Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay is deeply rooted in natives, promoting native plants for a healthy planet. We accomplish this through education, advocacy, and collaboration. On August 3rd, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay and Nurture Natives partnered with the St. Mary’s Public Library in Charlotte Hall to present our first presentation of the year on “Biodiversity and Native Gardening 101”.
Esther Bonney and Samantha Rutherford, cofounders of Nurture Natives, and Marlene Smith, Founder and President of Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, discussed native keystone plants in Maryland’s various ecoregions, the 3x3x3 gardening method, and native gardening’s relationship to biodiversity, pollination, and habitat loss.
We also provided resources for identifying local ecotype native plants for a variety of soils and site conditions.
A special thanks to St. Mary’s Public Library – Charlotte Hall and Morgan Butler for hosting us; we had an amazing experience presenting and meeting other native plant enthusiasts in our communities. It is always a joy to witness our communities’ enthusiasm for learning about native plants and ecological gardening. Seeing individuals take the initiative to implement these practices and create their own native gardens is incredibly inspiring and a powerful testament to our shared vision! 💚
Nurture Natives is a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit empowering young people through environmental initiatives that promote native biodiversity.
Presentation created by and article written by Esther Bonney and Marlene Smith. Photos by Ester Bonney and Bill Smith.