Events

Presentation by WOMV member and Spring Farm Cares Nature Sanctuary horticulturist Alyssa Wisehart on seed sowing. Geared to all levels of experience

Officers and any other members interested in discussing a pollinator pathway project and other events for the year are welcome.

Seed Sowing and Pollinator Pathway Planning meeting

Peter Schubert will answer our questions about best techniques for managing the specific invasives that we are working on here in our own backyards, parks, and trails in the Mohawk Valley.

WOMV members Maggie Reilly and Amy Funkhouser will show us how to start designing a native plant garden.

Follow on presentation to Native Garden Design part 1 by Maggie Reilly and Amy Funkhouser

Summer planning meeting

In person native garden design workshop

Our first work party! Work parties are opportunities to help other members or non profits with native plant projects. They are also an opportunity to see native plants being incorporated into a residential or public space. 

The F.T. Proctor Park Peace Garden will be all native plants! Come and help us do the planting! Bring your gloves and a shovel or trowel if you have them.

Bring your questions and share your knowledge and experience at this informal session. New members especially welcome.

The Fernery is a native plant nursery in Hartwick, NY. Carpools to be arranged.https://theferneryatwhitehouse.com/

Visit to Amanda's Garden, a native plant nursery in Dansville, NY. This will be an all day event. Carpools will be arranged.https://www.amandasnativeplants.com/

work party planting a large new native plant bed

Work day to help plant over 1500 native plants in FT Proctor Park

We'll be helping to mulch and plant a shade garden for a WOMV member. Work parties are a good opportunity to see native plants being integrated into a residential yard as well as meet some of your fellow WOMV members.

Volunteer at our WOMV booth to educate the public about native plants

Join us for a work party in Yorkville. We'll be planting some native flowers around the yard of a homeowner who isn't able to do the work herself this year. Work parties are a good opportunity to see native plants being integrated into a residential yard as well as meet some of your fellow WOMV members and ask any questions you might have in an informal setting.

End of summer and fall planning meeting

During this guided tour, we'll see different types of native plant communities and their ecosystems.

Nancy has recently started adding native trees, shrubs and plants to a traditional city yard. She'd like suggestions about what additional native plants she might work into her landscaping and tips for making maintenance easy. Show Me/Help Me tours are a great opportunity to see a variety of native plants in a home landscape.

Work party for invasives control  at FT Proctor Park

Help label and transplant seedlings into 6packs to sell at our plant sale the following week and/or enjoy a tour of Maryann's yard and gardens. Maryann(WOMV treasurer) is a long time gardener who is transitioning her gardens to native plants. RSVP to [email protected]

Pop up garden party and yard tour of native plant pollinator garden

WOMV will be selling a starter pollinator packs with three different plants each containing one plant that will flower early summer, one mid-summer and one late summer.

Come help us remove a patch of black swallow wort from a homeowner's property. Black swallow wort is an invasive plant that kills monarch caterpillars. Monarch butterflies think it is milkweed and lay their eggs on it, but when the caterpillars hatch and start eating the leaves, the toxins in the leaves kill the monarch caterpillars. In addition to helping the monarchs, the homeowner has about 80 acres of lovely undeveloped land to enjoy seeing while you work. Rain date Friday, 9/9. RSVP to [email protected]

Come relax and tour lovely gardens, started 30 years ago, which are now being transitioned to native plant gardens. The homeowner is also redesigning some areas around the recent loss of several trees. This is a wonderful chance to see how a traditional suburban yard has been transformed to almost all garden. The homeowner would love to hear other people's ideas about the areas she is redesigning and their experience with some of the plants she is considering. Bring a dish to share and enjoy a chance to talk about native plants and sustainable gardening. Please RSVP to [email protected]

The Peace Garden dedication will take place at 2:00pm on Saturday, September 10th at the Peace Garden on the lower level of the park as part of Proctor-Olmsted Day - Utica's first “Proctor Day” Celebration since 1942. The Peace Garden was planted this spring with 150 native plant seedlings, most donated by Spring Farm CARES Nature Sanctuary. Wild Ones Mohawk Valley members assisted in the garden preparation, planting and maintenance. Take time also to look at the native bushes by the Lily Pond and the extensive native woodland garden in the North Circle, also planted with assistance from WOMV members.  If you can't make it on the 10th, take a walk on any day you have the opportunity. The park's wooded areas have a wide variety of lovely mature native trees and shrubs, still significantly outnumbering the invasive species that have crept in.

Come help us remove a patch of black swallow wort from a homeowner's property. Black swallow wort is an invasive plant that kills monarch caterpillars. Monarch butterflies think it is milkweed and lay their eggs on it, but when the caterpillars hatch and start eating the leaves, the toxins in the leaves kill the monarch caterpillars. In addition to helping the monarchs, the homeowner has about 80 acres of lovely undeveloped land to enjoy seeing while you work. Rain date Friday, 9/9. RSVP to [email protected]

Join horticulturist Alyssa Wisehart at Spring Farm CARES on Sunday October 16 at 1pm for a seed collecting walk around the sanctuary gardens. We'll talk about how to tell when various species are ready to harvest as well as proper care and storage. After the walk we'll do some seed cleaning and participants will be able to take seeds home with them. Bring any questions you have about starting native plants from seed. If you have hand pruners at home bring them along for cutting seed heads. The rain date for this event is October 23. RSVP to [email protected]. If event is postponed, an email will go out by 11am on October 16th.  

Planning meeting for winter events