanted to try seed-saving, but didn’t know where to begin? Vanessa Van Alstine will share her successes (and failures) as she digs into the specifics: how to collect seeds from native flowers and other plants, prepare them for storage, store them, and “wake them up” next season.  

Why save seeds when you can buy them easily? What plant biology do you need to know to successfully save seeds? How can you tell if your seeds are viable? And, what should you think about in planning next year’s garden to incorporate seed-saving? Vanessa will provide answers to these questions, show us different types of seeds, and demonstrate each step of the process — including use of seed-cleaning equipment.

Time permitting, Vanessa will answer questions on processing seeds collected by guests after her presentation..

Vanessa Van Alstine is an enthusiastic home gardener who has been growing vegetables, herbs, berries, and flowers in Minneapolis’s Longfellow Community since 1998. Her gardens are also certified National Wildlife Habitat. Vanessa starts all of the seedlings for her own garden and shares extras with family, friends, and neighbors. She has trained at the Seed School at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa, and taken multiple classes with the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance.

Altlawns' Buzz Fest 2022

Saturday, September 24, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Moir Park, 10320 Morgan Ave S

Questions? Visit the Buzz Fest Webpage

Buzz Fest is an event hosted by Altlawns and funded in part by the Hennepin County Green Partners Education Program and The Richfield Foundation. The event will showcase easy steps you can take to transform your yard into habitats that attract birds, butterflies, bees, insects. There will be presentations, demonstrations, and booths from local nonprofit and government organizations with topics ranging from habitat restoration, climate change, youth environmental action, native plants, rainscaping, and more. There will also be a children’s activity area, free native plants, door prizes, and food trucks. Presentations on a variety of topics will be offered with simultaneous translations in ALS and Spanish.

14th Annual Monarch Festival

Monarch Festival – Festival de la Monarca

Saturday, September 10

10 am - 4 pm

Visit Wild Ones Twin Cities at the Habitat Tent!

The Minneapolis Monarch Festival celebrates the monarch butterfly amazing 2,300 mile migration from Minnesota to Mexico with music, food, dance, hands-on art, native plant sales and plenty of opportunities to get up close with monarch butterflies, learn about their habitats, and what you can do to make a difference.

The Festival will be held just east of the Lake Nokomis Community Center in the area bounded by E. Minnehaha Parkway, Woodlawn Boulevard, and E. Nokomis Parkway. Map & Directions.

Like Monarch Butterfly this time of year, we are busy! The festival is coordinating with our artist friends and science colleagues to bring you activities and learning opportunities at the 2022 Monarch Festival.

CLICK HERE to VOLUNTEER with WILD ONES at the MONARCH FESTIVAL!

The Monarch Festival location is adjacent to the Nokomis Naturescape, an official Monarch Waystation and National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat. Wild Ones Twin Cities Members have been maintaining the demonstration gardens at the Naturescape for more than 20 years. See upcoming dates here. Come join us to learn and garden with friends!

And join us at the

ALTLAWNS BUZZ FEST

at Bloomington's Moir Park

Saturday, September 24th, from 10 am - 1 pm

And here's a preview of our upcoming fall programs!