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A monthly publication about conservation in Missouri. Started in 1938, the printed magazine is free to residents of Missouri.
KIRKWOOD, Mo. — If there was a way to beautify a landscape, lower the cost of maintaining it, and help wildlife in the process, wouldn’t it seem to be a natural choice? Selecting native plants can achieve all these goals . . . and it’s something just about any homeowner in the St. Louis region can do.
Homeowners can go a long way to making their neighborhoods and communities greener by planting natives. To help them get started, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and partners are presenting Partners for Native Landscaping: A Workshop for Landowners. This is a beginner’s workshop which will present information and resources on ways homeowners can landscape their property with native plants.
The workshop will take place Saturday, March 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MDC's Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center in Kirkwood. Check-in and networking begins at 8 a.m. and the keynote speaker starts at 9 a.m. Dave Tylka, author and biology professor at Meramec Community College, will deliver the keynote address. Tylka will highlight the benefits of native landscaping and explain how homeowners can recognize opportunities in their own yards. He will also cover what types of landscapes or gardens might best provide habitat for wildlife.
Participants will learn how to garden for birds and pollinators, design and maintain a native garden, promote monarch butterflies, develop and maintain a rainscape, manage invasive bush honeysuckle, and much more. There will also be opportunities to get information on native plant organizations and other upcoming events, meet other native gardeners and even purchase Missouri wildflowers.
Native plants have evolved in Missouri’s landscape; they are better acclimated to our climate conditions than exotic plants and resistant to local pests and diseases. This translates into less time, effort and costs consumed by watering, fertilizing and insecticide use.
Likewise, native Missouri wildlife has evolved to coexist and use native plants for cover, food and habitat. So increasing native plants also tends to increase desirable wildlife, like birds, butterflies and pollinators.
Space is limited for the workshop and advanced registration is required. A $10 fee covers all workshop materials and lunch. Registration can be completed online at StLouisAudubon.org/PNL. Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is located at 11715 Cragwold Road near the intersection of I-270 and I-44.
The workshop is sponsored jointly by MDC, Shaw Nature Reserve, St. Louis Audubon Society’s Bring Conservation Home Program, Metropolitan Sewer District, the St. Louis Chapter of Wild Ones, and Grow Native: Missouri Prairie Foundation.
The Partners for Native Landscaping: A Workshop for Landowners is part of MDC’s commitment to work with homeowners to sustain healthy and greener communities for both people and wildlife.
