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January 2026
Free Workshop: Winter Sowing for Native Plants (Session 1)
Public Welcome Family-Friendly Free Event Hands-On/How-To Workshop Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking Drinking Fountains
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!
Free Workshop: Winter Sowing for Native Plants (Session 2)
Public Welcome Family-Friendly Free Event Hands-On/How-To Workshop Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking Drinking Fountains
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!
Annual Native Seed Swap
Inniswood Metro Gardens, Greenhouse/Multipurpose Building, 940 S Hempstead Rd, Westerville, OH, 43081 Map
Volunteers Needed Public Welcome Free Event Seed/Plant Share Public Restroom Free Public Parking
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.
Free National Webinar: "Intergenerational Care for Land and Community: A Conversation with Robin Wall Kimmerer and Esther Bonney"
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
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.
February 2026
Hands on Workshop: Valentine's Day Gift To Make for a Special Someone
Inniswood Metro Gardens, Greenhouse/Multipurpose Building, 940 S Hempstead Rd, Westerville, OH, 43081 Map
Public Welcome Family-Friendly Youth Engagement Free Event Hands-On/How-To Workshop Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking
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!
Free National Webinar: From Wasteland to Wonder with Basil Camu
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
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.!
March 2026
How to Install a Bog Garden, with David Marsolo
Innis House (Inniswoods Metro Park) , 940 S. Hempstead Road, Westerville, OH
Public Welcome Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking
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.
Free National Webinar: Rethinking Horticulture with Real Ecology presented by Joey Santore
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
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.
April 2026
WOC Member Meeting Members Only
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Karl Road Branch, 5590 Karl Rd, Columbus, OH, 43229 Map
Members Only Chapter Social Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking
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.
Plant Dig / Pot Up Members Only
Member homes
Volunteers Needed Members Only Hands-On/How-To Workshop
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.
"Free National Webinar: What Is Wild and Why It Matters" presented by Rick Darke
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Limited Access Recording Registration Required Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
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.
May 2026
Wild Ones Columbus Annual Native Plant Sale
Overbrook Presbyterian Church Parking Lot, 4131 N High St, Columbus, OH, 43214 Map
Public Welcome Family-Friendly Free Event Seed/Plant Sale Free Public Parking
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.
We hope to post a list of this year's plants several days before the plant sale. Click here to view 2025's plant list.
Stay tuned for more information!
June 2026
Explore Our Ecosystems (City of Gahanna)
Volunteers Needed Public Welcome Free Event
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
Explore Our Ecosystems (City of Gahanna)
Volunteers Needed Public Welcome Free Event
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
September 2026
Free National Webinar- September 2026
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!
October 2026
Free National Webinar- October 2026
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!
November 2026
Free National Webinar- November 2026
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!