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Climate Change, Conservation, and the Role of Native Plant Horticulture

Jesse Bellemare, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Smith College
As our climate changes rapidly, the distributions of many native plant species must shift to keep pace. This poses a dilemma— what role should we take in helping native plant populations migrate? Jesse Bellemare will explore the ecological complexities of this question, including the important insights we can gain from native plant horticulture.

Evenings with Experts

When:

March 4 | 7:00 - 8:30pm

Where:Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway

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Reading the Winter Landscape

Instructor: Meredith Gallogly, Manager of Programs, Grow Native Massachusetts
A woodland in winter may appear empty and inscrutable, but once you know what to look for a dormant landscape will seem to burst with life. Join Meredith to practice reading the winter landscape, with a focus on trees and shrubs, and to find lessons from this natural community to help us bring full-season ecological functionality to our designed landscapes and gardens.

Workshop

When:

March 21 | 10:00am - 12:15pm

Where:Prospect Hill Park, Waltham, MA

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- An Ecosystem Approach
  
  Native Plants are the Foundation
  Improving the biodiversity of our landscapes— specifically stemming the significant declines in insects, birds, and millions of species worldwide— requires re-establishing native plant landscapes. It also requires a commitment to ecological landscaping. But what is that? To us, it means gardening by working with ecological processes— leaving leaf litter and decaying plant stems as essential habitat for insects, understanding inherent soil and climate conditions, choosing the most appropriate native species for our site. There is so much to consider! Learn more about our philosophy here.
  
  An Ecosystem Approach
- Native Plant Highlight
  
  /sites/default/files/images/Epigaea_flower_FritzFlohrReynolds_0.jpg
  
  Mayflower: A Herald of Spring and Our State Flower
  Mayflower or trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) is much beloved for its fragrant flowers, which bloom early in spring. This species adorns the top banner of our website, and we chose it for many reasons. It grows throughout the Commonwealth and was selected a century ago to be our state flower. Beautiful, small but tough in its own way, it was also used medicinally by Native Americans. Its history, winding from relative abundance, to threatened status, and now legal protection, is emblematic of the challenges that so many of our native plants face.
  Read more
- Our Goal
  A Clearinghouse for Information
  We built this website for you— to make information about native plants, and the practice of smart ecological landscaping, much more widely available. We consider ourselves an "open source" nonprofit. Through this website and so many of our other programs, we offer tons of free information— access to resources, lectures, videos, ideas, and inspiration. Our goal is to change the world, to help all of us as humans better understand ourselves as part of a complex organic system, to make ecology more mainstream, and to include you in our community.
  
  Welcome!
- New And Noteworthy
  
  Nature's Best Hope
  
  Douglas Tallamy
  
  Timber Press, 2020
  
  Available February 4!
  
  This newest book by Doug Tallamy makes it very clear why all of us have an essential role to play in saving life as we know it on planet earth. But rather than dwelling in doom and gloom, he emphasizes the joy of taking action, and reminds us of the tremendous capacity for resilience that our ecosystems have when given the means to recover.
  
  Tallamy is one of the most original and persuasive present-day authors on conservation. — E.O. Wilson
  Explore More at Best Books

Homepage

Upcoming Events

Climate Change, Conservation, and the Role of Native Plant Horticulture

Reading the Winter Landscape

Homepage

Native Plants are the Foundation

Mayflower: A Herald of Spring and Our State Flower

Our Goal

A Clearinghouse for Information

Welcome!

Nature's Best Hope

Douglas Tallamy

Timber Press, 2020

We Built This Website For You!