Join us for a native plant Q & A session. A panel of 4 local native plant gurus will work to answer your questions about selecting, growing, and including native plants in your home landscape. Our panelists are Michelle Banker, land resource coordinator at MEEC, Mount St. John; Maura Boesch, master gardener, DAWO member, and native plant landscaper; Ron Corbett, owner of Native Ohio Plants LLC; and Brooke Medlin, Garden Designer and Consultant for Deeply Rooted Landscapes. Each has special areas of expertise that we can tap.
 
The Wright Memorial Public Library is where DAWO members helped to plan and install two native plant gardens last year at the request of the library.

Bring your questions when you come and/or send your questions ahead of time to [email protected].

Explore how native gardening can address climate challenges in our next Wild Ones national webinar, “Cultivating Change” with author and activist Lorraine Johnson. Johnson has been researching and writing about environmental issues for three decades. Learn about the pivotal role of gardening as an act of stewardship in the face of climate and ecological challenges. Discover the profound connections between individual gardens and the broader world and learn how these green spaces can serve as catalysts for positive ecological and social change.  Join Wild Ones for a practical and insightful discussion on gardening's positive impact on the environment and our future. 

Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch the talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Are you ready for spring? DAWO member and Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist Kathie Bowers has been posting photos of skunk cabbage in full bloom at Possum Creek, a Five Rivers MetroParks location, saying it is the best display she has ever seen there. Join Kathie on one of the two scheduled walks to view this late winter-blooming plant along the Green Trail. The trail is 0.3 mile in length and is an easy hike. All are welcome!

Meet at the Education Center parking lot, here:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/kT31juRvCVSK65Rg8

Are you ready for spring? DAWO member and Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist Kathie Bowers has been posting photos of skunk cabbage in full bloom at Possum Creek, a Five Rivers MetroParks location, saying it is the best display she has ever seen there. Join Kathie on one of the two scheduled walks to view this late winter-blooming plant along the Green Trail. The trail is 0.3 mile in length and is an easy hike. All are welcome!

Meet at the Education Center parking lot, here:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/kT31juRvCVSK65Rg8

Registration for this event is now closed, and registrants have been emailed about attending. Please contact [email protected] if you have any issues getting in.

This will be a paid event for both in-person and remote viewing. Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch Dr. Kimmerer's talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Ecological restoration can be understood as an act of reciprocity, in return for the gifts of the earth. This talk explores the ecological and ethical imperatives of healing the damage we have inflicted on our land and waters. We trace the evolution of restoration philosophy and practice and consider how integration of indigenous knowledge can expand our understanding of restoration from the biophysical to the biocultural. Reciprocal restoration includes not only healing the land but our relationship to land. In healing the land, we are healing ourselves.

Wild Ones is excited to cohost this event with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's Earth Week 2024 and the Wild Ones Fox Valley Chapter. 

SAVE THE DATE! Details to follow in early March. 

Join DAWO for a spring walk at one of the most spectacular Ohio sites for both geology and spring wildflowers!   The state nature preserve encompasses two miles of the upper section of the Little Miami State and National Scenic River.   The cool, shaded habitat of the narrow, rocky gorge shelters an abundance of native flora on the steep cliffs and the valley floor below.   

Our guide will be Michelle Comer, the West Regional Preserve Manager for ODNR/Division of Natural Areas and Preserves.  

This is a strenuous, challenging walk!  We will be taking the steep, narrow, rocky Gorge Trail and returning on the much easier Rim Trail, total distance is approximately two miles.   The Gorge Trail is accessed by descending wooden steps, then stone steps, and continues through and around rock formations along the river.  The climb out of the gorge is in sections - steep and rocky with some areas that level off.   Sturdy hiking boots and trekking poles recommended.  Don’t forget field guides & binoculars!  

Meet in the OH-343 parking lot, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wfUPuAw7oJFKNsR67

Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary is a beautiful 100-acre undisturbed wet beech-maple woods, located east of Piqua in Miami County.  Every spring brings an impressive and ever changing display of woodland wildflowers well worth the long drive for most of us!  This is a very easy walk on a .7-mile long handicapped accessible boardwalk loop through the woodland habitat, with many of the trees, shrubs, and flowers labeled for easy identification.    There is an impressive display of large-flowered trillium and drooping trillium, followed by masses of wild hyacinth.  We will be relying on DAWO members’ identification skills on this walk!

Please note:  we are going to Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary on E. Statler Road, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ayDTCdHXBz2L3vHU9, not the nearby Garbry Big Woods Reserve on N. Casstown-Sidney Road!

Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary is a beautiful 100-acre undisturbed wet beech-maple woods, located east of Piqua in Miami County.  Every spring brings an impressive and ever changing display of woodland wildflowers well worth the long drive for most of us!  This is a very easy walk on a .7-mile long handicapped accessible boardwalk loop through the woodland habitat, with many of the trees, shrubs, and flowers labeled for easy identification.    There is an impressive display of large-flowered trillium and drooping trillium, followed by masses of wild hyacinth.  We will be relying on DAWO members’ identification skills on this walk!

Please note:  we are going to Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary on E. Statler Road, here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ayDTCdHXBz2L3vHU9, not the nearby Garbry Big Woods Reserve on N. Casstown-Sidney Road!

Join us at the Wright Memorial Public Library in Oakwood on Thursday, May 16th at 6:00 pm for a tour of the native plant gardens on the library grounds. The tour will be followed by a presentation entitled “A Common Sense Solution to the Biodiversity Crisis” by Brandon Hough, executive director of Homegrown National Park, at 6:30 pm in the library community room. He will share the vision of this grassroots call-to-action organization and what you can do to help restore and regenerate biodiversity on your own property.

In 2021, the Wright Memorial Public Library in Oakwood launched a native plant initiative in the community, beginning with a book club reading of Doug Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope, then a Zoom presentation on the topic by Tallamy, and culminating in the creation of two native plant gardens on the grounds. The native plant shade and sun gardens were designed and installed by volunteers from Dayton Area Wild Ones, Green Oakwood, Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC), and the Montgomery County Master Gardeners in 2022 and 2023. The library gardens perfectly illustrate Tallamy's concept of a homegrown national park.

From Ohio History Connection: “Cedar Bog Nature Preserve was the first nature preserve in Ohio purchased with state money and is considered by many to be Ohio’s premiere natural area. Cedar Bog is a National Natural Landmark, one of only twenty-five in the state of Ohio - recognized for its national significance. It ranks the highest of any site among all others in the state on the Ohio Floristic Diversity Index for its great diversity of plants.”
 
Join us for a guided tour of this special place! Madison Brown, the preserve manager, will be our guide. One of the highlights of our trip will be the spectacular showy lady’s slipper orchid, which should be at or nearing peak bloom.
 
This will be an easy walk on the nearly 1-mile long boardwalk that loops through the site. Be sure to bring your binoculars and field guides. Insect repellent recommended as needed.
 
For those who cannot join us for this guided hike, Cedar Bog has a public orchid walk scheduled on Saturday, June 8 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Admission fee is same as above. See here for details: https://www.cedarbognp.org/event/orchid-walk/

ADMISSION
Adult: $5.00
Student (6-17 years old): $4.00
Youth (children 5 and under): FREE
Cedar Bog Association Members: FREE
Ohio History Connection Members: FREE

The property owner bought their 2+-acre property and home nearly 20 years ago. Two creeks and a wetland area bordered their property on the south and west sides, within small, wooded areas full of large amur honeysuckle and covered with wintercreeper; the rest of the property was vast lawn, a few shrubs, and no flowering plants (other than white snakeroot along the woods’ edges). Soon after she purchased their property, a sewer project tore up large parts of the lawn, so she took the opportunity to create a prairie/meadow on an unused section of lawn near the street. (She had fallen in love with the prairie ecosystem when she worked on a prairie reconstruction many years before.) She also discontinued mowing a shaded area of their property, where succession eventually turned lawn to woods. The biggest transformations of their property began during the pandemic, however, when native gardening forums on Facebook and Doug Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope inspired her to begin restoring more lawn to native ecosystem. Since that time, she has planted dozens of species of native plants, shrubs, and trees; converted large portions of lawn to native plant habitat and gardens; removed most of the large honeysuckle; removed nearly an acre of wintercreeper; and seeded and planted the woods with native grasses, forbs, and small trees and shrubs. This year, a giant swallowtail butterfly showed its gratitude by laying 24 eggs on one of the wafer ash trees.
 
Attendees who want to extend their day can also visit the Donnybrook Fen before or after the tour. https://www.cwpd.org/parks/donnybrook/

Parking: Please park at the Twin Towers Park and carpool to the property.  Please arrive by 5:45 p.m. If you are late & need the the address, email Karen at [email protected]
 
Twin Towers Park
501 W Yellow Springs-Fairfield Rd
Yellow Springs, OH 45387
 
Description:
When the property owners purchased their 2-acre property in 2018, he dreamt of having the best lawn in the neighborhood, and for three years, he worked towards that goal. Then he stumbled upon the book Nature's Best Hope which changed his life, and the journey began to turn their 2 acre monoculture into a vibrant habitat to support and regenerate biodiversity. Since 2021, the property owners have sowed more than 30K sqft of native grasses, sedges, and wildflowers, planted approximately 125 native trees and shrubs, removed all invasives from their property, and do not mow under or around any tree. As a bonus, he has removed 3 acres of honeysuckle across the street in a more than 200-year-old oak-hickory savannah and removed his neighbor's honeysuckle and recently sowed it with native wildflowers. they have multiple projects in progress and are excited to show you things they have learned, what has failed, what has worked, and what is planned when they return from a two-year stint overseas.

Description:
Moving in 2016 to a small suburban property with a chemically manicured landscape featuring lots of grass and invasive ornamentals, the property owner began creating beds of native plants in the poor soil left behind by the construction of the neighborhood. Today, there are flourishing native garden beds along with raised edible garden beds (featuring native and nonnative plants). While it is currently a primarily sunny landscape, many trees and shrubs have been added to allow for more shady areas in the future. Her goal is to eliminate the Kentucky Blue Grass lawn and create a habitat that is enticing both to wildlife and neighbors. She views her garden as an extension of her home and a place to relax and enjoy nature. This corner lot features a pocket prairie, a rain garden, and pollinator beds in addition to the edible garden.

Accessibility: Some unlevel areas may be difficult to navigate in a wheelchair without assistance though much of the yard is visible from the street.

Contact Dayton Area Wild Ones at [email protected]  for the property address. 

Parking: Park at Jeff Schmitt Chevrolet South, 125 S. Gebhart Church Rd., Miamisburg, 45342. Enter from Gebhart Church, make a left and park in the southeast corner of the lot closest to the road, up against the honeysuckle. The subdivision is right next to the parking lot. Please be there by 10:30; late arrivals call 937-272-9517.
 
Description:
There are three beds planted with 20 species of natives at the subdivision entrance. One is in its third growing season and the other two are new this year. With asphalt surrounding the bed, discover two surprising survivors in this environment. We will also visit the leader's parents' native garden at their home in the subdivision.

Parking: On street parking is available
 
Description:
A kit home built in 1950, this property was the site of a former Interurban transporting passengers into Dayton. Purchased by in 2014, the home needed a complete renovation before it was habitable. Once that was completed in 2021, the owners moved to the “Wright House.” A few months after moving in, the sewer line failed and the lawn (an old maple and grass) were removed. She had recently trained as a Greene County Master Gardener Volunteer and wanted to learn and experience native plantings. The old yard was replaced by seeds and small plantings and now is fondly called “chaos.” He took other portions of the property that were completely covered with honeysuckle and wintercreeper and created a shade garden now filled with hosta, heuchera, astilbe and other plantings. While this is not entirely a native yard, it has come a long way. We would love to hear your impression of what's been accomplished and what else could happen on this piece of land in Fairborn.

Please contact Dayton Area Wild Ones at [email protected] for the property address.

Explore how native plants can enhance biodiversity and support ecosystems in our upcoming Wild Ones national webinar, “Combating the Biodiversity Crisis with Native Plants” featuring Sarah Gray and Coralie Palmer from the Indiana Native Plant Society.

Native plants are essential for maintaining biodiversity as they provide food and shelter for a wide range of wildlife, including pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects. By incorporating native plants into your landscape, you can create a thriving ecosystem that supports local fauna and flora. These plants are well-adapted to local environmental conditions, making them more resilient to climate change and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Attendees will learn how native plants can improve soil health, enhance water retention, and contribute to a more sustainable and vibrant ecosystem.

Sara and Coralie are part of the Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS) Landscaping team, and they have collaborated on diverse projects across Indiana, including native planting schemes for schools, community gardens, the Eiteljorg Museum, and the Humane Society. Their new design for Indianapolis reflects typical sub-divisions in Indiana and considers future climate challenges, such as increased flooding and hotter, drier summers. The design features resilient, native Indiana plants that thrive in local soil conditions and contribute to the ecosystem.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights from leading experts in native plants! Participants will gain practical insights into native garden designs and learn how tailored landscaping can support wildlife, promote ecological balance, and help restore natural habitats. 

Explore the ecological and aesthetic advantages of hedges and hedgerows in our upcoming Wild Ones national webinar, “The Beauty and Benefits of Hedgerows” with Heather McCargo, founder of Wild Seed Project.

Native hedgerows are diverse plantings of woody plants from shrubs to small trees along with herbaceous groundcovers at their base.  Learn how these low-maintenance and sustainable plantings of shrubs, trees, and groundcovers can enhance biodiversity, provide critical habitats for wildlife, and contribute to climate resilience. Discover practical tips for designing and implementing hedgerows in various landscapes, from farms to urban settings, and understand their role in supporting pollinators, birds, and soil health. 

 You will also learn about Heather McCargo and the Wild Seed Project's latest collaboration with Wild Ones on the new Native Garden Design for Portland, ME. Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights from a leading expert in native plant restoration and take your landscaping skills to the next level. 

Join DAWO on September 19th at 6:30 pm as we tour the headquarters of Deeply Rooted Landscapes! Learn how a native plant nursery operates and DRL's plans for the future.

Deeply Rooted Landscapes was founded in 2019 by owner, Kara Maynard. The nursery offers consultation, garden design, installation, maintenance, invasive plant removal, native plant sales and a series of workshops throughout the year. DRL currently has 10 employees, not including Kara's amazing kids and husband who help a lot, but are not officially on the payroll. The business is located on Kara and her husband's (Tim) 5.5 acre property in Butler Township, Ohio. When Tim and Kara bought the property in 2018 it was almost completely turf grass and over the past 5 years they converted 2.5 acres of lawn over to prairie reconstruction/afforestation project and have planted over 600 native trees and shrubs throughout the property. They have removed so much honeysuckle and continue to do so and are buoyed by their neighbor's enthusiasm for killing honeysuckle and adopting native plants! The prairie was first seeded in 2020, so it is fully in “leap” mode now and many of the trees planted by Tim, Kara and their two kids have gone from 12 inch saplings to over 10 feet tall!

The family had two solar installations put in; one in 2019 and the other in 2021. They will share a handout on the process and size of their system with whomever is interested on the tour.

After the tour is complete the nursery will be open for plant shopping, so bring your wishlists! If you want to get a preview of what is in stock visit DRL's online store:

https://deeply-rooted-landscapes.square.site/s/shop

Join DAWO member and Native Ohio Plants nursery owner Ron Corbett as he leads us on a tour of his 6-acre property located southeast of Tipp City and which backs up to the Charleston Falls Preserve.  Last fall Ron conducted an excellent tree program and tour.  This year, the focus will be on native shrubs and small trees in the woodland and along the woodland edge.  This will be followed by a tour of his nursery and an opportunity to shop.
 
Ron advises that the trail is dirt and may be muddy if there has been rain.  There are some modest slopes but nothing steep. 
 
There is room to park in the driveway, on the grass beside it. Overflow parking will be in the grass along the road.  Carpooling is recommended. 
 

RSVP to [email protected]
 

Learn how to use high-density plantings that replicate natural ecosystems in aesthetically pleasing designs, enhancing ecological functions while reducing maintenance efforts in our upcoming Wild One's national webinar, "Matrix Landscape Design" with author, landscape designer, activist, and educator Benjamin Vogt.

Matrix planting is a landscape design approach that mimics natural ecosystems by closely planting and layering compatible perennials and grasses to cover the soil, provide more ecosystem services, and eliminate the need for wood mulch or aggressive weeding.  Join Wild Ones for a webinar to learn how author, educator, and landscape designer Benjamin Vogt applies this approach to create stunning native gardens. Learn the principles behind this method, its ecological benefits, and practical steps to implement matrix planting in your own garden. 

You will also learn about Benjamin's latest collaboration with Wild Ones on the new Native Garden Design for Lincoln, NE. Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights from a leading voice in natural garden design and take your gardening skills to the next level. Register now to secure your spot! 

Please join DAWO as Dr. Don Cipollini, Professor of Biology at Wright State University and host of "The Naturalist" on YouTube, leads a guided tour of Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve. We will learn about the creation and geology of the gorge and the unique environment it creates that allows several rare plant species to exist outside of their typical range. As we explore the plants and natural history of the area, we will also discuss the impact of human presence on the gorge.
 

Native plants have an incredible ability to adapt to climate extremes, offering sustainable solutions for resilient landscapes. Join Wild Ones and the Native Plant Society of Texas to explore the power of native plants to thrive in challenging conditions.

This event features Christy Ten Eyck, founder of Ten Eyck Landscape Architects. Drawing from her latest Dallas-Fort Worth native garden design, Christy will share insights into designing low-maintenance, ecologically rich spaces that withstand intense climate fluctuations.

Neonicotinoid insecticides, commonly known as “neonics,” have become the most widely used insecticides in the U.S., leading to drastic declines in bees, pollinators, birds, and aquatic ecosystems. In this webinar, Lucas Rhoads, Senior Attorney with NRDC’s Pesticides & Pollinators Team, will share expert insights on how neonics impact our environment and pose serious risks to human health. He’ll delve into the harms associated with neonic-treated seeds, which are a major source of contamination, and explore effective policy advocacy strategies to rein in their widespread use without disrupting farmers or landscapers.

At this annual Chapter meeting we will announce the new board, summarize the events and programs that occurred during the year, and solicit ideas and recommendations for the coming year.