Chapters in Alabama

Join us for a member panel on planting natives in clay, compacted soils. This is the most common soil condition that our members have at their dispossal for native gardens, so this is your opportunity to ask all your burning questions to some locals with experience on the topic. 

Panelists for this discussion include:

Aaron Stiles: Aaron Stiles is a landscape designer and owner of Foraging Ahead, he has worked on multiple farms and gardens throughout North Alabama and has experience working with and amending poor clay soil.

Lyn W: Lyn is a nomadic gardener and serial leaf bandit.  Whether your goal is to improve the soil or cope with what you have, she can help.

Denise Woodring: Denise has 16 years experience as a landscape designer and owner of Green Thumb Design, in Huntsville, AL.  As a gardener, she has designed and created native habitats and landscapes in clay soils, for her current and former homes over the past 30 years.

Samuel Sikes: Sam has been gardening in his own clay soils for five years, as well as two years professionally as the owner of the former Sikes & Carlton Corporation. Through the years, Sam has installed everything from large, mature burlapped trees and bare-root specimens to mature native plants and native seeds sown directly into garden beds. Unless the species you are installing is specifically adapted for heavy clay, he recommends not planting directly into it. The most effective way to ensure success when gardening in clay soil is to amend it.

Join local botanist and native plant advocate Lynne Weninegar as she takes us through the steps of planning a native garden.

April Waltz will speak about the Alabama Wildlife Federation and more specifically the Habitat Learning Lab program. 

April works with schools to create schoolyard habitats that can be used for hands-on, inquiry-based learning opportunities.  The Habitat Learning Program emphasizes the importance of using native plants in pollinator, butterfly, frog & toad, and songbird habitats.  WONA members can learn more about our program on our website at https://alabamawildlife.org/habitat-learning-lab/.

This will consist of a 30 minute presentation with time for questions afterwards. 

Join WONA and Janice Barrett from Wild Alabama as she tells us the story of the hemlock wooly adelgid, an invasive insect threatening hemlock trees across the Easter U.S.

Lee McBride has been a tree care specialist since 1979 and an ISA certified arborist (currently a Master Arborist) since 1995. He started a business as an independent consulting arborist in 2005 and has decades of pruning and tree care health experience. Lee will discuss native hardwood care, pruning tips and insect issues affecting the health of our trees with WONA. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.