LWEG (Live Work Eat Grow Community Gardens) is hosting a workday and plant walk at the Hale Community Garden in Blacksburg (located at 215 Maywood Street) from 1-3 on Thursday, April 25th. We will be weeding and tidying up in our native plant beds and the adjoining food forest. This event is free and part of VT Sustainability's Earth Week.

Blacksburg Library and online.

Join us to hear from the Plant SWVA Natives Campaign about native plants in our landscape. Their recent publication, "A Guide to Gardening with Southwest Virginia Native Plants," highlights many of the natives within our region. Nicole Hersch, the campaign director, will explain how you can begin to rethink the potential of your own backyard. Copies of the free guide will be available.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtcOyqqjgqE9F7Hj-mfYBvBZS3bVLGS4Es#/registration

ISWG Film Screening at The Lyric: In partnership with the Town of Blacksburg, ISWG will host a film screening of “Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species” on April 20th from 2:00-4:00 PM at The Lyric. Uninvited introduces the concept of invasive species and explains how diverse partnerships and strategies can be used to prevent the spread of harmful species. Following the screening, a panel of invasive species professionals will be on hand to answer audience questions. This is a free, family-friendly event. Participants can also expect complimentary popcorn and drinks. Stay tuned for more information and shareable materials!

More info soon.

The Appalachian Highlands chapter of Wild Ones will be one of many organizations sharing informational displays at the Town of Abingdon's Earth Day celebration. Sustain Abingdon will provide "kid’s activities, food, fun and informational booths!" at this annual event.

Save the date, April 16th, for Blue Ridge PRISM’s Spring Quarterly Meeting.

Peggy Singleman will be our guest speaker. Peggy is the owner of RVA Gardener and the host for the Virginia Public Media’s, Virginia Homegrown.

During our online workshop, you will learn how to best manage invasive plants during the spring and summer seasons. This workshop will take place via Zoom and will include a Q&A period with PRISM experts.

Topics covered in this session include:

• Best seasonal practices for specific invasive plants

• The right tools

• Using manual & mechanical control methods

• Methods for controlling invasive plants with careful use of herbicides

• Planning a work schedule with best timings for multiple plants

Cost: $10

This virtual session will be recorded. Those who register will receive access to the recording.

We hope you can join us!

Our online workshop will provide an introduction to invasive plants and will help you to identify different species for the spring and summer. This session will take place via Zoom and will include a Q&A period with PRISM experts.

Cost: $10

This virtual session will be recorded. Those who register will receive access to the recording.

We hope you can join us!

Ian Canton from Wood Thrush Native Nursery. He will be discussing "Spring Wildflowers." You will not want to miss this program. Mark your calendars. 

The New River Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society is sponsoring a native plant sale and offering three types of native plants: bareroot plants, plugs, and potted trees.

Note that all plants are required to be picked up at the Montgomery Museum in Christiansburg and the date may change depending on weather at the nursery they are coming from. Click Learn More for plant descriptions, ordering information, and additional details.

The Town of Blacksburg’s Office of Sustainability, will be hosting a service day at Heritage Park on Saturday, March 23rd  with the New River Land Trust. Please see below for more information and to register!

When: Saturday, March 23rd from 9:30 AM to Noon

Did you know that garlic mustard is rapidly spreading through Heritage Park? This invasive plant is fast outcompeting flowers, grasses, and shrubs that native wildlife depend on for survival.

Participants will learn how to spot and remove garlic mustard and other invasive plants. Please bring gloves to use during the program and wear your silliest hat for a chance to win a prize. This event will occur rain or shine.

 Questions? Contact Sustainability Manager, Carol Davis at cdavis@blacksburg.gov or (540) 443-1617. 

Wild Ones chapters are a space where like-minded people gather to support each other in learning about landscaping with native plants and to share with others in their communities and networks about why it’s important to reintroduce native plants into public and private gardens and how to go about doing it. Chapters are where change happens. We are excited to offer local residents the opportunity to expand their impact in the natural landscaping movement and help promote native plants! Join!

Thursday, March 21st, 2024

7:00 pm to 9:00 pm (Eastern Time)
The LEAP Hub , 1027 Patterson Ave SW, Roanoke, VA, 24016 Map

Join Wild Ones and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations and the Inter-Tribal Student Council on Tuesday, March 19 as we present: “Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” with celebrated ecologist, educator and author Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Robin Wall Kimmerer will be discussing “Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.” This talk explores the stories and experiences that shaped the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Listeners are invited to consider what we might learn if we understood plants as our teachers, from both a scientific and an indigenous perspective.

Ben Casteel, Horticulture Instructor and Program Coordinator at the Virginia Highlands Community College invites us to the campus greenhouse in Abingdon to learn about propagation of native Appalachian plants. Ben will cover both Sexual (seed prep – including processing, stratification, and scarification) and Asexual Propagation (division / separation, cuttings, layering, and grafting) of native plant species. This will be part two of the series on March 14th at 7 pm and can be attended on zoom or in-person.

You can watch part one on our YouTube channel: (1) Appalachian Highlands Wild Ones – YouTube.

Benefits of being an official Wild Ones member! This is an opportunity to thin out your flower beds of native plants and bring your labeled plants or seeds to swap and share. Please start to gather your extra plants or seeds and identify them for the swap. If you don’t have any extras, just come and take some home!

The Swap will be followed by a Potluck and social hour. Please feel free to bring your own beverage and a dish to share. This will be a great opportunity to learn about natives, get plants, and meet members! You will be charged $2 at the gate for parking.

Brown Bag Webinar: Spotted Lanternfly Egg Mass Surveys-- a virtual training for volunteer community scientists.

Join us during National Invasive Species Awareness Week 2024!

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect that was discovered in Virginia in 2018, and has the potential to cause significant economic and ecological impacts. Help us monitor its spread by looking for egg masses in high-risk areas. This training will cover the biology and identification of the spotted lanternfly, its current distribution, how and where to conduct egg mass surveys, and how to record data.

Presentations will be given by Lori Chamberlin and Katlin DeWitt from the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Join Wild Virginia on February 20th at 7pm for a discussion of Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper. Christian Cooper has become known as "the Central Park Birder". In this memoir, Cooper shares stories of a life that is so much larger than that one day.

He writes "One of the things I love most about birding is how it shifts your perceptions, adding layers of meaning and brokering connections — between sounds and seasons, across far-flung places and between who we are as people and a wild world that both transcends and embraces us. In my life, it has been a window into the wondrous, and I feel excited and grateful to get to share that wonder with others."

If you would like to read ahead, our March Book Club will be a discussion of Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery.

This marks the 2nd annual Mount Rogers Winter Naturalist Rally, but it’s part of a grander tradition dating back to 1974. As the 50th anniversary of the Spring Rally approaches in May 2024, the event continues its commitment to connecting communities with the spectacular landscapes of the Blue Ridge. Don't miss the chance to immerse yourself in the beauty and diversity of the

Blue Ridge Mountains! Join us on Saturday, February 17, 2024, for a day of exploration, learning, and celebration at the Mount Rogers Winter Naturalist Rally.

Southwest Virginia -Wytheville

Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program

These long-running full-day conferences provide information, tools, and personal contacts to help private woodland owners keep their woods, and the wildlife that live in them, healthy and productive.  

A variety of topics are offered to appeal to owners of both small and large tracts, and both new and experienced owners.

Blue Ridge PRISM Inc began as a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to reducing the negative impact of invasive plants in the northern Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Effective invasive plant control is a community and neighborhood issue because these aggressive plants know no boundaries.

Rod serves on the Blue Ridge PRISM Board. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, the Noxious Weeds Advisory Committee for the State of Virginia, which recommends changes to the state’s Noxious Weeds law and regulations, and the Advisory Board for the VA Forestry Association’s Board of Directors. Both Rod and Maggie, his wife, are Virginia Master Naturalists. 

Also, Rod was recently named 2023 Tree Farmer of the Year by the Virginia chapter of the American Tree Farm Association.  

For more information on Blue Ridge PRISM: https://blueridgeprism.org

“Clear Day Thunder: Rescuing the American Chestnut” screening at the Lyric Theater in downtown Blacksburg.  Join The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) for a screening of “Clear Day Thunder: Rescuing the American Chestnut”, a documentary about chestnut restoration. The screening will be on February 1st from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Lyric Theater in downtown Blacksburg.There will also be a panel discussion with TACF science team after the screening!

Research at Virginia Tech focused on improving management of invasive forest pests with Scott Salom at Hahn Horticulture Garden.

This talk will focus on development of sustainable IPM tools and strategies for use on hemlock woolly adelgid and tree of heaven.

Please see important parking information here: https://hahngarden.vt.edu/visit.html

Local seed swap for the area with speaker Ben Casteel of VHCC speaking about seed saving.  Appalachian Highlands Chapter will be giving away seed at our information table along with other local groups doing the same.

Washington County Public Library, 205 Oak Hill St NE, Abingdon, VA, 24210 Map

Hale Community Garden located at: 215 Maywood Street, Blacksburg, VA

First Friday of the month, 9am -11am. Cancelled if it is below 40* or raining.

Email Nicole Hersch for more details: nicole@nrvrc.org

Fifth Annual Native Plant Sale. More information here: https://vnps.org/newriver/events/fifth-annual-native-plant-sale/