Oak Park, IL—(ENEWSPF)—July 3, 2013. If you think a landscape should be about more than a lawn of non-native grasses, and want to learn more about native plants, attracting pollinators and birds, and the restoration of natural landscapes, you’re invited to attend a kickoff meeting to form a local chapter of Wild Ones, an organization devoted to creating natural gardens and landscapes.
This first meeting will be held from 2:30-4:30 p.m., Sunday, July 21st, at Green Home Experts, 811 South Blvd., Oak Park, Illinois. Local Wild Ones member, Stephanie Walquist will give a butterfly presentation. She has been gardening for butterflies and rearing/releasing some species over the years. Stephanie has also been assisting in the installation of a native plant garden at Beye School with the hope of getting other schools and local residents to join in to create wildlife corridors. Plans will also be discussed for future educational programs, seed and plant swaps and field trips, and anyone interested will be invited to join the organization.
Wild Ones members help and learn from each other – beginners and experienced members alike – about identifying native (and invasive) plants, creating natural landscapes, protecting threatened native species, dealing with “weed ordinances,” and a lot more.
Members plan monthly educational chapter meetings, field trips, and presentations by experts in the field of native plants and natural landscaping. Chapters are supported by a national organization, and each member receives handbooks related to natural landscaping along with a bimonthly publication, the Wild Ones Journal.
For more information – and to let us know you’ll attend – contact Pam Todd ([email protected]), Ginger Vanderveer ([email protected]) or Marni Curtis ([email protected]).
Wild Ones began in 1979, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and became a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation in 1990. With approximately 40 active chapters, Wild Ones has approximately 3,000 members across the United States and Canada. See website at www.for-wild.org.
