FREE PUBLIC PROGRAMS

with Ann Brown

Monday, March 11, 2024

6:00 - 7:30 p.m. EDT

green | spaces

63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN

NOTE LOCATION CHANGE!

FREE and Open to the Public

Apartment dwellers and those working in small areas take heart! This program will teach how to use native plants in containers. 

Do you want to receive a reminder email

in advance of our free public programs?

If so, join our Meetup group.

For event details and Zoom links, visit TNValleyWildOnes.org

Under the Programs & Events tab, click on Calendar.

Registration Now Open!

Wild Wander: Plant Natives Weekend

April 12-14, 2024

This year Plant Natives has moved to April, in conjunction with our Native Plant Sale and Expo. Instead of a one-day symposium, this year there will be lots more, including seminars, interactive workshops, demonstrations, wildflower walks and activities for the whole family.

On Friday, April 12, there are five different workshops, as well as a social gathering at the end of the day.

On Saturday, April 13, join us at our annual Native Plant Sale & Expo. It is free and open to the public at the First Horizon Pavilion.

And on Sunday, April 14, we'll have morning hikes for adults and for kids. Three more workshops are scheduled for the afternoon.

The Certificate in Native Plants program is designed to expand students' knowledge of botany, ecology, conservation and uses of native flora in the southeastern United States. The CNP offers a blend of classroom instruction, hands-on learning and guided hikes. Participants are required to complete four core classes, eight electives, and 40 hours of volunteering for approved native plant projects. Classes are open to Wild Ones members and non-members, whether or not you are pursuing the certificate.

For more info about the Certificate in Native Plants program, click HERE.

More CNP classes will be announced soon!



MEMBERS-ONLY EVENTS

RainSmart Yards

Monday, March 11, 2024

2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EDT

Free to and open to Wild Ones Members only

Join us at a Wild Ones member’s Chattanooga yard for a hands-on training about how to properly survey and evaluate residential yards for inclusion into the RainSmart Yards program from WaterWays and the City of Chattanooga. The RSY program is focused on remediating stormwater runoff using best management practices like native landscaping, green infrastructure and other sustainable methods.

Members-Only Hike

Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area

Sunday, April 21, 2024

10:00 am – 2:00 p.m. EDT

Hike Leader: Stephan Eselgroth, MD



Free for members of the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones

Along the southeast margins of Atlanta lie several massive granite outcrops. Called monadnocks, the largest of them include Stone, Panola and Arabia mountains. Geologically, these are residual plumes of magma called plutons, which have resisted erosion. We will visit the oldest, Arabia Mountain, that formed 400 million years ago.  It offers us viewing of unique habitats, with several endemic native plants. 

UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS

To view all upcoming programs, classes and events presented by the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones, click below:

MEMBER NEWS

You are Invited to Chapter Board Meetings

The Wild Ones Tennessee Valley chapter board meetings are open to all members. The meetings are typically held the third Monday of each quarter at 5:30pm via Zoom. If you are a member and are interested in attending, please send an email to membership@tnvalleywildones.org and we will send you the Zoom meeting invitation.

PROGRAMS, CLASSES & EVENTS

Online and in the Region

Reflection Riding Native Plant Nursery

Opens to Members this Saturday

Reflection Riding's Native Plant Nursery will be open to Reflection Riding members this Saturday, March 9th and open to the public on Saturday, March 16th. Beginning March 16, the nursery will be open Thursday through Saturday from 9 am until 4 pm and open by appointment on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If you are interested in making an appointment, you can email nursery@reflectionriding.org or call 423-497-2760. 

The SWFP in the Great Smoky Mountains is an annual event features professionally-guided walks, exhibits, and other learning opportunities to explore the region's rich natural and cultural resources. Pilgrims from more than 40 states and several countries make the pilgrimage each year to learn more about fungi, ferns, wildflowers, trees and shrubs, medicinal plants, insects (terrestrial and aquatic), salamanders and snakes, birds, mammals (bats to bears), journaling, art and photography, and park history.

Tennessee Native Plant Society Seminars

The Tennessee Native Plant Society hosts monthly Native Plant Seminars via Zoom on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Central (7:30 p.m. Eastern) and lasting about one hour. All members, and potential members, are welcome to attend the seminars. Videos of previous seminars are available via the link below.

March 19 – Steve Murphree, Cicadas Return

April 16 – Janneke Peterson, Symbiotic Schoolyard

INTERESTING INFORMATION

Digging Up the Dirt on Healthy Soil

When ordinary people refer to the brown, mineral-filled substance which holds plants, they call it dirt. Plant lovers call it soil. Dirt is what you track in after working in the garden, while soil is full of living organisms and structured layers. The living structure of soil makes it incredibly valuable as a medium for plants. Unfortunately, in the United States we are losing soil 10 times faster than it is being replenished, a situation that is obviously not sustainable. People can counteract this soil loss by learning about and supporting healthy soil systems.

Want to learn more? Watch episode two of the Beginner/Refresher Native Plant Gardening Webinar Series presented by Deep Roots. It is a five-part series that stresses the importance of native plants. It will let you know how to get started and maintain a native plant garden. You can view each episode in its entirety on the Deep Roots website.

Read more.

Wildflower Identification 101:

How to Get Started



Wildflower identification can sound intimidating to a beginner—so many flowers, so many names. This Birds & Blooms reader found a way to make it fun!

Read more.

Sandhill cranes migrating in record numbers in U.S. Midwest

Sandhill cranes are showing up in Nebraska in staggering numbers in 2024.  A wildlife biologist reported in February, that the annual Crane Trust bird count census was revealing about five times the average population.

Read more.

Space Invaders: English Ivy

Anyone who has spent an hour of their lives removing invasive English ivy (Hedera helix) can rant at length at why to resent this plant and why it should be banned from sale: it grows rapidly and steadily in all directions, it smothers the ground in thick, woody stems, it crawls up trees and shrubs and suffocates them, it’s an absolute bear to get rid of, and to top it all off, when fully mature and with enough sun, it provides berries that delight the birds who will eat it and spread it all over kingdom come.

Read more.

Poison Ivy Meets Its Match

Although it's a native plant, where there is poison ivy lurking about, there is always the risk of unwitting encounters…oft resulting in the unfortunate symptoms many of us have come to know (and not love)—the blistering, unfathomably itchy rash that arises with contact from the poison ivy's noxious resin.

Learn more.

PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD

Spring is on the way!

And Mike O'Brien has captured images of

some of the latest signs of life for the season.

Red Maple tree flowers

Acer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America.

Photo by Mike O'Brien.



American hazelnut

Corylus americana, the American hazelnut or American hazel, is a species of deciduous shrub in the genus Corylus, native to the eastern and central United States and extreme southern parts of eastern and central Canada. American hazelnut’s very long catkins (male) are up to 5 inches long. These are produced in the early fall and stay throughout winter to finally open and release their abundant pollen in the spring when the tree’s small red flowers (female) bloom.

Photo by Mike O'Brien.



Bracket Fungi

Bracket fungi are also called polypores or shelf fungi, and they characteristically produce woody, shelf- or bracket-shaped or occasionally circular fruiting bodies that are called conks.

Photo by Mike O'Brien.

Scarlet Elf Cup fungus

The scarlet elf cup displays bright red cups with short stems. It can be seen in late winter and early spring on fallen twigs and branches (often Hazel, Elm and Willow), usually buried under moss. It is reasonably widespread, but not very common. It is mostly found in damp, shady areas.

Photo by Mike O'Brien.

Woodland Stonecrop

Sedum ternatum is the most widespread native Sedum species in eastern North America, commonly known as woodland stonecrop. It has white flowers, blooming April to May.

Photo by Mike O'Brien.

JOIN WILD ONES

Becoming a Wild Ones member shows your commitment to the native plant movement and is a great way to connect with a helpful and knowledgeable native plant community that will prove invaluable in your native garden journey!

Benefits of a Wild Ones membership include:

• Access to the current electronic issue of the quarterly Wild Ones Journal
• Invitations to workshops, garden tours, seed exchanges, plants sales, and stewardship project
• Discounts for partner educational webinars such as NDAL, etc. and Wild Ones chapter programs
• Participation in an annual national photo contest
• Access to the Wild Ones Member Center for learning resources
• Participation in Wild for Monarchs and Native Garden recognition programs
• Involvement in citizen science and networking with conservation partners
• Receiving Wild Ones National e-Newsletters
• Invitation to Wild Ones' private Facebook discussion group and the national Wild Ones Annual Member Meeting
• Networking opportunities and camaraderie with like-minded people who care about native plants and our planet

Additional benefits for members of the Tennessee Valley chapter:



• Discounted admission to all Certificate in Native Plants classes year-round.
• Free admission at members-only programs, including local and regional guided hikes, garden visits (Landscapes in Progress), the annual meeting, an annual plant swap, and other member social events.
• Access to the chapter's Member Directory, so you can connect with other members.
• Annual Welcome Party and Orientation for new members.
• Monthly email Member Update, with news about chapter activities.
• All members of the family who live at the same address are entitled to member benefits!

Your membership dollars help forward our mission of promoting the restoration of native landscapes by allowing us to:

• Provide free, educational resources and learning opportunities that are open to the public from respected experts like Wild Ones Honorary Directors Doug Tallamy, Neil Diboll, Heather Holm and Donna VanBuecken
• Support the efforts of over 65 local Wild Ones chapters in 23 states
• Publish a quarterly, award-winning, online journal featuring current native plant information and resources
• Share free, professionally-designed native garden templates for multiple regions in the United States.

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