ONLINE February Program

Wednesday February 16th - 7 pm

Brooklyn Bridge Park Lessons (so far!) in Constructed Ecology

​Hosted by Wild Ones Prairie Edge, Big River Big Woods and Twin Cities Chapters

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Brooklyn Bridge Park, an 85-acre, organic park in the middle of New York City, was created with ecology in mind. The Park’s award winning piers host top notch recreation, from opera to outdoor films, all of it beautifully designed. But the piers also contain native woodlands, freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, and numerous meadows. These areas closely mimic native ecosystems and are managed with an emphasis on wildlife habitat. 

This talk will detail many of the strategies employed to design an ecological park, as well as the management techniques used to cultivate biodiverse parkland. If we can do it, so can you.

Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist and garden designer. By day, she is the Director of Horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park, where she manages 85 acres of diverse parkland organically and with an eye towards habitat creation for birds, butterflies, and soil microorganisms. In her imaginary free time, Rebecca writes about landscape management and pollination ecology, as well as designs the occasional garden. Her writing has been published by the New York Times, the Ecological Landscape Alliance, and the Landscape Institute. 

Event registration information will be posted here and on our Facebook page on February 21st.

This event is free and open to the public but registration is required. 

Photos © Rebecca McMackin

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NOTE ON DATE CHANGE: 

January 18th Program now on March 15th

Building habitat, building community: 

Three inspiring stories of local habitat projects (and the leaders who launched them)

Click HERE to REGISTER

PRESENTERS

Ava J T McKnight | Altlawns of Richfield and Bloomington

Sara Nelson | Corcoran Pollinator Project

Daniel Schultz | Greater Longfellow Community Wildlife Habitat

MODERATOR

Karen “Ren” Graham, Education Committee 

More details to come!

And please join us for a Seed Sowing event on February 5th:

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And we are proud to announce the latest issue of 

Wild Ones Reflections!

Read, Learn, Share, Enjoy!

January Program from Wild Ones

 Join us for a national Wild Ones presentation:

America's Public Gardens: A Resource for Native Plants

with Matthew Ross

Thursday, January 13th  |  6:00 pm CT

REGISTER HERE

Take a journey to several of the nation’s public gardens.  From gardens that grow only native plants to others that have worked them into their diverse collections, get an in-depth look into how public gardens can help inform and influence your design and maintenance practices.

Wild Ones National Board Member Matthew Ross is the Director of Continuing Education at the world-renowned Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where he manages more than 175 educational programs.  Prior to his arrival at Longwood Gardens, Matthew spent six years in Toledo, Ohio, where he worked as a horticulturist at Toledo Botanical Gardens, instructed nearly 20 courses as an instructor at Owens Community College, and developed a nearly 5-acre urban farm and training center.  Read more about what inspired Matthew to become involved with Wild Ones on his Board bio.

This webinar is free and open to the public.

A recording will be available to the public on Wild Ones YouTube channel soon after the event.

**A webinar link for this event will be emailed to registrants the day of the event.**

December Program from Wild Ones

Join us for a national Wild Ones presentation:

Native Plants, Phytoremediation & Green Infrastructure: How Native Plants Can Be Used to Improve Environmental Quality

by Eric Fuselier

Thursday, December 9th  |  6:00 pm CT

REGISTER HERE by December 7th

Learn about how native plants and phytoremediation can be used to improve soil, air and water quality by removing or transforming common environmental contaminants found in urban, suburban and rural settings. The concepts and species discussed in this presentation aren't limited to green infrastructure or large-scale remediation projects: they can be applied to residential, commercial and municipal landscaping projects as well. Learn how to pay attention to surrounding land uses and activities to know how to select species for your next native plant project that will benefit the environment beyond providing habitat for pollinators and wildlife. Topics covered in this presentation will include rain gardens, stormwater management, pesticides, heavy metals, carbon sequestration, outdoor air quality and more!

Wild Ones National Board Member Eric Fuselier is an Environmental Scientist at Olsson where he conducts environmental impact studies and works with civil engineers and landscape architects to minimize the environmental impact from the infrastructure projects they design. Eric chartered the Ozark Chapter in 2020, where he also serves as chapter president. Eric and his wife purchased an illegal dumping ground in northern Arkansas in 2014, and after cleaning it up and building their cabin with help from close friends and family, they have been working to establish native plants to replace all of the trash and invasive species that had taken over before purchasing it. Read more about what inspired Eric to become involved with Wild Ones on his Board bio.

This webinar is free and open to the public.

Registration closes on December 7th at 11:59 p.m. CT.

A webinar link for this event will be emailed to registrants the day of the event.

A recording will be available to the public on Wild Ones YouTube channel soon after the event.

A BIG Thank You to our Wild Ones Twin Cities Membership, Volunteers, and Board Members!

We are grateful for all of your enthusiasm, expertise, and commitment throughout the year in furthering our mission of educating the public about the benefits of preserving and restoring biodiversity of our native plant communities, beginning in our own yards and gardens!

It was wonderful to see so many of you at our Annual Member Meeting in November!  If you missed it, please take a moment to see the Year in Review slideshow to see all that our chapter accomplished in 2021. 

And we look forward to seeing more of you in 2022!  Please check back here for news about upcoming monthly programs, native garden tours, and volunteer opportunities.