Back by popular demand, the NOFA Organic Land Care Program, in collaboration with Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and the City of Portland, is bringing the accreditation program back to Southern Maine. This training is ideal for landscapers, lawn care pros, garden caretakers, park and land trust managers, landscape architects, and educators who are interested in learning how to care for properties without toxic materials. Increasingly, landscapers are using this unique course to prepare themselves for the growing market of customers seeking nontoxic and organic landscaping services. Wild Seed Project's Executive Director, Heather McCargo will be presenting on Native Plant Selection for Ornamental and Ecological Function. For learning objectives and full schedule, visit www.organiclandcare.net.
Find out more »Heather will discuss ecologically responsible collection practices and timing; proper seed handling and storage; and describe simple methods for setting up an outdoor propagation area. The program will also recommend books and other resources for native plant propagation, and give you practice sowing seeds in pots, which you will take home at the end of the program. Enrollment for this workshop is limited to 25. Make sure to reserve a spot soon!
Find out more »Regenerative landscapes consider the ecology of a site, draw upon the wisdom of natural systems, and enhance the surrounding environment for the benefit of humans and all other life in the ecosystem. Wild Seed Project's Heather McCargo will be leading a talk on Plant Partners: Reliable and Rewarding Plants for Challenging Sites.
Find out more »Join Heather McCargo, founder and Executive Director of Wild Seed Project, to learn how to produce a lot of Maine's native plants inexpensively and protect their genetic diversity by growing them from seed. Register by November 4th!
Find out more »During this course you will view a slide show on why native species are critical to biodiversity, learn how native species have surprisingly different care needs from the flowers and vegetable plants you know, and will go home with several pots of sown native seeds. This is a fun way to welcome winter solstice or a great gift for the nature lover. Wild Seed t-shirts, hats, aprons and signs will also be available for purchase!
Find out more »This workshop is now SOLD OUT! In this workshop, Tracy Weber, a Wild Seed Project Seed Fellow, will lead a hands-on workshop in native plant propagation. It will focus on ecologically-responsible seed collection and storing procedures, germination techniques, and seedling care. Tracy will explain how to set up a home or business outdoor nursery in pots or growing beds. Be prepared to dig your hands deep into the diversity of native seeds! Participants will go home with two pots sown with native seeds.
Find out more »In this workshop, Heather McCargo of Wild Seed Project leads a hands-on experience in native plant propagation, from ecologically-responsible seed collection and storing procedures to germination techniques. We will learn about perennial wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and trees with an emphasis on outdoor seed sowing in pots or growing beds. Be prepared to dig your hands deep into the diversity of native seeds! Participants will go home with several pots sown with native seeds. Co-sponsored by Maine Audubon. Members receive member discount. Register here to reserve a spot!
Find out more »Native seed balls are a great way to disperse native seeds into areas devoid of nature. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn about the many different seeds of native plants and which species can be successfully dispersed with this guerrilla planting technique. The cold months of fall, winter, and early spring are the best times to make and toss these balls outside.
Find out more »Recent headlines about global insect declines, the impending extinction of one million species worldwide, and three billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at sustaining the plants and animals that sustain us. Such losses are not an option if we wish to continue our present-day standard of living on Planet Earth. The good news is that none of this is inevitable. Doug Tallamy will discuss simple steps that each of us can— and must take— to reverse declining biodiversity and to explain why we, ourselves, are nature’s best hope.
Find out more »This workshop is now sold out! Tracy Weber, a Wild Seed Project volunteer and former Seed Fellow, will lead a hands-on workshop in native plant propagation. This workshop will focus on ecologically-responsible seed collection and storing procedures, germination techniques, and seedling care. Tracy will explain how to set up a home or business outdoor nursery in pots or growing beds. Participants will go home with two pots sown with native seeds. Be prepared to dig your hands deep into the diversity of native seeds!
Find out more »
