Events

Join Wild Ones National Board President Loris Damerow for a special presentation as part of Week 3 of the 2025 Less Lawn More Life Challenge, “Native Plants Planted Right.” Loris will walk us through the basics of native plant gardening- from choosing the right plants to planting and maintaining them with confidence.

Join us on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 5 p.m. CT for the YouTube Live premiere of this 30-minute webinar. Native plant experts from  Wild Ones, Plan it Wild, Homegrown National Park, ReWild Your Campus, and others will be active in the live chat throughout the presentation and for 30 minutes after the webinar, giving you plenty of time to ask questions and engage! 

This event is designed for newcomers to native gardening and is part of the national Less Lawn More Life Challenge, hosted by Plan It Wild in collaboration with Wild Ones, iNaturalist, Homegrown National Park, Pollinator Partnership  and many others! 

See more about the Less Lawn More Life Challenge:  https://www.lesslawnmorelife.com/ 

Highstead comprises more than 100 acres of largely unmanaged woodland and wetland habitat as well as managed fields and meadows. This diverse landscape is connected by a 1.5-mile trail that reveals the natural and human forces that shape it.

We will go on a guided walk and tour, learning about the diverse habitats and site appropriate native plants.  They have a Mt. Laurel area that may be in bloom then.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Learn about different types of ferns and their distinguishing characteristics. Followed by a walk in Connecticut College Arboretum Native Plant Collection to see examples. 
Talk and walk will be led by Emily B. Sessa, Ph.D., the Patricia K. Holmgren Director of the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium at The New York Botanical Garden. Dr. Sessa is the author of a new field guide:  Ferns, Spikemosses, Clubmosses and Quillworts of Eastern North America (2024, Princeton University Press).
 

Program limited to 25 participants.  A registration link will be posted soon.

Whether or not you have space for a garden, you can add more native plants to your surroundings by growing in containers.  After a short workshop/demonstration to show you how to plant container gardens,  participants can get help selecting plants based on their height, bloom season and other desired traits.  Bring your own container (at least 20 inches diameter) or purchase one at the workshop.  A materials fee will cover the cost of plants and potting mix for one container garden.  Participants will have the option to purchase additional plants.

More details and a registration link are forthcoming.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

A tour and discussion about two adjacent gardens developed on public land by the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway group with the option to visit their third site, not too far away.  Potluck or picnic lunch following the tour.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

SAVE THE DATE!  We will be offering a selection of woody and herbaceous native plants for pre-ordering online.  Additional plants will be available for sale on site during pickup hours.  Times may be subject to change.

Many volunteers will be needed to prepare for and staff the sale.  We will send a link to sign up closer to the sale date.

SAVE THE DATE!  We will be offering a selection of woody and herbaceous native plants for pre-ordering online.  Additional plants will be available for sale on site during pickup hours.  Times may be subject to change.

Many volunteers will be needed to prepare for and staff the sale.  We will send a link to sign up closer to the sale date.

Details coming soon! 

The Hickories is a multi faceted farm, and their activities  include being a certified organic grower of vegetables,  fruits and flowers, and also pasture raised meats. They build biodiversity through offering restoration seeds from our Eco59 Region and is now home to the Northeast Seed Collective.  

We will have a tour and discussion with Dina Brewster for Wild Ones members only.

Participation limited to 30 people.  

Please consider carpooling as parking is limited.

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Details coming soon! 

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.

Smaller American Lawns Today, SALT, is a movement introduced in June of 1997 by Dr. William A. Niering, professor of botany at Connecticut College. The SALT mission is to decrease the size of lawns in America by restoring home grounds to more harmonious, productive, ecologically sound and naturalistic landscapes. SALT offers an alternative vision of the monocultured lawn. As Dr. Niering wrote, “There’s nothing wrong with dandelions, there’s something wrong with people.”

This annual conference is organized and hosted by Connecticut College Arboretum and sponsored in part by Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter.  Wild Ones members receive discounted registration.

SAVE THE DATE.  Information specific for the November 8, 2025 conference will be posted here when available.

Our 2024 Conference, “To mow or not to mow: Creating your home meadow” sold out.  

An archive of SALT conferences may be found at the link.

Details coming soon! 

All members are welcome at chapter Board business meetings. Email chapter in advance to receive Zoom link if you wish to attend.