Celebrate plant diversity, natural history, and the work of public gardens by spotlighting plants and their families. Join the staff and volunteers at the Arnold Arboretum for tours, family activities and festivities in the ginkgo collection on Peters Hill on June 2 from 1 – 3. Most people can identify a ginkgo leaf – but what do you really know about the tree itself? Come learn more about this “living fossil” and explore a collection that reflects the greatest known genetic diversity of wild-collected ginkgos in North America.
This is a free drop in activity. The event will be taking place in the ginkgo collection on Peters Hill. Street parking is available on Bussey Street.
In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209.
Do you aspire to create landscapes with genuine ecological value for a wide array of avian species— from songbirds, to raptors, owls, woodpeckers, and more? Claudia Thompson, Founder, Grow Native Massachusetts, will lead an in-depth exploration of the principles and practices for achieving this objective, based on understanding the essential habitat requirements for bird survival. Our examination starts with the importance of native plants. Then we will take a deeper look at the value of different canopy layers, preferred planting strategies, techniques for providing water, and the critical role of active ecological systems to avian survival. We finish by considering our human interactions with birds. What are the pros and cons of feeding birds directly through seed and suet? Do nest boxes really help our native songbirds to breed? And given the threats from both human activity and non-native bird species, how can we tilt the balance in favor of our native songbirds? The class takes place on June 8 from 9:30 – 11:30 in Jennison Hall at Bentley University, 175 Forest Street in Waltham. $32 for Grow Native members, $42 for non members.
Claudia Thompson founded Grow Native Massachusetts in 2010. She is nationally recognized as a leader in the native plant movement, and was featured as one of the “Wild Ones” in Garden Design magazine along with Doug Tallamy, Darrel Morrison, and others. Claudia’s happiest moments are spent in her own garden where she has recorded 80 species of birds using the habitat she and her husband have created on their small urban parcel in Cambridge.
