Events

         Join Wild Ones for an afternoon filled with education, art, and action!

        The event is FREE and open to the public. The registration link below will route you to our Facebook page. If you are a Facebook user you will be given the option to intendicate whether you are interested or intend to go. Please mark "going" if you intend to attend the fair. 

       Denise Ellsworth, director of the OSU Bee Lab will present on the importance of native plants and their relationship with the pollinators and other life we depend on.
        Michelle Stitzlein, the renowned local artist, has crafted an art activity for the kiddos to be constructed on site and taken home 
Free winter sowing demonstrations- including free native seeds, soil, and containers for attendees.
          Area organizations will table to highlight the good work they do our communities and will feature opportunities for the community to get involved.

******Special announcement regarding the opportunity for you to secure an absolutely FREE all native Plant Forward- Pollinator Pocket garden for your yard OR other location. *******

All are welcome to join this free virtual panel discussion exploring the vital roles of native, solitary, and honeybees in pollination and biodiversity. Featuring experts Sam Droege (USGS), Dave Hunter (Crown Bees), and Dr. Lora Morandin (Pollinator Partnership), this event will discuss into the challenges pollinators face, the balance between managed and wild bees, and actionable ways to support all pollinators.

Gain insights from over 90 years of combined experience and learn how to advocate for pollinator habitats through planting native species, participating in community science, and adopting responsible management practices.

Public gardens hold tremendous power to influence landscaping norms and inspire change. By showcasing the beauty, functionality, and ecological value of native plants, these spaces help foster biodiversity, advocate for sustainable practices, and engage communities in environmental stewardship. 

This webinar will explore how public and demonstration gardens serve as powerful tools for native plant advocacy. Attendees will learn how gardens move beyond aesthetics to spark action—turning appreciation into engagement and inspiring participants to replicate these practices in their own communities.

We will hear insights from Nicole Machuca, Environmental Social Scientist at the Field Museum, on how public gardens influence behaviors, foster stewardship, and connect people to conservation efforts through research and community engagement. The Wild Ones Capital Region NY and the Wild Ones San Diego (CA) Chapters will share their experiences building native plant demonstration gardens and how these spaces drive community engagement, education, and advocacy. And We'll finish with a conversation exploring how public gardens create a lasting impact beyond planting day moderated by Kelly Kapuzzi, Demonstration Garden Char with the Wild Ones Hocking Hills (OH) Chapter.

Located at Mamborg Nature Center in Lancaster, Ohio- OSU Extension educator Carrie Brown and Fairfield Parks District join forces to help us learn about Invasive Vegetation- how to identify and effectively remove. 

In-person indoors education on invasive vegetation in our landcapes with guidance on how to positively identify and remove. This class will have both an indoor and outdoor component. Dress for possible inclement weather. Optional mile long hike to identity and remove invasives after indoor instruction. 

Class intended for individuals 13+. Please bring good walking/hiking shoes/boots as well as gardening gloves. 

PICKERINGTON EARTH DAY 

Receive up to FIVE FREE trees/shrubs from Wild Ones:

Choose from the following:

Viburnum prunifolium - Blackhaw Viburnum (50)Platanus occidentalis - Sycamore

(50)

Lindera benzoin - Spicebush

(100)

Diospyros virginiana - Persimmon

(50)

Cornus stolonifera - Redoiser Dogwood

(50)

Carya  illinoinensis - Native Pecan

(50)

Aronia melanocarpa - Black Chokeberry

(50)

*

(Registration for free offerings to be announced closer to the date of the event.)

Wild Ones will also be giving out free Pollinator Pocket Seed Packets from our booth at Combustion.

Headquartered at Combustion Brewery in Pickerington.

Trash pickup throughout the city of Pickerington.

Native plantings at variety of sites (more information TBD)

See Pickerington Online for more information.

*Tree/Shrub quanity/selection is subject to change. A more exact quanity/selection to be determined closer to event date.

Chris Anderson of Columbus' Catch the Water joins us at Pickerington's Coyote Run Tabernacle to share how to better utilize the rainwaters within our home landscapes. “Creating habitat one water droplet at a time and celebrating the enourmous native biodiversity of Central Ohio".  Anderson's eco-landscaping design firm assists homeowners in the development of native plant focused ways of landscaping that nourishes the land and the wildlife who call it home. Creating a feast for the human senses AND our crucially important pollinator and other wildlife.  Specializing in creating rain gardens, installing rain tanks and barrels, permaculture practices, and designing with wildlife in mind specificially. The services are for those who are DIY to the full service clientale set. 

Let's learn how we may better utilize the waters that traverse our land. Let's capture what we can, filtering it down into the ground via native plantings. 

Events held in the Coyote Run Tabernacle are not typically cancelled due to weather unless a Inclement Weather Watch or Warning is in place. The building provides full coverage, but may be chilly if temps are lower during the event. Bringing an extra layer is suggested. There is running water and a restroom on site. There is ample parking, but please follow signage to avoid parking on the grass where you may create divits due to muddy conditions from spring rains.  The facilities are wheelchair accessible. 

Join Wild Ones National Board President Loris Damerow for a special presentation as part of Week 3 of the 2025 Less Lawn More Life Challenge, “Native Plants Planted Right.” Loris will walk us through the basics of native plant gardening- from choosing the right plants to planting and maintaining them with confidence.

Join us on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 5 p.m. CT for the YouTube Live premiere of this 30-minute webinar. Native plant experts from  Wild Ones, Plan it Wild, Homegrown National Park, ReWild Your Campus, and others will be active in the live chat throughout the presentation and for 30 minutes after the webinar, giving you plenty of time to ask questions and engage! 

This event is designed for newcomers to native gardening and is part of the national Less Lawn More Life Challenge, hosted by Plan It Wild in collaboration with Wild Ones, iNaturalist, Homegrown National Park, Pollinator Partnership  and many others! 

See more about the Less Lawn More Life Challenge:  https://www.lesslawnmorelife.com/ 

Learn about the HNP's actionable steps. 

The Homegrown National Park offers explicit steps each of us can take within our own spaces. Let's learn the steps and put them into action today.

Attendees will have the chance to recieve: 

 Wild Ones literature

Free Seeds

Free plants (varieties based on availability) 

Activity portion- 

We take the Mosquito Dunk Bucket challenge. 

Five luck attendees- will receive their Mosquito Dunk Buckets for FREE. 

COVER CROPS & THE MODERN HOME GARDEN-Brandt Farm- Carroll

Local NO-Till legends, the Brandt family, share why cover crops are the way

to go to preserve life, improve soil quality, and reduce eroision.

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!