Past Events

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 a two-part series with the first class on January 11th at 7 pm, and the second class on March 14th at 7 pm.

A zoom link is posted below for those who would like to attend virtually.

Zoom Link: https://vccs.zoom.us/j/4710139607

Explore how native gardening can address climate challenges in our next Wild Ones national webinar, “Cultivating Change” with author and activist Lorraine Johnson. Johnson has been researching and writing about environmental issues for three decades. Learn about the pivotal role of gardening as an act of stewardship in the face of climate and ecological challenges. Discover the profound connections between individual gardens and the broader world and learn how these green spaces can serve as catalysts for positive ecological and social change.  Join Wild Ones for a practical and insightful discussion on gardening's positive impact on the environment and our future. 

Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch the talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

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.

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. https://wildones-org.zoom.us/j/86985016622?pwd=bkp3WHlHMEJuWlllNEJVM1RlZGZZdz09#success

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 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.

Part 1, Sexual Propagation, is available on video at https://www.youtube.com/@appalachianhighlandswildones

Due to limited space, there is a registration required to attend in person. Please,
send request to attend (include number in party) to: [email protected]

You will receive a response that you have been accepted or that the presentation is full.

A zoom link is posted below for those who would like to attend virtually.

https://vccs.zoom.us/j/4710139607
Meeting ID: 471 013 9607

Registration for this event is now closed, and registrants have been emailed about attending. Please contact [email protected] if you have any issues getting in.

This will be a paid event for both in-person and remote viewing. Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch Dr. Kimmerer's talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Ecological restoration can be understood as an act of reciprocity, in return for the gifts of the earth. This talk explores the ecological and ethical imperatives of healing the damage we have inflicted on our land and waters. We trace the evolution of restoration philosophy and practice and consider how integration of indigenous knowledge can expand our understanding of restoration from the biophysical to the biocultural. Reciprocal restoration includes not only healing the land but our relationship to land. In healing the land, we are healing ourselves.

Wild Ones is excited to cohost this event with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's Earth Week 2024 and the Wild Ones Fox Valley Chapter. 

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.

When: April 13, 2024, at 3:30 - 6:00 pm

Location: Steele Creek Park • 4 Little Ln, Bristol, TN, 37620 • Civitan
Shelter

https://www.facebook.com/events/377316138244488/377316148244487/

Garden Faire is an event hosted by Washington County, Virginia Master Gardeners. It involves a number of activities and opportunities, including workshops, educational talks, vendors selling plants and other garden related items, tabling by related organizations (like WOAH), and tool sharpening, among others.

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.

Snow Ferreniea is English, learning initially about plants and gardening from her parents, both of whom were avid gardeners. She also received her formal education in horticulture in England. Coming to America in the 70’s, she continued to pursue her passion for plants, especially native ones, as a professional horticulturist.

Snow was director of horticulture at Garden in the Woods. She has also worked at the New Your Botanical Garden, Holden Arboretum and Wayside Gardens.

On retiring in 2013, she began the creation of her own garden where she blended many of the plants she loves. The garden has a special emphasis on the wildflowers that are so abundant in southwest Virginia.

Over the years she has shared her experiences in the fascinating world of plants, teaching classes and workshops wherever she has worked.
​
 

Ghosts in the Forest: Prehistory & Ecology in the Southern Appalachians With Jeremy Stout

When: June 13th,2024 at 7 to 8p.m.

Location: Steele Creek Nature Center
4 Little Ln, Bristol, TN, 37620

You will be charged $2 at the gate for parking.

This event is free and open to the public.
All of life occurs in a geological context. This talk will explore the connections between modern distributions of plants and animals across the 4th dimension: Deep Time.

Learn about geological forces and extinct organisms and how they affect the
modern assemblages we find in the region today.