Calendar of Events and Programs

Create a "mini-greenhouse" with a gallon jug in this make and take program. Native seeds and materials will be provided.

The workshop is open to the public, no registration necessary. When arriving at the Westerville Community Center, please inquire at the front desk for the room.

Please note, there are two sessions for this program:

Session 1:  10am -11:00am
Session 2:  11:30am  - 12:30am

See you there!

Create a "mini-greenhouse" with a gallon jug in this make and take program. Native seeds and materials will be provided.

The workshop is open to the public, no registration necessary. When arriving at the Westerville Community Center, please inquire at the front desk for the room.

Please note, there are two sessions for this program:

Session 1:  10am -11:00am
Session 2:  11:30am  - 12:30am

See you there!

This event will be held in the Greenhouse/Multipurpose Building located near the east end of the parking lot. Click here to see the Inniswood map. 

If you have native seeds to share, label each species with this information:
* Botanical Name
* Common Name

Species we will accept:
* Species native to our ecoregion (8.2.4) - Best
* Species native to Ohio and surrounding states - Good
* Straight species only - no cultivars.

The seeds don’t need to be removed from the seed head if you aren’t sure how to do it, but don’t leave much stem on the seed heads. 

Please email the list of species to Mary May so we can prepare information for attendees. You can bring the seeds on the day of the swap, or we can arrange to have them picked up beforehand - just let her know in the email.

If you don’t have any seeds to bring, no worries. If you are new to native plants or didn't have time to collect seeds, there are ALWAYS plenty from those that do bring them! We love to see "newbies" at our seed exchange! Also, remember to bring something to put seeds in such as envelopes, paper bags or containers.

Wild Ones Members: We need volunteers to staff the event (set up, table volunteer, seed whisperer, clean up, etc.) 

Click to view the volunteer slots on SignUpGenius (and sign up!) Use the email used to receive Wild Ones communications.

In this special collaboration, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author, botanist, and founder of Plant Baby Plant, joins youth leader and Nurture Natives founder Esther Bonney for an intergenerational conversation about belonging, reciprocity, and native plant action. 

Together, they will explore questions such as:

How do we create opportunities for young people to have a voice and feel empowered, even when they are not homeowners or decision makers?What kinds of relationships and mentorships help people stay engaged in native plant work over decades?Why do stories, shared practices, and community invitations matter just as much as plant lists?

Robin and Esther will reflect on what invites people into this work, what keeps them here, and what elders and youth have to teach each other.

PLEASE NOTE: There was an error in the previously listed time. The correct time is 10am to Noon.

This FREE event will be held in the Greenhouse/Multipurpose Building located near the east end of the parking lot. Click here to see the Inniswood map. 

Bring the kids to make a card and plant flower seeds to take home for a special person in their life. Or, just bring yourself! After all, we’re all kids at heart and we all have a special someone we want to surprise with a Valentine’s Day gift or just for yourself. You’re special too!  

Wild Ones Columbus members will be providing all materials necessary to decorate a Valentine’s Day card and plant flower seeds in a special take home container that after spending time outside until spring, will grow into a beautiful native summer perennial flower that can be planted in a garden or a larger pot. Again, there is no fee and all materials will be provided.

See you there!

Our upcoming webinar with Basil Camu explores practical, evidence based ways to heal suburban and urban landscapes by working with trees, soil, and natural systems, drawing on real world practices from Leaf & Limb and community centered models for restoring life where we live, work, and play.!  

A bog can serve the same functions as a traditional rain garden but has the advantages of being low maintenance, climate resilient and attractive for a much longer part of the year.

David Marsolo is a long time Wild Ones member. He has been maintaining artificial bogs at his suburban Westerville home for about 20 years. He will describe how to install a bog and fill it with many interesting native plants including pollinator and host plants. 

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

10:00 a.m. - Meet and greet your fellow members and officers (meeting rooms 1 & 2).

(Meeting room 3 will open up at 10:30 a.m., so our spearker schedule may be delayed slightly if we need a few minutes to reshuffle chairs.)

10:30 a.m. - Luanne Hendricks, President of Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries (FACT), and a former president of our chapter, will talk about watersheds and the FACT Tree Nursery.

11:00 a.m. - Shelly Douglas, Executive Director of Green Columbus will talk about the Columbus Tree Coalition and the Columbus Urban Forestry Master Plan, whose goal is to reach citywide tree canopy cover of 40% by 2050 (it is currently at 22%).

11:30 a.m. - Don Reuter, our chapter's Plant Sale Chair, will discuss preparations and volunteer needs for our upcoming Annual Native Plant Sale on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

Want to get more involved in our chapter? Come and talk with us! Whether you are available to volunteer a little or a lot, we have a place for you. Committee sign-up sheets will be available.

We need volunteers to dig and pot up plants for the plant sale. Join us for one or both time slots. It's a great way to meet fellow chapter members. These events are fun and you may even learn a thing or two.

2 p.m. - 4 p.m.: Dig plants and rinse roots.

4 p.m. - 7 p.m.: Pot up and label plants.

Please click here to sign up. Location information will be emailed to the volunteeers prior to the dig, as well as any updates to the event.

Questions? Please email Mary May.

Join award-winning author, photographer, and educator Rick Darke for What Is Wild and Why It Matters, a free national webinar on Tuesday, April 28th at 10 am CT. Discover how inviting a bit of authentic wildness can create a vibrant landscape that sustains you and local biodiversity. This national event is presented in collaboration between Wild Ones and Homegrown National Park.

Mark your calendars for our highly anticipated and well attended annual native plant sale! 

A wide variety of native flowering plants, grasses, shrubs, and trees will be available for sale from Wild Ones Columbus and local native plant vendors.

Click here to view 2026 plant list

Join Scioto Gardens Nursery at this free event to celebrate the birds, bees, frogs, and other creatures in our landscape who depend on native plants! Learn from wildlife experts and speakers sharing how to create habitat at your home.

Sign up here to help us with our table/display and share your knowledge about native plants with visitors!

Celebrate National Pollinator Week with a funfilled day of hands-on learning opportunities, crafts, food, music and more at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Community Garden Campus! Celebrate bees, butterflies and the other wonderful creatures that make our gardens grow during Pollinator Palooza!

This event will be held at the the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Community Garden Campus. The entrance is located  on Franklin Park S between Fairwood Ave & Rhoads Ave. Admission is required if you choose to visit the Conservatory before or after the event.

Wild Ones members: Volunteers are needed to staff our table. Sign up here.

Do you love nature? Celebrate Gahanna’s unique ecosystems at this outdoor event held at Woodside Green Park. Learn about forests, vernal pools, ponds, prairies, creeks, and other habitats from Gahanna Parks & Recreation staff and partner organizations. This event will include creek activities, fishing, forest hikes, children’s activities, wildlife education, presentation of Gahanna’s BioBlitz results, and much more!

Wild Ones member: Help us with our table/display and share your knowledge about native plants with visitors!

We need two volunteers each for two shifts:
9:00am - 11:00am
11:00am - 12:30pm

Please click here to sign up on SignUpGenius

Wild Ones members, come join us for a three garden tour in Westerville.  Details will be provided in the member email that will be sent out in early June.

Questions? [email protected]

Celebrate native plants and the Fourth of July!

Terri and Randy Litchfield invite you to visit Catchfly Commons, their home demonstration garden hosting roughly 275 native species on a 1.3 acre property. Over 8,000 sq. ft. of turf is now biodiverse habitat with approximately 120 species of butterflies and moths identified.

This year our Open Garden is on the Fourth of July! US history is intertwined with the land of this country and so, too, is our future. On this 250th anniversary of the United States, we celebrate native plants and biodiversity as contributing to this heritage. Knowing the places we dwell helps us know who we are and are becoming.

Feel free to share this with others who might be interested in native plant gardening.

Watch for parking signs.

Join us for a tour of an award-winning, native garden. Brenda Rushin won First Place honors in the Columbus Backyard Home and Garden contest for three consecutive years before claiming the coveted “Best of Show” in 2025. Brenda has been converting her Grove City garden to natives for the past 15 years.

A lovely gravel path allows you a close look at her favorite natives: Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia, Blazing Star, and many more.

You planted native. Your neighbor has opinions. Maybe your HOA does too. If you’ve ever felt like the hardest part of native plant gardening is the conversations, not the gardening, you’re not alone.

Wild Ones is thrilled to share this upcoming free webinar as part of the 2026 Less Lawn More Life Challenge. Join Lorraine Johnson for a practical conversation on navigating HOA rules, addressing neighbor concerns, and fostering community conversations about native plant gardening and ecological landscapes.

Enjoy a day of art and plants at the Scioto Gardens’ Arts and Gardening Festival! Shop for handcrafted art, garden products, and native plants from 30 curated local artists and vendors. Listen to live music and enjoy great eats from Zaki Grill food truck in the garden-like setting of Scioto Gardens’ nursery. This is a free event!

Have you ever wondered what it takes to convert turf grass into an ecological universe? Join us as Wild Ones member, Melissa Doyle, speaks about her journey restoring prairie habitat within city limits. Her front lawn transformation was a project deeply rooted in peaceful activism for wildlife, inspiring local conversations, and combating environmental degradation. Participates will learn many tools and techniques on how to prepare a site, native plantings, stewardship, and ecological practices that boost biodiversity. Together we can learn to redefine our traditional urban lots into diverse, community-driven landscapes for all!

Native plants are the foundation of habitat, but wildlife need more than food to thrive. Join ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Shaun McCoshum, PhD, to explore how nesting sites, shelter, water, soil conditions, and other often-overlooked resources can transform a yard into a functioning ecosystem that supports biodiversity year-round.

Registration link coming soon.

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

Mark will share how he and his wife, Maria are transforming their traditional suburban property into a thriving native plant habitat while working within neighborhood and HOA expectations. Their front garden showcases native plants in a formal landscape, while their wooded backyard is evolving into a natural woodland oasis. Learn about their compromises, challenges, and rewards of gardening with natives in a suburban setting.

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

Registration link coming soon.

Monarch butterflies depend on a network of habitats stretching across North America, and home landscapes can play an important role in their survival. Join experts from Monarch Joint Venture to explore the science behind monarch conservation, including the importance of milkweed, nectar resources, and regionally appropriate habitat. Learn practical ways to support monarchs through native landscaping and help sustain one of the world's most remarkable migrations.
 

Registration link coming soon.