Events

Join Aspetuck Land Trust and Wild Ones as we welcome Eva Monheim on Friday, May 30th for a Lunch & Learn zoom webinar.

A food forest, also known as an edible forest garden, is a system of intentionally created, self-sustaining ecosystems that provide food and other resources for humans and wildlife. In essence, it's a garden that mimics a natural forest, with different layers of plants, including trees, shrubs, ground cover, and vines, all working together to create a balanced and productive environment.

By looking at USDA maps for plant selection we can help to enhance the migratory flyway for birds and other animals.

Eva will help us to take a deep dive in plant selection that you might never have thought about when planting your garden and selecting plants.

Wild Ones and Aspetuck Members can register for free.

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.

Wild Ones will join Highstead, Menunkatuck Audubon, and CPEN (Community, Placemaking Engagement Network) as they celebrate All Things Pollinator with educational booths, kids’ activities, giveaways, and a HUGE sale of native plants from the UrbanScapes nursery.  Displays and activities will also be located at 244 Shelton Street (SW corner of Shelton and Hazel).  Street parking available.

Exhibitors will include:
Highstead — Ecotype Project, Sowing Seeds and Transplanting
CT-NOFA —Eco-region 59, Ecotype Project, Native ecotype seed, Food and Pollinator Connection
Pollinator Pathways — Pollinator Pathways in CT
Menunkatuck Audubon — Bird friendly native plants
Audubon Connecticut — Bird friendly native plants
Wild Ones — Landscaping with natives to support biodiversity
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation - Pollinator conservation

Rain date is Sunday, June 15 @ 1-4 PM.

Transform your outdoor space with a beautiful ecosystem in a container that supports wildlife, requires minimal maintenance and will thrive in your unique environment.

Join Wild Ones and Urbanscapes Native Plant Nursery for a hands-on workshop to create a long-lived container garden for wildlife using locally sourced plants native to Ecoregion 59.

We will provide hands-on instruction for successfully combining native plants with ecosystem benefits for the unique conditions where they will live. We will have plants available for shady spots as well as sunny spots.

Each participant will receive guidance with selecting plant combinations and creating a vibrant, perennial container garden uniquely native to Ecoregion 59.

Bring a container to the workshop or select plants to install at home.  If you don't have a container to bring, we can provide you with a simple one.

Registration includes:

– Expert guidance selecting and arranging native plants in containers.

– Five handpicked native plants tailored to your location and goals.

Bring your own container to plant or select plants to install at home

Additional plants and potting soil will be available for purchase.

Cost is $40 per person/family/container.  Limited to 10 registrants.   

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.