NATIVE PLANT EDUCATION GARDEN (NPEG)
920 Cherry St SE, Grand Rapids
Do you enjoy creating or maintaining inspirational outdoor spaces? Would you like to improve our urban and suburban environments? Come join us for any or all of these important hands-on garden work sessions. Learn about some of the important tasks in maintaining an urban prairie or install new native plants in our Native Plant Education Garden (NPEG) 920 Cherry St SE, Grand Rapids. These garden work sessions are a perfect place to learn about planting, identifying and caring for native plants. Whether you are an experienced gardener or just beginning your education, this is the place to learn, laugh and get to know other Wild Ones members. We need your help in keeping this important native plant demonstration site active and inviting!
Our chapter holds volunteer work days once per month, April–November. They are scheduled and guided by the Garden Chairs Karyn Detmer-Babitt and Amy Heilman. Generally, these garden learning shifts last about two hours. Duties may include pruning, weeding, seed collection, planting, or labeling plants.
Questions? Email: [email protected]
Above photo by member Michelle Cadarette
NPEG AUGUST WORK SESSION
Thursday, August 22 • 10 am–Noon
No registration necessary to volunteer at the NPEG—come when you can!
The garden work session in July was very productive! A dozen volunteers helped us tidy the garden and we are very appreciative of their effort and time. The garden is looking great as it enters its most colorful season of blooms. We were pleased to see the garden busy with many butterflies, bees, a nesting pair of mourning doves and a resident rabbit that seemed quite tame.
The monthly garden work sessions are a perfect place to learn about planting, identifying and caring for native plants. Whether you are an experienced gardener or just beginning your gardening journey, this is an opportunity you should explore.
The next garden session will be Thursday, August 22 at 10 am. In the event of heavy rain, we will meet the following day, Friday, August 23 at 10 am.
The address is 920 Cherry Street SE, Grand Rapids in front of the Monarch Investment Building. There is a restroom on site, benches in the shade for resting and free parking adjacent to the large building, behind The Green Well Gastro Pub.
Tasks may include pruning back old growth, weed removal, staking tall plants, transplanting some species and planting new species (we have over 90 different species now!) Often there are small native volunteer plants that need a good home so bring containers to take some of these free plants back to your own gardens!
Many tools are provided but if you have them, please bring:
Garden Gloves • Hand pruners • Shovel or rake • Trowel • Kneeling Pad • Drinking Water
Please direct any questions you may have to [email protected].
See you in the garden!
Amy and Karyn, Garden Co-Chairs
Read the history of our Native Plant Education Garden.
June 2024 at the NPEG
May 2024 at the NPEG
Above photos by Karyn Detmer-Babbitt. Below photos by Michelle Cadarette.
April 2024 Volunteers
Front: Annabelle and her mom Lyndsey Hosack, Back L–R: Elise Roe, Marti MacArthur, Marcia Carrick, Veronica Jones, Amy Heilman, Chris Smith, Sandy Bergh, Theresa Hogerheide, Amy Werner, and Karyn Detmer-Babbitt. Photo by Linda Gary.
