Aullwood's Pancake Brunch is This Sunday!

Come out this Sunday, March 9, and join us at Aullwood Farm for our traditional Pancake Brunch! Enjoy delicious food, tour Aullwood's sugarbush, learn about the fascinating process of maple sugar making and enjoy a morning at the farm and in the outdoors. Learn about Aullwood's Native Plant Sale this April, discover our 2025 Summer Earth Adventures summer camp classes, and help assemble the Aullwood Audubon Land & Legacy Mosaic with The Mosaic Institute too! NO ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS NEEDED. Simply pay at the door!

Continuous serving will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Admission is $10 per adult age 13 & over and $6 per child age 12 to 3; children under 3 are free. Join us food, fun and more on the farm!

Native Plant Speaker Series - Connecting the Dots: Pollinators, Plant Diversity, and Pests with Joe Boggs on March 30

Join us on Sunday March 30 for the next event in our 2025 Native Plant Speaker Series, Connecting the Dots with Joe Boggs! Protecting plant pollinators is commonly viewed as just an insecticide issue. However, how does the abundance of flowering plants translate into fewer plant pests? How do pollinators themselves play a critical role in the reduced need for insecticides? This presentation reveals the multi-layered connections between pollen, nectar, and a parade of unsung insect heroes that can serve as effective partners in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs. Join Joe Boggs, Assistant Professor & Entomologist from OSU Extension, for his insights on these fascinating topics!

Preregistration for this event is not required. Meet at Aullwood's Farm Discovery Center at 9101 Frederick Pike, Dayton OH 45414 on March 30 at 2 p.m. All ages are welcome! This event is free for members of Friends of Aullwood, National Audubon Society, and ANCA affiliated organizations with membership card or receipt. Non-members pay regular Aullwood admission. This event is also free for participants in the Aullwood Audubon Native Plant Backyard Challenge! 

What is the Aullwood Audubon Native Plant Backyard Challenge? The NPBC provides valuable education and resources to households who register in order to promote native plant landscape projects. We hope the NPBC supports and motivates both local and regional members to transform their backyards and go native! Learn more about the challenge at https://aullwood.audubon.org/BackyardChallenge or by clicking the button below.

Bloodroot at Aullwood April 2021 Photo (bottom): Aullwood Audubon / Ken Fasimpaur. American Goldfinch on Silphium perfoliatum (Cup-Plant) Photo (bottom): Jestin Sebastian / Audubon Photography Awards.

Renovation in Progress this March at Aullwood Farm

A significant renovation of the Bank Barn at Aullwood Farm has begun! For the safety of visitors, animals, staff and volunteers, the areas around our Bank Barn, Sheep Barn, Poultry Aviary and Tractor Barn will be CLOSED for the entire month of March during this renovation project. The closed areas will be roped off and clearly marked. Please heed the signage and stay out of these construction areas for everyone's safety. Watch for moving equipment and closely supervise children at the farm.

The Farm Discovery Center, Farm Garden, Spring House, Pavilion, and Meyer Family Exhibit will remain open for exploration. Most of our livestock ambassadors will also be available to observe in our pastures. The trail to see our trolls, Warbler Way, will not be impacted by this project. This renovation is necessary because our bank barn, over 100 years old, is showing wear and tear. This project will restore it to its former glory, as well as keep it looking beautiful for many years to come! We thank you for your patience and understanding during the work to restore this historic barn.

The Bank Barn at Aullwood Farm is a testament to Aullwood’s commitment to engage young learners as Marie Aull intended. The original barn was built in 1851 and although it burned down in 1987, Charity Krueger worked diligently as part of the staff to restore the barn and construct the new Bank Barn in the style of the original. We began raising funds for the current critical restoration and repair in December 2024. Though she is no longer part of the staff, Charity graciously offered the lead challenge grant to begin funding this restoration, a $70,000 project. We are grateful to Charity and all the donors who were inspired to support this important project, honoring Marie Aull’s vision. Thank you and stay tuned for more on the renovation!

Bank Barn Construction March 2025 Photo: Aullwood Audubon / Nenita Lapitan

Summer Earth Adventures Registration Open to the Public

Sign up today and walk on the wild side at Aullwood Audubon's Summer Earth Adventures 2025! This year's SEA summer camps run from June 9 through August 1, but camp registration for the general public is open right now! Each week of SEA will feature a different exciting theme as campers explore the great outdoors on Aullwood's trails and farm pastures. Sign up now before these fun classes are full for the year!

Registrants can use the coupon code EARLYWILDSIDE to receive a 10% discount when they sign up by April 30! (Friends of Aullwood members should use the special discount code they received via email instead. Can't find your member email? Contact us at education@aullwood.org to receive your code. Discounts cannot be combined.) Limited SEA camp scholarships are available; email education@aullwood.org for details.

We are also hiring SEA camp counselors! Learn more and apply at https://aullwood.audubon.org/SEAJobs now. Don't miss out — get ready to get wild with us this summer!

Thoughts from the Herb Garden: March 2025

(Greenview Garden Club)

We are the Greenview Garden Club, and we take care of the Herb Garden at Aullwood Farm. The Club was founded in 1957, and our major project was to design and build the Aullwood Herb Garden. By 1966, the Club and the Garden was ready. We have been planting, weeding, watering, and nurturing it ever since!

In addition to being in the Garden, our objective is to stimulate interest and knowledge of gardening, with a special focus on herbs. We love meeting visitors of all ages and sharing the history, the scents, and the purposes of the plants.

There are eight beds of herbs and a garden shed. Each bed contains both annuals (plants that grow and bloom for one year only) and perennials (plants that live through the winter and regrow year after year) that fit the theme of each bed. There is a Native American bed, a colonial bed, two culinary beds, an ornamental bed, and two fragrance beds. The eighth bed is located on either side of the entrance gate and blooms in blue flax in the late Spring. In the growing season, each of the plants are identified with information cards. 

The Garden Club members can be found working in the Herb Garden many Tuesday mornings starting in April and throughout the growing season. Come late March and early April, the perennial plants – those wonderful “regrowers” – should start peeking out of the soil. We love for people to visit with us and to smell, touch, and learn about herbs as the plants grow throughout the season. Stop by and see the magic of Spring unfold as the plants emerge. Come visit the Herb Garden!

Aullwood Herb Garden photos courtesy of the Greenview Garden Club.

Coming this April: Aullwood Audubon Native Plant Sale

Aullwood Audubon's 22nd Annual Native Plant Sale is coming on Friday, April 25 & Saturday, April 26! The 2025 sale will feature 10,000+ plants, 180+ species and 74+ new species, including a wide array of native shrubs, trees, grasses, sedges and flowers. Spring ephemeral wildflowers will also be available in limited quantities each day. This in-person only event happens from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. each day, so mark your calendar! Preorders are not available, so make your planting plans today with this year's plant catalog now posted on the Native Plant Sale page. Catalog descriptions includes soil and light requirements, colorful photos and ways the plant supports pollinators and native wildlife. Need more help deciding which plants will support birds and wildlife to your garden? Visit Audubon’s Plants for Birds tool at https://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds for great information!

There will be free admission for everyone attending the plant sale. Inventory of some plants is limited, so come early if you have your heart set on a specific item! A selection of great gardening and bird-related items from our Nature Store and Gift Shop will also be available. 

Why plant native? Native plants provide food and shelter for wildlife, increase biodiversity and attract natural predators that help control pests! Proceeds from the Native Plant Sale also provide critical funding for Aullwood's environmental education and habitat preservation programs. Want to go further with your native plants? Join the Aullwood Audubon Native Plant Backyard Challenge for great resources and more to help you go big and go native!

Aullwood Audubon Native Plant Sale 2024 Photo: Aullwood Audubon / Ken Fasimpaur

Upcoming Events Calendar

• ONGOING: The Troll That Hatched an Egg: An Exhibition by Thomas Dambo (Farm & Center)
• MARCH 6, 13, 20 & 27: Member Adult Discovery Walk, 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (Center)
• MARCH 9: Aullwood Pancake Brunch, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (Farm)
• MARCH 11, 18 & 25: Slow Birding Walk, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Registration required,Center)
• MARCH 12: Chipmunk Adventures for Preschool Children: Sweet Enough to Eat, 10:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (Farm)
• MARCH 13, 14, 27 & 28: Project FeederWatch at Aullwood, 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (Center)
• MARCH 30: Native Plant Speaker Series: Connecting the Dots: Pollinators, Plant Diversity, and Pests with Joe Boggs, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (Farm)
• APRIL 25 & 26: Aullwood Audubon Native Plant Sale, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Farm)
• REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: Aullwood Audubon Native Plant Backyard Challenge
• REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: Summer Earth Adventures Summer Camps, June 9 - August 1

Aullwood Audubon | AskUs@aullwood.org | 937-890-7360 | www.aullwood.org