Events

Robin Wall Kimmerer. The Serviceberry

We will delay the December WO Book Club discussion until the first Monday of January!

The link to join the zoom call will be sent out the week before the meeting via the Wild Ones Google Groups email.   

Cheryl Nelson, Forest Health Outreach Forester with the DNR, will join us at the library via Zoom.  She will discuss forest health post ice storm, with a focus on insect and disease pests to be aware of and reporting methods.

Bio: Cheryl Nelson, Forest Health Outreach Forester with the DNR. She has her B.S. in Forestry from Michigan Tech and has practiced forest health and forestry in both Missouri and Michigan, and returned to Michigan in 2004 as a forester and has been working with forest health since 2018.

If you can’t make it to the library you can also join us on zoom.

Topic: Northwest Michigan wild ones January meeting
Time: Jan 10, 2026 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://wildones-org.zoom.us/j/81024636311?pwd=43cSLZyE6jauiNjggg5xrV9aHyRJ2f.1

Meeting ID: 810 2463 6311
Passcode: Dt.x23

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One tap mobile
+16465189805,,81024636311# US (New York)
+16513728299,,81024636311# US (Minnesota)

Join instructions
https://wildones-org.zoom.us/meetings/81024636311/invitations?signature=xzVL6V7hn5w_v6mOrQ-1d1R5we2CKUtmtL_C0muZw4s
 

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.

Jerry Dennis. Up North in Michigan:  A Portrait of Place in our Seasons

The WO Book Club will meet via zoom the last Monday of each Month at 7:00 PM.

The link is below:

Topic: WO northwestlowermichigan book club
Time: Jan 26, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://wildones-org.zoom.us/j/85947663618?pwd=n4l9i2jRQ4bxzO6ZOGxcUO3BeWd9YD.1

Meeting ID: 859 4766 3618
Passcode: Tq#DY5

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+13126266799,,85947663618# US (Chicago)
+14702509358,,85947663618# US (Atlanta)

Join instructions
https://wildones-org.zoom.us/meetings/85947663618/invitations?signature=bqlnaBQ6aaK7HVBKkmWel3aB0o_JPU_Weg3s-OHBljw

Join me for a winter sowing party. I'll have all the tools and seeds for you to plant up some natives for spring germination. Please bring your own milk jugs or other plastic containers suitable for winter sowing.

A pot luck will follow the planting and I will have some warm soups prepared. Please bring a dish to share.

Please RSVP if you can attend at [email protected] or (217) 369-9315.

In February we are partnering with CAKE CISMA to do a winter sowing workshop. Registration is required to participate in the seed sowing activity. .  

About the event

Learn about the importance of native plants and the cold-moist stratification process that many native seeds need to grow. In this hands-on workshop you’ll choose and sow native seeds in containers using recycled materials. Your seeds will spend the rest of the winter outside, then germinate naturally in spring- ready to plant in your garden!

This workshop is a fun, beginner‑friendly way to get your hands in the soil, add native species to your pollinator garden (or start one!), and learn more about local conservation efforts.

https://www.cakecisma.org/event-details/winter-seed-sowing-workshop-petoskey

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.!  

Join other native plants enthusiasts to ask questions and share info. Whether your yard is completely native or you are just getting started on your native plant journey, come join others for some plant talk and good drinks!

Barbara Kingsolver.  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

The WO Book Club will meet via zoom the last Monday of each Month at 7:00 PM.

Below is the link to join the zoom call

Topic: My Meeting
Time: Feb 23, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://wildones-org.zoom.us/j/83371866756?pwd=yxN9LFlT8zGBG2UEHAaH8s9tvXyWWA.1

Meeting ID: 833 7186 6756
Passcode: TF=Z2z

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One tap mobile
+16465189805,,83371866756# US (New York)
+16513728299,,83371866756# US (Minnesota)

Join instructions
https://wildones-org.zoom.us/meetings/83371866756/invitations?signature=Ck889_djmjx0vTzUp0fJa88I7_ixz3M8T-RIpLSIklU

This meeting will be devoted to all things Heather Holm, which by extension is all things pollinators!  Heather is a biologist, pollinator conservationist and award winning author of four books.  Her website, www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com, contains a wealth of knowledge.

We would like for attendees to spend some time before the meeting exploring and learning from Heather's website resources. The meeting format will be a round table to share our new knowledge and discoveries.

If you don't have time for exploration beforehand that's okay too!  

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.

Join other native plants enthusiasts to ask questions and share info. Whether your yard is completely native or you are just getting started on your native plant journey, come join others for some plant talk and good drinks!

Join us to learn more about the Priority Plant Patrol and how you can help with early detection of five watch list invasive terrestrial plant species in Michigan. Presented by Julie Crick, Natural Resources Educator and Michigan Naturalist Statewide Coordinator for Michigan State University Extension. Julie has been with MSU Extension over 10 years. Her work focuses on educating Michigan residents about forest health and delivering the Michigan Naturalist Program throughout the state.

Register here:
https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kGWfM6NNRXKC-tMlhC9E7Q

Ed Yong. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us.

The WO Book Club will meet via zoom the last Monday of each Month at 7:00 PM.

Zoom Link:

https://wildones-org.zoom.us/j/83206372215?pwd=rDTZMqHgRd2asnxEREOvVMD11XfNPa.1 

In this 1 hour round table meeting we want to hear all about what you are doing to get ready for planting season. What plants are on your shopping list this year? Why are they on your list? Are you creating new native plant garden beds or adding to old? Are you faced with any challenges you are hoping to resolve?

After the round table, plan to stay around until noon if you are interested in helping with the Wild Ones+League of Women Voters native plant garden at the library. Hopefully we will get to take a site visit and start design discussions.

** This will be our last library meeting until November. We will continue with outdoor activities until then. If you have ideas for hikes or other activities please share them with us at [email protected].

Join other native plants enthusiasts to ask questions and share info. Whether your yard is completely native or you are just getting started on your native plant journey, come join others for some plant talk and good drinks!

Join other native plants enthusiasts to ask questions and share info. Whether your yard is completely native or you are just getting started on your native plant journey, come join others for some plant talk and good drinks!

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!