Events

Greenhouse Orientation for all members. Will focus on best practices, and scheduling.

Two sessions to choose from:

Saturday, Jan 6th from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Sunday, Jan 7th from 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Please follow link for sign-ups to choose your spot!

Chapter Business Meeting.

Agenda will be sent to all members. 

Must Register to receive a link.

A recording of the meeting will be sent to all members

The Porter County Master Gardeners put on a great event that has something for every garden lover out there!

Wild Ones will have a booth at this event. We will be handing out information & selling educational books. Stop by if you’re going to this event.

Members who would like to volunteer for this event can sign up by clicking the button below. Hopefully we will have enough volunteers to split up into three shifts.

Click on the "Registration Link" if you are a member of our chapter & would like to volunteer

Please contact us if you have any questions.

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. 

All 2024 Officers and Committee Chairs, Managers, and Position Holders are encouraged to attend.

All members are welcome!

We will be establishing our goals for 2024, as well as fine-tuning the nature of our future meetings.

Over the years, native plants have seen a tremendous burst in popularity and with that has come a spike in the demand for them. Still, many gardeners have struggled to find combinations that work for them reliably. There are loads of reasons for this but the one we’re going to focus on is a diminished selection of species for the gardeners to choose from out in the wider market. This is where help from us, and people like us, comes in.

Kelsay was born and raised on the grounds which would eventually become Possibility Place Nursery, and went on to earn his BS in Botany from Eastern Illinois University. Kelsay serves as botanist and sales consultant with municipalities, park districts, forest preserves and golf courses as well as homeowners. He can speak on many topics including: wetland design and species, native plants in the landscape, shade gardening, woody production, garden borders, and trees and shrubs for the Midwest."

Dr. Cortwright will cover:

Ideal features of aquatic habitats for amphibians.
Ideal features of terrestrial habitats for amphibians.
Survey of common amphibians.
How do amphibians mate and choose their mates?
How is egg-laying done and what are egg masses like?
What are the dangers of the aquatic larval stage?
What are the dangers of metamorphosis and entry onto land?
Some of the methods on how insights have been gained.

Spencer Cortwright earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. from Indiana University in Bloomington. After further training as post-doctoral researcher at the University of Michigan, Spencer became a Professor of Biology at Indiana University Northwest. He spent over a quarter of a century studying amphibian population ecology and during that time slowly transformed himself into a plant ecologist focusing on ecological restoration of natural areas. He teaches classes in ecology, restoration, zoology, and diversity of life.

The nature of our future meetings will be discussed on February 3rd. March's meeting will be a Board Meeting, open to all members, and will focus on planning, and committee reporting.

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. 

We will be going over our May 4th plant sale plans, as well as what we need to do at the greenhouse leading up to the sale. Earth Day events, and Summer watering plans will also be discussed.

The beginning⁹ of wisdom is to call things by their rightful names. Botanists communicate about plants using scientific names, but they are often difficult to spell and pronounce. This presentation will teach you the importance of botanical names, how to pronounce them, and what their names mean in a fun and informative way.  

https://gibsonwoods.wildones.org/meetings-events/annual-native-plant-sale/

Over 100 species of flowers, grasses, sedges, & shrubs; including prairie, wetland, shade, & woodland.

This event is rain or shine, so dress accordingly

Arrive early for best selection