Wild One Events – Chapter and National

RESCHEDULED from 12/7 due to illness.

Lauren H is offering another seed starting workshop and the date is Saturday 1/4/25 9:30-11:30AM at her home in Derwood. She has the potting soil but needs fresh seed and clean water/milk gallon jugs.

Priority is given to those who were registered for the 12/7. Watch your mailbox for additional information on the event and to learn if there is space for additional attendees.

Please join the Wild Ones Nation's Capital Region chapter's Informal Garden Chat held the first Monday of each month from 7-8 pm ET via Zoom.

We'll be chatting about native plants - those in your garden, those out in the wild, or an article you read about natives - whatever fits into the general native plant category. Beginners welcome! Bring your stories, questions, or just sit back and listen.

The chats are open to the public. Chapter members will receive the Zoom link details from the chapter listserve.

Not a member, but want to attend? We'd love to have you! Fill out the contact us form at https://nationscapitalregion.wildones.org/contact-us/ to request the Zoom details.

Stay tuned for more information on the Panel.

Please join the Wild Ones Nation's Capital Region chapter's Informal Garden Chat held the first Monday of each month from 7-8 pm ET via Zoom

We'll be chatting about native plants - those in your garden, those out in the wild, or an article you read about natives - whatever fits into the general native plant category. Beginners welcome! Bring your stories, questions, or just sit back and listen.

The chats are open to the public. Chapter members will receive the Zoom link details from the chapter listserve.

Not a member, but want to attend? We'd love to have you! Fill out the contact us form at https://nationscapitalregion.wildones.org/contact-us/ to request the Zoom details.

Join us to hear from Carol Allen, a lively presenter and expert on Native Orchids from the University of Maryland

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.

Please join the Wild Ones Nation's Capital Region chapter's Informal Garden Chat held the first Monday of each month from 7-8 pm ET via Zoom

We'll be chatting about native plants - those in your garden, those out in the wild, or an article you read about natives - whatever fits into the general native plant category. Beginners welcome! Bring your stories, questions, or just sit back and listen.

The chats are open to the public. Chapter members will receive the Zoom link details from the chapter listserve.

Not a member, but want to attend? We'd love to have you! Fill out the contact us form at https://nationscapitalregion.wildones.org/contact-us/ to request the Zoom details.

Hear from Matt Partain --- expert from Glenstone on Converting to natives from lawn. Registration not required. Building is cold, dress appropriately.

Lots of time to interact with excellent speaker

Person brought many seeds to share.

This is the first in a new series of informal walks in nature.  We will use our field guides and phone apps to ID plants and share our knowledge among the group.  The idea is to get out in nature, discover native plants in the wild and to have fun!

In March at Carderock, we hope to find harbinger of spring, spice bush, spring beauties, cut-leaved toothwort, dutchman's breeches and perhaps shoots of mayapples and bluebells.  

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.

This is the second of our Chapter's new series of informal walks in nature.  Stay tuned for announcements of additional walks throughout our Chapter's area!    These walks will not be guided by an expert.  Instead. the group will use field guides and phone apps to identify plants and share information with each other.  The idea is to get out in nature, discover native plants growing in the wild and to have fun!

In late March at Violette's, we'll look for bluebells, spring beauties, woodland phlox, Solomon's Seal, golden ragwort, trillium, trout lilly and many more.  

Please join the Wild Ones Nation's Capital Region chapter's Informal Garden Chat held the first Monday of each month from 7-8 pm ET via Zoom

We'll be chatting about native plants - those in your garden, those out in the wild, or an article you read about natives - whatever fits into the general native plant category. Beginners welcome! Bring your stories, questions, or just sit back and listen.

The chats are open to the public. Chapter members will receive the Zoom link details from the chapter listserve.

Not a member, but want to attend? We'd love to have you! Fill out the contact us form at https://nationscapitalregion.wildones.org/contact-us/ to request the Zoom details.

Save the date for the Kensington Park Library's upcoming 3rd Annual Earth Day Garden Party.  There have been fun booths and plant giveaways in the past and we expect more of the same this year too!

This year, in addition to the Plant Swap, The Literary Garden will also be having a Garden Tools and Accessories Swap for the first time.

Amazing donations have already been received from friends and neighbors to get the swap started including 3 working electric trimmers, a brand new Crate and Barrel ceramic planter, a next-to-new window bird feeder, unopened ceramic hanging planters, an electric lawn mower and (2) 55 gallon rain barrels.

It's a great opportunity to share extra plants, and to get rid of unused, new or gently used garden stuff and trade it in for something new (to you!)

Celebrate Earth Day with us.

Awareness of the many benefits of adding native plants to our landscapes has been growing significantly in recent years and this has resulted in native plants getting some attention by Maryland lawmakers.  Join us as Kirsten Hoffman and Judy Fulton share the details of recent legislation that promotes native plants by creating the Maryland Native Plants Program and legislation that strengthened Maryland's invasive plant laws.  Both bills are currently being implemented, and they will provide updates on new resources that these laws have made available and discuss what work is still to be done.  

Kirsten Hoffman is one of the founding members of the Maryland Native Plant Coalition which has written and passed two important pieces of state legislation: 2023’s HB950/SB836 creating the Maryland Native Plants Program and 2024’s HB979/SB915 strengthening Maryland’s invasive plant laws. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Green Towson Alliance and heads up their legislative affairs workgroup supporting efforts to improve Baltimore County’s environmental sustainability.  Kirsten is the treasurer for the Maryland Native Plant Society and recently became a Maryland Master Naturalist.  She is part of a Master Naturalist team working on a habitat restoration project at Cylburn Arboretum.  For the past three years, she has been a Blue Water Baltimore tree steward for her neighborhood and has helped residents select and plant over one hundred native trees. Kirsten is a registered architect in the state of Maryland and performs flute and piccolo with Flutopia Baltimore.

Judy Fulton, founder of EcoPlant Consulting, believes healthy ecosystems are crucial for human survival. She transforms places overrun by invasives into native landscapes, shares her knowledge via workshops and field trips, and serves as an expert in invasive plant litigation. Judy is Vice President of the Maryland Native Plant Society, and a member of the Maryland Invasive Species Council and the Board of the Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council. She has earned a Harvard MBA and three Maryland’s Top 100 Women awards from the Daily Record.

During recent Maryland legislative sessions, she was pleased to help write and pass the 2023 Maryland Native Plants Program (HB950/SB836) and the 2024 Maryland Invasive Plant bill (HB979/SB915). Her consulting, her co-authoring Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide, and her lead role in creating the Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool, an online guide to more than 900 invasive species, have positioned Judy as a sought-after advisor in eco-restoration.

Registration required. 

Spring swap

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!