Events Calendar

Thursday, August 7th, 7:30 pm. WOCRNY Advocacy Committee - all members who are interested in helping change policies that impact native gardening are welcome to attend. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88992870378  Meeting ID: 889 9287 0378
 

Gathering near the historic Whipple Bridge at River View and Van Vranken Roads, we will walk out to Fort’s Ferry and make a short loop.   We will use David H. Behm’s list of observed invasive plants as a checklist to practice identifying invasives, but we will also check out the native plants that thrive here as well.  Bring appropriate attire for a hike, the weather, and flying insects. Parts of the walk will be sunny.  Host: Connie Tedesco, 607-434-1026.  Always check the Events Calendar for any cancellation.

A private residence in Altamont, NY ( Albany County) , has been adding only native plants to their landscape since 2018.  Members are welcome to join us with a guest to visit this extensive garden which also hosts bluebirs, a vegetable garden, blueberries and raspberries, flower gardens and native plants and shrubs.  There is a wild area where they have paths throughaand have been eliminating buckthoorns, multiflora roses, honeysucklys, and bittersweet.  

Tour the Demonstration Gardens at CCE, with Horticulturist  and WO Member Carol Henry, as well as several Master Gardeners as they show how they have begun to usitilize native plants into their many garden projects.

In search of asters and allies, we will explore all of the early-fall blooms we find. We will walk both the blue and red trails, totaling about 1.5mi. Bring appropriate attire for a hike and the weather. Host: Dustin Mitchell, 314-616-2667. Always check the Events Calendar for any cancellation.
 

Janet N. 10:00am- 12:30pm: Since 1983, Janet has experimented with different types of gardens at her house.  Influenced by her sister, a Syracuse N.Y., WO member, she was introduced to Doug Tallemy’s writings in 2019, and immediately became hooked on native plants. Wanting to make a big impact quickly but knowing little about native plants, she engaged Jessie Peters of Jessecology, early in 2020, to design and install native plants, in three phases. Come and see the evolution of her gardens. She welcomes your thoughts and suggestions as you visit.  Members only plus a guest

2. A "Show me Tell Me" Tour-11:00-1:30 Emily M recently moved into her first house with yard, in an urban neighborhood, built in the 1930's. She has had some experience and skill with containers, hanging baskets, and indoor potted plants, and is now beginning her journey in outdoor gardening. Initially, the garden beds were overrun with weeds, invasive plants, and a poisonous vine. The ground was full of stumps and the grass had been left to grow for months. After cleaning things out, what remained was lawn, bare dirt, and a handful of shrubs. 

She's placed the first layer of shrubs and trees in the back yard, and she’d like to keep adding to them as they grow so that it becomes an English-style garden, but using around 80% native plants. Emily wants to establish a beautiful, calm, life-sustaining refuge for herself and the numerous critters that help make our world function, and to replace at least half of the lawn with gardens . 

She’d welcome advice on pruning, watering, and fertilizing, tips to aid in overwintering, and suggestions on plants to put around an air conditioning unit to mask it a bit. Lastly, she’ll take all of the encouragement that she can get as the project feels quite daunting to her. Members only plus a guest

Demonstration gardens are designed to educate the community in horticulture and science.  There are 20 distinctly designed gardens, including a Native and Pollinator Garden, Shade Garden, a Shrub Garden, a Grass Garden and a Children's’ Garden, as well as many color-schemed Gardens, Vegetable and Herb Gardens, plus more. Master Gardeners’ several of whom are also Wild Ones Members will be available to answer guide and answer questions.

 Unity Lutheran Church Demonstration Garden 12:00am-2:00pm  1500 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12203. (Across from Stuyvesant Plaza)-

 Join Wild Ones Members to tour the Native Demonstration Garden designed by ecological landscape designer, Kate Brittenham of Front Stoop Gardens and installed in 2024 by Wild Ones Members and community volunteers with the generous use of land by the Unity Lutheran Church.  There you can see…..

Discover how ecological landscaping with native plants can make your landscape more resilient and help address the climate crisis. This webinar will highlight practical, evidence-based approaches to designing and maintaining landscapes that build resilience to climate change and support native biodiversity. Join Wild Ones for a free webinar, “EcoBeneficial Landscape Strategies for the Climate Crisis,” featuring environmental horticulturalist and ecological landscape designer Kim Eierman.

Sunday Sept. 21, 2025. 1:30pm- 4pm Annual Wild Ones Garden Party!  at the Kelly Adirondack Center. What a great 4th year our Wild Ones chapter has had! Come celebrate our successful growth and projects at our  Annual Wild Ones Garden Party!  We will also conduct a brief annual meeting and elect new officers.  It will be a wonderful opportunity to mingle with members and fellow garden enthusiasts, maybe win a prize, and enjoy the beautiful setting. We will have refreshments.  Bring an interested friend(s): registration required to plan for appetizers.  Address:  897 St David's Ln, Niskayuna, NY, 12309   https://forms.gle/LxALUJ6cBCRgsN959 

Beginning at the smaller Falstaff’s parking lot near Broadway, we will take the red loop trail, about 1.1mi, seeking late wildflowers, enjoying the fall foliage, and thinking about the soil structure all this falling plant matter supports. Bring appropriate attire for a hike and the weather. Host: Dustin Mitchell, 314-616-2667. Always check the Events Calendar for any cancellation.

Details coming soon! 

Friday 7th, 8:30am. Henry Gerber Reist Bird Sanctuary, 897 St David's Ln, Niskayuna, NY. Park at the Kelly Adirondack Center. From there we will follow the Paul Schaefer Yellow Trail, about 1.3mi, looking out for birds, late-fall flora, and the remnants of dry vernal pools. Bring appropriate attire for a hike and the weather; note that this area can get wet and muddy. Host: Dustin Mitchell, 314-616-2667. Always check the Events Calendar for any cancellation.

Details coming soon! 

Saturday, January 31st 1-3pm. Join Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center, Friends of Thacher, and Wild Ones as we host the  Native Plant Sale Kick-Off Social to be held at the Nature Center (87 Nature Center Way, Voorheesville, NY 12186 (518) 872-0800 ).  Come join us if you have volunteered to or are thinking of volunteering for the Annual Native Plant Sale to be held May 16, 2026.  There are so many ways to become involved, come and join this dedicated group of volunteers and see what’s right for you! Please register here, to be notified in case of a weather event.