Events

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

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

Kim Eierman is the founder of EcoBeneficial LLC, an eco landscape design company. She  also teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Native Plant Center, and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

In addition, she is the author of the book “The Pollinator Victory Garden-Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening; Attract and Support Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, Bats and Other Pollinators.”

Join Wild Ones and Audubon Birdcraft for an informative and lively evening.  Ms. Eierman is an engaging and knowledgeable speaker. She loves questions, so bring them on!  She will have her book for sale and will happily sign it for you. 

This program is free, but registration is necessary as spaces are limited.

This is the first day of our annual plant sale pre-order pickup and walk-in sale.   You can log into your account at the plant sale website to see a copy of your order(s).  We suggest that you drive in and pick up your order first, then park and explore the walk-in sale at leisure. 

WALK-IN SALE: Both commercially grown and member-donated plants will be available on a first come, first served basis during pick-up hours.  We expect to have a large variety of local ecotype forbs, grasses, sedges and ferns including species and sizes not available for advance ordering. There will also be some woody plants.  Wild Ones and Arboretum volunteers will be on hand to help you find the right plant for the right place in your landscape.  Planting instructions, sample garden designs and suggested guilds of compatible plants for multilayered plantings will be available. 

Cash, check or credit card payments will be accepted. (Sorry but we do not accept e-payments.)   Come early for the best selection! 

Contact [email protected] with questions or if there are specific native plants you are interested in purchasing this year. 

This is the second and last day of our annual plant sale pre-order pickup and walk-in sale.   You can log into your account at the plant sale website to see a copy of your order(s).  We suggest that you drive in and pick up your order first, then park and explore the walk-in sale at leisure. 

WALK-IN SALE: Both commercially grown and member-donated plants will be available on a first come, first served basis during pick-up hours.  We expect to have a large variety of local ecotype forbs, grasses, sedges and ferns including species and sizes not available for advance ordering. There will also be some woody plants.  Wild Ones and Arboretum volunteers will be on hand to help you find the right plant for the right place in your landscape.  Planting instructions, sample garden designs and suggested guilds of compatible plants for multilayered plantings will be available. 

Cash, check or credit card payments will be accepted. (Sorry but we do not accept e-payments.)   Come early for the best selection! 

Contact [email protected] with questions or if there are specific native plants you are interested in purchasing this year. 

Lets learn together about protecting our ecosystem.  Education provided on honey bees, native bees, pollinator plants, wild birds, coastal conservation .  Information tables presented by Wild Birds Unlimited, Smith's Acres (pollinator friendly plant sale) , CT Audubon Society,Niantic River Watershed Committee, Pollinator Pathway E. Lyme, Bee Me Up Apiary/Wild Ones. 

Speaker at 1 PM - Dr. Jamie Vaudrey, “Challenges Facing our Coastal Waters” 

(This previously scheduled program was cancelled due to uncertain weather)

In 1962, Spicebush Swamp Park was West Hartford’s first park to be set aside as a natural area for nature study and walking, and as a 33-acre outdoor classroom for schools to use. Later, in 1968, McGovern Pond was created in the park by excavating an area of approximately one acre.  The West Hartford Garden Club's Civic Project Committee has made the restoration and preservation of Spicebush Swamp Park its key long-term ecological project. In 2020, the garden club upgraded a rundown garden near the park sign with native pollinator plantings. During 2020 and 2021, that work continued. Beginning in 2022, an area further inside the property was restored through the removal of invasive plants and installation of a bird sanctuary garden designed with native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials, all with the help of Master Gardeners and volunteers from local Sierra Club and other community and municipal groups. A group has continued to meet for about 2 hours most weeks throughout the year at Spicebush, and periodically on weekend dates, to identify and tag remnant native plants, remove invasive plants, manage the pollinator and bird sanctuary gardens, install new native plantings, and set priorities for the future. A new wet meadow, funded in part by a Hartford Audubon Society grant, will be installed this fall. We hope to install interpretive educational signage and to improve plant labeling. The terrain is uneven in places, the area is subject to flooding, the invasives are formidable, and it is heavy work. However, we enjoy the birds, the insects, the native flora, and the beauty of this natural setting.  The walk will be led by Beth Ann Loveland Sennett.  

A small parking lot is located just north of the intersection of Mountain Road with Farmington Avenue.  

Free and open to the public.  PLEASE REGISTER for planning purposes.
Questions?  Contact Beth Ann Loveland Sennett by text (860-729-4150) or email ([email protected])

The agenda will include time for socializing, potluck lunch, business meeting and a guest speaker from the UConn Applied Forest Ecology Lab.   The business meeting will feature the chapter year in review and financial report. Learn about important upcoming chapter elections. 

This event is for Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter members (including household, affiliate and business members). You are welcome to bring a guest who would like to learn more about our chapter.  If uncertain of your membership status, go to the chapter website and click on “My Membership.” If a member’s account has expired, the member will only be able to access the “My Membership” page where they will be prompted to renew their membership.  If you have questions, email [email protected] with MEMBERSHIP STATUS in the subject line.

REGISTER (RSVP) by Sept 27
This event is for all Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter active members (household, affiliate and business members). If unsure of your membership status, click the “My Membership” button on the chapter website.  Each member is welcome to bring a guest who would like to learn more about our chapter.  Click to RSVP.

IT’S YOUR TURN!  (Member highlights) 
To showcase our members’ gardens, community projects and observations for community science, we want your photos for a slideshow to loop on the video screen before the business meeting.  Submit photos along with your name, project title, location (town) and optional caption.  Email to Lydia ([email protected]) by Sept 27.

WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO POTLUCK?  
Let us know what type of dish you are bringing to share.  To minimize waste, we ask that you also bring a reusable cup, plate and utensils. 

HELP SET-UP & CLEAN-UP!  We are also looking for a few people to come early (10 am-11 am) to help with set-up or stay  to do clean-up (2 pm-3 pm)
 

CLICK  HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE POTLUCK, SET-UP OR CLEAN-UP
 

Directions:  The Whitneyville Cultural Commons comprises two buildings, the two-story brick community resources center (CRC) and the historic Whitneyville United Church of Christ.  The Putnam Room is in the lower level of the historic white church with its main entrance at the rear, on the side closest to the community resources center.  A walkway from the upper parking area runs past the CRC and leads to the patio in front of the Putnam Room entrance.  There are two additional doors to the Putnam Room on the side facing the lake. (NOTE:  We do not have access to the Putnam Room from inside the church sanctuary.)  See Google street view.

Accessibility:  The front of the church has a circular driveway for passenger drop off.  A path to the right takes you around to the Putnam Room entrance at the rear of the building without steps.

Parking:  The paved lot next to the WCC holds about 16-18 cars; availability depends on how many events take place concurrently.  This area leads to a lower level via an unimproved dirt driveway which can hold more than 30 cars along the length of the church building facing the lake.  Parking is allowed on the grass in front of the church when the ground is dry.  Unmetered street parking may be found nearby.  See parking map. 

The last in a series of presentations sponsored by the City of West Haven and the West Haven Land Trust, this talk with Laura Schwanof, Landscape Architect & Ecological Practice Leader, will focus on building your own garden with native plants.

Please note that, although the event is free and open to the public, non-residents of West Haven will have to pay to park in the beach parking lots.

Lydia Pan from Wild Ones will present a slide talk on how to harvest, clean, and store seed from a variety of native species so you can boost the biodiversity and resilience of our ecosystems by growing from seed.  Learn ethical harvesting principles, how to tell when seed is ripe, which seeds can be stored for years and which must be planted as soon as they ripen.  This  program is hosted by the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (DPNC) and open to the public.

Preregistration is required since space is limited.

DPNC Members: $8.50, Non-members: $10

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

CT Horticultural Society has rescheduled Uli's webinar that had originally been planned for last June.

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This CT Horticultural Society Speaker Event was made possible through the generosity of the Lois and Herb Isaacson Endowed Lecture fund and the Mountain Laurel Chapter of Wild Ones.

What is Ecological Horticulture? What distinguishes it from mainstream horticulture? Why is genetic diversity important?  Ecological Horticulture takes a different approach from traditional gardening by focusing on nature-friendly principles. This talk will dive into key ideas and challenge common gardening practices. For example: Why is genetic diversity essential? Can I use cultivated versions of native plants? How should climate change influence my gardening choices? These questions and more will guide a discussion on creating and caring for gardens in harmony with the environment.

Uli Lorimer serves as the Director of Horticulture for the Native Plant Trust, a leading non-profit dedicated to preserving the native flora of the Northeastern United States. In this role, he oversees the acclaimed Garden in the Woods in Framingham and Nasami Farm in Western Massachusetts, which focuses on native plant propagation and research. Uli’s impressive career includes positions at the National Arboretum, Wave Hill, and as the Curator of Native Plants at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A lifelong enthusiast of plants and biodiversity, Uli continues to study the region’s ecosystems, collect seeds from the wild, and introduce new plants to collections.

He is also a prolific author and speaker, well-known to audiences across the horticultural community. His publications include Tough Natives for Tough Places and A Native Plant Reader. His latest work, The Northeast Native Plant Primer, reflects his deep commitment to native plants and their ecological value. With a science-based approach and a passion for biodiversity, Uli offers invaluable insights into selecting plants that maximize the ecological impact of our gardens while celebrating the beauty of native flora.

This event is free for CT Horticultural Society and Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter members, $10 for non-members.  CT Hort members and the general public should register at  CT Hort Events:  Digging Deeper.  Mountain Laurel Chapter members will receive the Zoom link for free a few days ahead of the meeting.   DO NOT REGISTER at the CT Hort website or you will have to pay the non-member fee!

Come along on a guided walk, led by Lydia Pan, through areas that are being planted and managed to augment wild populations of native species.  Learn how native plants disperse their seeds, how to know when seeds are ripe, how to gather them sustainably without harming wild populations and prepare them for storage or sowing.  You will leave with several different types of seeds to try sowing at home.  Bring garden snips, empty envelopes or small paper bags to hold each type of seed, a pen or pencil for labeling envelopes and a shopping bag to carry everything with you.   (We will have some extra envelopes and bags.)

This program is co-hosted by the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and Wild Ones.  Open to the public, but preregistration is required since space is limited.

DPNC Members: $8.50, Non-members: $10

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

This biennial symposium is held by the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG)

**Attend in person or purchase the recording** 
The symposium will be recorded and made available after the event. 

Choose one of the following registration options: 
Attend in person on October 28 and receive the full symposium recording after the event. 
Recording only, not attending in person on Oct. 28. 

Registration, agenda and more information at link below.

Join us to chat informally about seasonal issues and other questions you have about growing native plants, habitat gardening, and any problems you have encountered.   All native gardeners – novice or veteran - are welcome.  While not required, questions or topics of interest may be submitted in advance via email to [email protected] to give us time to research the answers.   Q&A will be moderated by one or more chapter leaders, focusing on seasonally relevant topics, but any native gardening question is fair game.  We will do our best to answer  your questions – and if we can’t, perhaps another attendee can!  

This program is for members only.   Register to receive the zoom link.  

This conference is hosted by Connecticut College Arboretum and co-sponsored by Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter.  More information and registration link coming soon.

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

Zoe Evans, rewilding coach and VP of Partnerships & Programs at Wildr shares a practical, science-informed framework for evaluating a home landscape, identifying its greatest habitat opportunities, and choosing actions that support more plants, insects, birds, and other wildlife.

Registration link coming soon.

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

No yard required. Learn how native plants can turn patios, balconies, containers, and other small spaces into meaningful habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. This practical panel will cover plant selection, container design, seasonal care, and realistic ways to support biodiversity in limited spaces.

Registration link coming soon.

Birds depend on healthy, connected habitats for food, shelter, nesting, and migration support. Join experts from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to explore how native plants and thoughtful landscape choices can support birdlife at home. Learn how gardens, yards, and community spaces can provide the insects, seeds, berries, cover, and habitat structure birds need throughout the year.

Registration link coming soon. 

Monarch butterflies depend on a network of habitats stretching across North America, and home landscapes can play an important role in their survival. Join experts from Monarch Joint Venture to explore the science behind monarch conservation, including the importance of milkweed, nectar resources, and regionally appropriate habitat. Learn practical ways to support monarchs through native landscaping and help sustain one of the world's most remarkable migrations.
 

Registration link coming soon.