The UMaine Extention Somerset County office is hosting Wild Seed Project at their open house, free to the public on May 6th.
Come join Nell Houde, Wild Seed Project’s Manager of Educational Programs, to make native seed balls, and learn about how adding native plants to your garden or farm can create a healthier landscape for all.
Click here to register.
In this Brunswick-based Four Season Walks series, participants will learn how to identify many of the native plants growing around the conservation area.
Join Emily Baisden, Wild Seed Project’s Seed Program Manager and resident entomologist to explore the flora and fauna of this area.
This will be the first of four walks, spaced throughout the year in each unique season, where we will all engage in observing and asking questions of our surroundings, and identifying the varied plants, shrubs, trees, ferns, and wildlife along the trail.
Click here to register.
Native shrubs add year-round beauty and wildlife habitat to yards, parks, commercial settings and farms. These woody plants are magnets for birds and pollinators and provide a vital and attractive landscape layer between ground covers and trees.
Adding a shrub layer to maintained landscapes should be a joyful and generative process, and we at Wild Seed Project are here to help by answering all your pressing questions about seed sourcing, landscape preparation, long-term maintenance, ecosystem benefits, and more!
Missed it? Watch it here.
Native plants offer countless benefits beyond their four-season beauty––purifying air, shading and cooling cities, storing atmospheric carbon, minimizing flooding and storm water runoff, and helping to sustain vital pollinators, birds and other wildlife. Learn how to transform where you live by planting native species and adopting better landscape practices. From planting native trees to shrinking your lawn to leaving your leaves, discover the actions you can take to make your yard more biodiverse and climate resilient.
Each month, WSP’s resident plant experts join members on Zoom to answer questions and talk all things native plants. Current members will receive a link to the session via email.
Not a member? Join today!
Join Wild Seed Project at The Lumbery where we’ll be sharing information about native plants and building biodiverse and climate resilient yards. Wild Seed Project team members will be available to answer your native plant questions, share resources, and talk about how you can get more involved in gardening for habitat.
You can even pick up a copy of our newest WSP Guide: Native Shrubs for Northeast Landscapes.
Join Nell Houde, Wild Seed Project’s Manager of Educational Programs with Aaron Witham in this two-part class in restorative foraging.
Dates & Times:
Part 1- Wednesday May 31st from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Part 2- Sunday June 4th from 1:00 pm- 3:30 pm
This foraging class invites you to develop friendships with the wild plants and mushrooms that you eat and don’t eat. Geared toward beginners, but open to all, this two-part class will cover safety, identification, the ethics of reciprocity, respectful harvest guidelines and restorative actions. The stars of the show will be 50-75 edible or medicinal plants who will showcase their talents in return for love and respect. Don’t be surprised if there are occasional cameos from mushrooms. They always want to be a part of things. A tasty, foraged snack will be offered for each class. By signing up for this class you are committing to both sessions!
Register here.
This class will have limited registration, so please make sure you can attend both classes. If you sign up and then realize you can’t attend both, please email nell@wildseedproject.net.
* In partnership with the Falmouth Land Trust.
Join Nell Houde, Wild Seed Project’s Manager of Educational Programs with Aaron Witham in part two of this two-part class in restorative foraging.
This foraging class invites you to develop friendships with the wild plants and mushrooms that you eat and don’t eat. Geared toward beginners, but open to all, this two-part class will cover safety, identification, the ethics of reciprocity, respectful harvest guidelines and restorative actions. The stars of the show will be 50-75 edible or medicinal plants who will showcase their talents in return for love and respect. Don’t be surprised if there are occasional cameos from mushrooms. They always want to be a part of things. A tasty, foraged snack will be offered for each class. By signing up for this class you are committing to both sessions!
Register here.
This class will have limited registration, so please make sure you can attend both classes. If you sign up and then realize you can’t attend both, please email nell@wildseedproject.net.
* In partnership with the Falmouth Land Trust.
In this Four Season Walks series, learn how to identify many of the native plants that grow at Skyline Farm. Wild Seed Project Staff will share about the native wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and trees and their field and forest habitats around the farm. They’ll also share other fun information on the plants’ uses as edibles, herbals and landscape plantings. Learning to recognize the native species in our midst is the first step toward becoming caring stewards of the places we live, work, and play.
This spring plant walk is the first of the series. We are hoping to time it with the blooming of the Pink Lady Slippers! With each new seasonal walk you will have an opportunity to see the plants through their full life cycles: from emerging, flowering, and unfurling leaves to fall foliage and fruits, and finally finishing with snow-covered trees and shrubs in winter.
Register here.
Please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly after the walk.
Wild Seed Project’s Seed Program Manager, Emily Baisden, will explain how to create habitat in the garden year-round while balancing your workload and garden aesthetics.
Gardens are habitats, but the degree to which they support local wildlife depends on how we plant and manage them. Our plant choices determine who visits, stays or passes by as creatures look for food, shelter, to nest and lay eggs. When and how we decide to clean up leaves or cut plants back affects life cycles of salamanders, bees, birds, moths and butterflies.
Register here.
Join Emily Baisden, Wild Seed Project’s Seed Program Manager, for an interactive program about the importance of native shrubs in creating bird habitat. Come learn about and identify native shrubs around the property, and dive deep into the supportive relationships between these shrubs and specific species of birds. Leave this program feeling inspired to plant native shrubs to attract and support birds in the areas you live, work, and play.
Register here.
Please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly after the walk.
Each month, WSP’s resident plant experts join members on Zoom to answer questions and talk all things native plants. Current members will receive a link to the session via email.
Not a member? Join today!
Native shrubs are incredibly important species in our Northeastern landscapes that add year-round beauty and provide ecosystem services for many species of fauna. Re-establishing understory and edge habitats where productive, fruit bearing shrubs thrive provides both forage and shelter for many organisms. Native shrubs are magnets for birds and pollinators and provide a vital and attractive landscape layer between ground covers and trees. Join the Wild Seed Project and the Wells Reserve for an interactive program all about native shrubs!
The Wells Reserve created shrubland habitat as part of its New England Cottontail restoration project because these rabbits need the shrubby thickets to survive. Come learn about this rabbit restoration project with New England Habitat Restoration Coordinator Sarah Dudek, and enjoy a shrub identification walk with Emily Baisden of Wild Seed Project! We’ll get a first-hand look at important habitat-providing native shrub species, and provide inspiration for adding shrubs to the places you live, work, and play.
Register here.
Please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly after the walk.
Note: The rain date for this program is Wednesday, June 28 (10am-12pm).
Nancy and John Hayden have spent their lives transforming the places they steward into agro-ecological, regenerative, and biodiverse landscapes. The Haydens pursued their goals of enhancing biodiversity and regenerating their land by incorporating agroforestry and permaculture principles into perennial fruit polycultures, a pollinator sanctuary, repurposed greenhouses for growing fruit, hügelkultur, and ecological “pest” management. Along the way, they re-incorporated many native plants, especially native fruit-bearing shrubs, to restore habitat. Come learn from these practiced care-takers in an hour-long webinar about their use of native shrubs for landscape restoration and agricultural uses!
Register here.
Join Wild Seed Project’s Founder, Heather McCargo at the Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary to explore a five-acre stand of great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), the largest and northernmost stand known in the region, owned by Native Plant Trust. We will discover a multitude of other native plant gems on the rest of the 30-acre property, from yellow blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis) to painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis).
Register here.
Please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly after the walk.
Join us for a tour of three yard spaces and visit with people who are putting sustainable
practices into action. (Yards are within walking distance of Wild Seed Project.)
Meet and park at Wild Seed Project: 21 Memorial Highway, North Yarmouth, ME
How to do a lot with a little bit of space! Landscaping at the office with native plants.
Getting creative with your outdoor space. Balancing human and wildlife needs.
How to build an interactive yard over time. Progression of a multi-layered landscape.
No registration needed. Note: please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly afterwards.
Come experience the fecundity of the summer season!
In this Brunswick-based Four Season Walks series, participants will learn how to identify many of the native plants growing around the conservation area. Join Emily Baisden, Wild Seed Project’s Seed Program Manager and resident entomologist to explore the flora and fauna of this area. This will be the second of the four walks. If you came to the spring walk, we encourage you to come to this one as well!
The goal of these walks is to foster relationships with place through relationships with plants, and encourage further stewardship of our community spaces. Come walk and learn with Wild Seed Project!
We will meet at the parks entrance, at the end of Lindbergh Crossing, accessed via Old Bath Rd. Expect an email with more information about parking and preparation the day before the walk.
Register here.
Please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly after the walk.
Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik (APCAW) is a group of Indigenous and non-indigenous researchers, Tribal members, and forest caretakers working together to bring more awareness of the cultural and ecological significance of ash trees and efforts to conserve them.
“Ash trees, in particular brown ash (used interchangeably with black ash, Fraxinus nigra), are a cultural keystone species for Wabanaki communities and a crucial part of wetland ecosystems in the Northeast. The spread of the invasive forest pest EAB has caused 99% brown ash tree mortality in other areas of Turtle Island, and will have a considerable effect on ecosystems and traditions as it spreads through the Dawnland.” – APCAW
Wild Seed Project is proud to serve as a partner in the collaboration, focused on the collecting and sowing of ash seeds.
Come join this conversation with the APCAW team to learn more about ways you and your community can get involved in this effort.
A week before the conversation, we will send out an intro webinar for you to watch if you have not, and the Seed Collection Manual, both of which will be discussed by the APCAW team. We will also send the Zoom link at this time.
We will call for questions before the webinar, and offer those questions to the APCAW team to begin the conversation. We will then open the floor to participants to ask their questions directly to the team.
Register here.
Come join Nell Houde, Wild Seed Project’s Manager of Educational Programs, for a Wildflower Walk at Trout Brook Preserve!
In this walk, participants will learn how to identify many of the plants growing around the conservation area. We will learn as a group how to observe and ask questions of our surroundings, and identify the varied plants, shrubs, trees, ferns, and wildlife along the trail.
The goal of community walks is to foster relationships with place through relationships with plants and encourage further stewardship of our common spaces. Come walk and learn with Wild Seed Project!
Register here. See location map.
Please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly after the walk.
Each month, WSP’s resident plant experts join members on Zoom to answer questions and talk all things native plants. Current members will receive a link to the session via email.
Not a member? Join today!
Come experience the fecundity of the summer season with the Wild Seed Project!
In this Portland-based Four Season Walks series, co-hosted by Wild Seed Project and Portland Trails, participants will learn how to identify and form relationships with many of the native plants that grow in the places we call home. Join Nell Houde, Wild Seed Project’s education lead, as we explore the Midslope Trail on the Eastern Prom in the bustling city of Portland. This will be the second of four walks identify plants in their various life-stages. If you came to the first walk, we encourage you to come to this one!
The goal of these walks is to foster relationships with place through relationships with plants, and encourage further stewardship of our community spaces. Come walk, learn, and play with Wild Seed Project and Portland Trails! We will meet at the beginning of the Midslope trail. We encourage you to carpool if you are coming from outside of Portland, and park along the Eastern Promenade road, or walk if you are coming from the city.
Expect an email with more information about parking and preparation the day before the walk.
Register here.
Please be aware of ticks — wear proper gear and check for ticks thoroughly after the walk.
Join Wild Seed Project’s Executive Director, Andrea Berry, for the third and final webinar of The City of Portland’s Lunch and Learn Summer Landcare Series. She will be sharing how to transform yards into blooming, biodiverse, and resilient spaces in the face of climate change. From cooling and shading the city to reducing storm water runoff and sustaining vital pollinators, the Wild Seed Project will share about the abundant benefits of planting native.
Register here.
In this Four Season Walks series, learn how to identify many of the native plants that grow at Skyline Farm. Wild Seed Project Staff will share about the native wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and trees and their field and forest habitats around the farm. They’ll also share other fun information on the plants’ uses as edibles, herbals and landscape plantings. Learning to recognize the native species in our midst is the first step toward becoming caring stewards of the places we live, work, and play.
This summer plant walk is the second of the series. Come experience the abundance of the summer season in this walk. If you came to the walk we hosted in the spring, we encourage you to attend this second one as well!
Register here.
It’s that time again!
Funds raised from this event support all of our community-based programs including Free Seeds for Teachers, experiential ecology programs in schools statewide, free educational resources and seed sowing workshops, and so much more.
See plant list here.
IMPORTANT DATES:
WSP Member Online Access: 12 PM August 9 – August 13
Wild Seed Project Members get exclusive early access to our plant sale. Join Today!
General Public Online Access: 12 PM August 14 – August 20
PLEASE NOTE:
Our plants have been grown outdoors, from hand-collected, ethically sourced seed by Wild Seed Project staff and volunteers. They have been tended using organic growing practices, without the use of harmful pesticides. Please note that Wild Seed Project’s plants are typically smaller than those found in conventional nurseries because of these growing practices.
Have more questions? See our Plant Sale FAQ Page.
Each month, WSP’s resident plant experts join members on Zoom to answer questions and talk all things native plants. Current members will receive a link to the session via email.
Not a member? Join today!
