It’s almost spring and we’ve all got a hankering to get back outside to do some landscaping and gardening. Instead of grabbing the same old plants off the garden center shelves, consider going the native route.

Native trees, shrubs, and perennials are the glue that holds our ecosystems together and are directly tied to the health of our environment. All of our backyards could use some extra natives planted in them, but sometimes you don’t have to recreate the wheel; recognizing and preserving the natives we already have growing around us is important too.

We will learn how the food web revolves around native plants; the more we have in our yards the richer the biodiversity of our neighborhoods, from the birds to the bees. These actions have tangible results we can see, smell, hear, and even taste. Join us for an empowering evening on how native plants are the best medicine for what ails our landscapes.

Shawn Jalbert is the owner and operator of Native Haunts, based in Alfred, Maine. He has made it his mission to make native plants, and the knowledge of their critical importance, available to the general public. “Native Haunts” is an “old-timey” term to describe native plants in their natural habitats. For the last 20 years, he’s made it his mission to sustainably propagate and sell native plant materials, but more importantly, to share the vast knowledge he has accumulated through his personal experience and his intense studies as a lecturer and consultant. FMI: https://nativehaunts.com/

This program will be presented in-person at 7 p.m. in the Mather Auditorium of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, and will also be viewable via Zoom.  To view via Zoom, you’ll need to register in advance.

To do so, please click on this link and enter your name and email address:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vALL9WzQRi6z_RvircuAig

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We hope you can join us in-person, or, if not, via Zoom!