Chapters in New York

Living Landscapes: Beavers & the Land — The Original Engineers of Biodiversity

Explores the ecological and cultural significance of beavers as hydrological architects whose engineering shaped Northeastern landscapes, including present-day Westchester.

Join us for a casual hangout at a favorite local cafe. Your fellow native plant enthusiasts are excited to share what they have learned and want to try in the upcoming season. All are welcome. Bring your questions! Get advice  from more experienced growers.  Share your favorite plant stories.  A variety of food and drink is available for purchase. 

Registration is optional; it will allow us to send you a reminder before the event with any updates.

Description: Are you overwhelmed by piles of plastic pots, cell packs, and trays in your garden shed? Concerned that the wave of plastics in your garden, soil, plants and water seems endless? Wondering how you can grow a garden for family and wildlife without hazardous plastics?

Melanie Cutillo of Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm will present how she ditched plastics at her wildflower farm and native plant nursery in Mexico, New York.

Her presentation will share how she grows her farm’s plants plastic-free including

Winter Sowing (Stratification)Propagation from seeds & cuttingsSeason extension without plasticsSharing the abundance of native plants and flowers without plastic pots, trays etc.

About Our Speaker: Melanie began her native flower farm in 2021 with a dream to transform her 220-year-old farm into a habitat for wildlife featuring native plants. She is a Master Gardener and member of the Flower Collective of Central New York. Melanie creates eco-friendly flower arrangements without metal, plastic or foam. May thru December, bouquets of native flowers and foliage are ‘conservation starters’ to raise awareness about ecological gardening and wildlife conservation here in Central New York.

Schedule
• 1:00 p.m. — Refreshments and conversation with fellow native plant enthusiasts
• 1:30 p.m. — Presentation begins

Location
This meeting is both in-person at the Liverpool Public Library and online via Zoom. Zoom attendees will be able to hear the speaker, view their slide presentation, and ask questions during the Q&A at the end.

Registration is required for Zoom attendance only.

Recording
Meetings are typically recorded and posted on our YouTube channel.

Kathy Contrino, owner of CW Native Plant Farm and Master Naturalist trainee will share tips on beginning or continuing your native plant journey.

Gardeners, whether in urban, suburban or rural communities are well situated to provide pockets of biodiversity and greater environmental sustainability.  Native plants, bushes and trees, particularly locally-sourced plants, provide the best opportunity for success. 

Native gardeners incorporate the following key elements:  design focused on keystone species, careful landscape management to do no harm (or less harm), and understanding of gardening as one part of a holistic sustainable lifestyle.

One common sentiment is,  “I want to do more but I don’t know where to begin.”  In this presentation Kathy will address the question of where to begin whether you live in a rural, suburban, or urban community, She will share simple, scalable options to improve the ecology around you. 

Wild Ones Mid-Hudson Valley is excited about our second chapter book club! For February we will be reading “Bringing Nature Home” by Douglas Tallamy. We will meet at the Merritt Bookshop upstairs in their book club room from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. See the registration link below to sign up.

Following this Book Club meeting, interested participants will have the opportunity to socialize or shop.

For March we will read “Wildscape” by Nancy Lawson. Location and date to be determined.

Subscribe to the Wild Ones Mid-Hudson Valley monthly newsletter to receive program announcements. If you have any questions please contact [email protected]