Native Plant Trust, the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants, announces a new line-up of public programs, featuring many new offerings, courses, and experiences.
“Our programming exists to engage the public with an ever-widening variety of perspectives and opportunities for connecting with the plants and natural world around us,” says Bess Paupeck, Director of Public Programs. “This season, we are continuing to increase our offerings, with more art & nature experiences as well as youth & family programs. We are especially honored to welcome Diane Wilson (Dakota) to talk about her renowned book, The Seed Keeper, in October. We also invite you to explore the Plant Communities of Massachusetts at one of our free Conservation Library talks throughout Massachusetts, and to join us virtually in November to engage with important ideas and practical information at our fall symposium, Native Plants and Climate Change. Also in November, join us at Garden in the Woods for Stories in Seed with artist- miniaturist Sergey Jivetin, who will engrave a seed from your garden with imagery evoking a special story. We are excited to explore the world of plants in so many different ways this season and look forward to welcoming folks to our programming!”
Please visit www.NativePlantTrust.org/education for more information, registration and additional programs.
Program highlights include:
•Asters After Hours (September 29, 2023, 5-7 PM): Stroll the woodlands of Garden in the Woods after hours during peak fall wildflower bloom. Garden admission, live music and light refreshment by Decanted Wine Truck, a local women-owned business, are included with registration.
•The Seed Keeper (October 28, 2023, 3-4 PM): Join author Diane Wilson (Dakota) at the Cambridge Foundry in Kendall Square, Cambridge, for a conversation about her award-winning book, The Seed Keeper. A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakota family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. As Americans of all backgrounds awaken to the importance of storing seeds for future generations, The Seed Keeper unfolds a timeless story of our relationship to seeds. The talk will be followed by a book-signing.
•The Herbaria Series (November 4, 2023 (UNH Hodgdon Herbarium, Durham, NH); February 27, 2024 (Brown University Herbarium, Providence, RI), March 9, 2024 (UConn Torrey Herbarium, Storrs, CT), March 15, 2024 (Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA): Join leaders of herbaria across New England to learn what herbaria are, why they exist, their contributions to botany, and how they are maintained. Each of these four experiences offer a unique opportunity to explore facilities that are usually only accessed by students and researchers.
•Your Story in Seed (November 19, 2023, 11 AM-3 PM): Artist-miniaturist Sergey Jivetin returns to Garden in the Woods to hand-engrave seeds with illustrations based on narratives about plants. By pre-registration only, a limited number of time slots are available for registrants to bring in a seed and have it engraved with their personal story. Jivetin’s work is in the permanent collections of many public institutions including the Smithsonian, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dallas Museum of Art.
•Green Photography: The Contemporary Anthotype (Zoom/online March 28, 2024, 6-7:30 PM): Literally, a “flower picture,” anthotypes are plant-based images made from light-sensitive parts of plants. Crushed berries, flower petals and roots yield emulsions which are hand-applied to paper and then exposed to the sun to produce unique colored images. A follow-up hands-on session this spring will include foraging and exposure methods.
Additional offerings in ART & NATURE include:
•The Art of Observation: Creating a Nature Sketchbook (September 24, October 1, October 8, 2023, 1-4 PM)
•Autumn Watercolor at Garden in the Woods (October 3, 10, 17, 24, 2023, 5-8 PM)
•Botany is Survival: How to Use Art to Get the Word Out (October 14, 2023, 1-4 PM): Artist and environmental educator Kari Percival will introduce how she explores and identifies key scientific concepts, designs visual imagery, and messaging. Learn how to pair botany with art as a tool for action.
Writing in the Garden (March 9, 2024, 10 AM- 12 PM): Writers from Emily Dickinson to Edith Wharton and Eudora Welty found their gardens to be wellsprings of sensory experience that stimulated their writing. Visit Garden in the Woods and write in response to verbal and visual cues provided by the workshop leader and inspired by the surroundings.
Courses for YOUTH & FAMILY:
•Creating Native Plant Portraits: Botanical Beauty and Ecological Relationships with Printmaking (September 16, 2023, 1-4 PM): Choose a plant to observe and create a design from a block print. Suitable for teens, families and adults.
•Monarchs and Milkweed Time (October 21, 2023, 2-3 PM): Come be a monarch butterfly, then make milkweed seed balls to take home. Appropriate for children ages 2 and up.
A sampling of courses in BOTANY, CONSERVATION & HORTICULTURE:
•Invasive Plants: Identification, Documentation, and Control (September 28, 2023, 6-8 PM and September 30, 2023, 10 AM- 2 PM)
•Bog Plants (October 1, 2023, 1-3 PM)
•Native Seed Sowing Workshop (December 9, 2023, 2-3:30 PM)
Emerging Trends in Plants, Landscapes, and Land Care (February 6, 2024, 5-6 PM)
•The Buttercup Family (February 13 and 20, 6-8 PM)
•Winter Botany (February 24, 2024, 9:30 AM- 3:30 PM)
•The Meaning of Gardens (February 22, 2024, 5-6 PM)
Visit www.NativePlantTrust.org/education for more information, registration and additional programs.
ABOUT NATIVE PLANT TRUST
Native Plant Trust is the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants. We save native plants in the wild, grow them for gardens and restorations, and educate others on their value and use. We are based at Garden in the Woods, a renowned native plant botanic garden that attracts visitors from all over the world. From this flagship property in Framingham, Massachusetts, 30 staff and many of our 2,000 trained volunteers work throughout New England each year to monitor and protect rare and endangered plants, collect and preserve seeds to ensure biological diversity, detect and control invasive species, conduct research, and offer a range of educational programs. Native Plant Trust also operates a nursery at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts and manages six sanctuaries in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont that are open to the public. Native Plant Trust is among the first organizations worldwide to receive Advanced Conservation Practitioner accreditation by London-based Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), which included an endorsement by an International Advisory Council representing six continents. Please visit www.NativePlantTrust.org.