Chapters in Alabama

The Lewis backyard garden was certified as a Wildlife Habitat in 2004. Designed specifically to attract bird life, the garden displays five water features and landscape elements incorporating numerous plants, hardscape and walkways.  Herb and Terry Lewis expanded their backyard habitat in April 2015 when they acquired the lot behind their existing residence (on Red Oak) in Blossomwood.  Over the last eight years they have been developing a bird sanctuary by adding native plants to attract butterflies, pollinators  and birds. A key feature of the Outback Garden is a 12 ft. diameter bubbling rock water feature specifically designed to attract migrating birds.  Other elements include a shade garden and a meadow area planted with native wildflowers and shrubs. The new garden is lovingly referred to as the Outback Garden.  Every time Terry would look for Herb, he'd be "Outback".

This tour will be limited to 30 WildOnes members on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please contact [email protected] to be added to the list. NOTE: There are no paved pathways in the garden.

WONA is planning our first weed wrangle at the Mountain Gap Trail in South Huntsville. This trail is badly overgrown with invasive species, and we have received permission from the City of Huntsville to begin the process of clearing invasive plants from the trail. A Weed Wrangle® is a one-day, area-wide, volunteer effort to help rescue our public parks and green spaces from non-native invasive species through hands-on removal of especially harmful trees, vines, and flowering plants. While there are many invasive species on the Mountain Gap Trail (bush honeysuckle, nandina, mimosa, kudzu, English Ivy, Liriope, et al.) the focus will be on removing woody invasive plants - principally bush honeysuckle. This activity will be moderately strenuous and will involve the application of herbicides on cut stumps. If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] with the subject “Weed Wrangle.” We will meet in the parking lot of Weatherly Heights Elementary school at 9 AM for a brief orientation before carpooling to the site at ~9:15 AM. If you live in the vicinity of the Mountain Gap Trail, you can walk to meet us at the terminus of Hemlock Dr. SE at 9:15 AM. The required training (safety, identification and control) will be provided to Weed Wrangle participants and a trained botanist will be present to supervise the work. NOTE: There are no restrooms available at the event.

Things to bring include: water, loppers and handsaws, bugspray, heavy duty gardening gloves, eye protection

Clothing: long sleeves and pants, sturdy shoes, hat and eye protection

Gardening for wildlife is more than feeding the birds and the pollinators, it means providing resources to all levels of the food chain! Learn how to integrate small changes and create a diverse ecosystem of insects, birds, and other fauna in your own backyard. We will focus on native plants and their interactions with various insect species and discuss how to design your garden to encourage wildlife. Learn more about the food web of your own backyard and the unique interactions within our urban or suburban ecosystems. 

You can learn more about Sara's work at https://www.saraannjohnson.com/

How do plants develop? Do all plants require the same environmental needs? In this class we will look at how flowers, foliage, fruit, and roots of plants have evolved of time to adapt to their environment. This class will be taught by ACES Home Grounds RÉA Jayne Luetzow February 20th at 6pm

60 minute program to allow for an in-depth discussion of the history of Alabama’s cranes, the science behind the reintroduction, the continued efforts to protect cranes, and how to be a crane ambassador. The presentation will feature a discussion highlighting land management practices that landowners can adopt to promote ideal crane habitat.

Olivia is the Alabama Outreach Program Assistant for the International Crane Foundation (ICF). While ICF is headquartered in Baraboo, WI, Olivia is spending the winter in North Alabama providing outreach programming to a variety of groups to spread the word about both Sandhill Cranes and the federally endangered Whooping Cranes that frequent the state.