Events

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.

This free family-friendly activity will take you through the steps to create food sources for birds and other wildlife using pinecones, seeds, dried fruit, and other natural items. Best of all, you will take home your creation to feed your neighborhood birds!

For those with food allergies, please be aware that peanut butter will be used. There will be four sessions on Sunday, February 8 at 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, and 2:30 pm. Registration is required, and spaces are limited, so register today!

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 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.

Calling all citizen scientists! Join us April 24–27 as Bowling Green and the surrounding counties in South Central Kentucky participate in the City Nature Challenge, one of the largest community-science events in the world. Your participation will contribute to local and global science on iNaturalist.

How the challenge works:
1. Download iNaturalist: Visit inaturalist.org to download the free app, available for iOS and Android devices.

2. Explore Nature: From April 24-27, take photos of WILD plants, animals, and fungi in South Central Kentucky (cultivated plants and domestic animals do not count).

3. Upload Observations: Use the iNaturalist app to take or upload photos. Photos may be uploaded on a computer by visiting inaturalist.org.

4. Participate Locally: Observations made in Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Simpson, and Warren counties will automatically be added to the Bowling Green and South Central Kentucky CNC project. Track regional results at bit.ly/CNCBGKY26.

The Bowling Green and South Central Kentucky City Nature Challenge is organized by the Wild Ones Southern Kentucky Chapter in partnership with Lost River Cave, Warren County Public Library, and the WKU Ecology and Conservation Club.

Would you or your organization like to be involved in the City Nature Challenge? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about the organizing committee. If you’re aware of local nature events, please share the details and we’ll add them to our list.

Join award-winning author, photographer, and educator Rick Darke for What Is Wild and Why It Matters, a free national webinar on Tuesday, April 28th at 10 am CT. Discover how inviting a bit of authentic wildness can create a vibrant landscape that sustains you and local biodiversity. This national event is presented in collaboration between Wild Ones and Homegrown National Park.

Join us for our annual Spring Native Plant Sale at the Community Farmers Market on Saturday, May 9, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. We will have a wide variety of affordable native plants and seeds grown and harvested from member gardens. All proceeds benefit the chapter and fund our efforts in the community.

Most plant prices will be between $3 and $10. Purchases from the Spring Native Plant Sale help fund our chapter’s initiatives, including grants for local organizations' community gardens and participating in educating community members about native plants.

Our friends from Ironweed Nursery and Pennyrile Botanics will also have native plants for purchase. Don't miss this opportunity to find all of your spring planting needs! 

Please note, the farmers market opens promptly at 8 a.m. No early-bird shopping, please. 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Wild Ones member Janeen Grohsmeyer will be speaking on the topic “From Lawn to Living Landscape” at the November meeting of the Garden Club of Elizabethtown. Details on time and place TBA.

Details coming soon!