Events

First Quarterly Membership and Public Meeting of 2025. Presentation by Ally Harding.  Have a problem plant that you'd like advice on?  Grab as complete a plant as you can from your space, bringing the root, stem, and leaves if possible. Put the plant in a container to help make sure we're not propagating problem plants!  A tied garbage bag would be great for this. We'll avoid accidentally distributing seeds and cuttings by doing this.  If you have success dealing with problem plants, please bring your tips and tricks to help us battle our way back to more native spaces.

Do a Native walk with Scouts and identify trees and native plants in area, explaining the benefits of native plants as food source to wildlife and pollinators. Allow the boys to plant native seeds in designated areas and explain how and when seeds should be picked.

We will be cleaning seeds and packaging them into envelopes as giveaways to the public  for our upcoming tabling events in 2025. We usually have an assembly line, one person stamps envelope, another adds seeds,another seals pkg, another adds the labels. We usually have great conversation’s while we are doing this activity.

All are welcome to join this free virtual panel discussion exploring the vital roles of native, solitary, and honeybees in pollination and biodiversity. Featuring experts Sam Droege (USGS), Dave Hunter (Crown Bees), and Dr. Lora Morandin (Pollinator Partnership), this event will discuss into the challenges pollinators face, the balance between managed and wild bees, and actionable ways to support all pollinators.

Gain insights from over 90 years of combined experience and learn how to advocate for pollinator habitats through planting native species, participating in community science, and adopting responsible management practices.

Monthly Board of Directors meeting.

Seed Starting and Plant Propagation Hands-On Workshop. Free to members and the public for the first 40  that RSVP to wildonespontchartrainbasin@gmail.com   Materials provided but bring your own cuttings (at least 12 inch of new growth).

Monthly Board of Directors meeting

Come join us for a Seed Packaging Social event. We will be packing up native plant seeds for our upcoming tabling events at festivals in our area.  We usually have some lively conversations while we work and always walk away having learned something new.
We would love for you to come join the party!

Public gardens hold tremendous power to influence landscaping norms and inspire change. By showcasing the beauty, functionality, and ecological value of native plants, these spaces help foster biodiversity, advocate for sustainable practices, and engage communities in environmental stewardship. 

This webinar will explore how public and demonstration gardens serve as powerful tools for native plant advocacy. Attendees will learn how gardens move beyond aesthetics to spark action—turning appreciation into engagement and inspiring participants to replicate these practices in their own communities.

We will hear insights from Nicole Machuca, Environmental Social Scientist at the Field Museum, on how public gardens influence behaviors, foster stewardship, and connect people to conservation efforts through research and community engagement. The Wild Ones Capital Region NY and the Wild Ones San Diego (CA) Chapters will share their experiences building native plant demonstration gardens and how these spaces drive community engagement, education, and advocacy. And We'll finish with a conversation exploring how public gardens create a lasting impact beyond planting day moderated by Kelly Kapuzzi, Demonstration Garden Char with the Wild Ones Hocking Hills (OH) Chapter.

Monthly Board of Directors meeting

Hour-long presentation on the importance of natives in our yards. We highlighted four different species with a show and tell. We handed out seeds and information on Wild Ones.

This is a quarterly meeting for members and the public. The presentation will be geared towards high school students and of interest to adults.  Catherine Fox,  LSU-Ag Extension Associate will be talking about the 4-H Youth Program  overall and about the 4-H Wetlands Ambassadors which is the statewide leadership opportunity for high school students with an interest in natural resources and conservation.  The 4-H Youth Wetlands Program engages Louisiana youth in the state's wetlands through classroom lessons, educator resources, field trips. camps, and other outreach efforts.

Rescue the native plants growing in an area that is designated for construction of a new roadway. We hope to dig as many native species in this area as possible to save them from destruction. We will also be tagging other native plants for a secondary rescue on the weekend to allow our working member to get involved in this endeavor.  The plants we save will go into  the Community Gardens Wild Ones Native Plants  are maintaining as well as donating to other Public Native areas in our community and allowing members to take plants to add to the beauty of their properties.

Monthly Board of Directors meeting

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/ 

Monthly Board of Directors meetings

Monthly Board of Directors meeting

Restoration ecology is a vital tool to mitigate the crisis caused by the global destruction of biodiversity, one of the most powerful existential threats to future generations.  Johnny Armstrong's “Rescuing Biodiversity” tells the story of one man's attempts to preserve a vanishing Louisiana ecosystem and restore the animal and plant species that once lived there.  The author, conservationist and retired medical doctor describes what science=based restoration looks like on what is now recognized as perhaps the best example of this native plant community type in the state.

Knoxville’s Native Plant Rescue Squad talk by Joy Grissom. 
NOTE: Time and date is tentative and could change.

Joy will be sharing how the native plant rescue squad was established and the goals of the squad and challenges they faced getting it set up. 

Monthly Board of Directors meeting

Monthly Board of Directors meeting

Details coming soon! 

Mitch Mouton is a State Soil Scientist for the USDA_NRCS.  He will talk to us about our  Native Soils.

We hope to also have someone speak about collecting Native Seeds after the blooming season ends and how to prepare them for propagation for 2026.

Monthly Board of Directors meeting

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Monthly Board of directors meeting