Events

Join us for our January chapter meeting and guest speaker.

Date: January 10, 2026

Time:  9:30 AM -11:30 AM

Dennis Fermenich presents : "It takes More Than Trees"

City of Greenfield Consulting Forester, Dennis Fermenich will present "It takes More Than Trees".  Dennis will talk about his work in Greenfield, including installing pollinator habitats, urban forestry projects and how to obtain civic designations like Tree City & Bird City.

This meeting is free and open to the public; just let the front gate attendant know you're here for Wild Ones.  

We will be in a classroom on the first floor of the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (past the lobby desk and down the hallway).

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.

Invasive species are a major threat to healthy ecosystems in southeastern Wisconsin—but restoration is happening right here in your own back yard.

Join our guest expert, Patrick Siwula, Southeast Region Aquatic Invasive Species Biologist with the Wisconsin DNR, for "Invasive Species and Restoration Efforts in the Milwaukee Area."

 Learn about local invasive species, how they spread, and what’s being done to restore native ecosystems—and how you can help.

This meeting is free and open to the public; just let the front gate attendant know that you are there for Wild Ones.

We will be in a classroom on the first floor of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (past the lobby desk down the hallway to the left).

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.!  

In many ways, our modern Homo sapiens brains are nothing more than “Caveman brains in a modern world.”

Join us and guest expert, Nick Coley, Native Plant Nursery Owner and Consultant, to explore how we can craft better gardens through understanding our biological selves and our evolutionary past.

We invite you to come with your own thoughts and answers to these questions: 

How would you describe “Us”? What kind of habitat do WE need as the species Homo sapiens?And what do our brains really want out of a native garden?

This meeting is free and open to the public; just let the front gate attendant know that you are there for Wild Ones.

We will be in a classroom on the first floor of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (past the lobby desk down the hallway to the left).

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.

Dr. Jeff Karron’s upcoming talk features striking slow-motion videography to highlight the interdependence of bumble bee queens and spring-flowering perennial plants. Early-blooming native perennials provide the essential food resources queens need to survive, establish nests, and successfully raise their first brood. In turn, many spring flowering plants depend heavily on bumble bees for effective pollination and seed production.

 All video and photography featured in this presentation were filmed in high-quality woodland and prairie sites across southeastern Wisconsin. The talk highlights the importance of conserving and restoring early-season floral resources to sustain bumble bee populations.

Dr. Karron is Professor of Biology emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is internationally known for his research on the ecology of plant-pollinator interactions, bumble bee behavior, and the conservation of endangered plants.

 For more information about his research, please visit his website: www.karronlab.com. Jeff recently produced a highly regarded nature documentary highlighting the ecology of bumble bees and native plants in a tallgrass prairie https://youtu.be/fQsnPAWQqcI

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 a guided walk around Urban Ecology Center's Riverside Park. Our walk will be led by Jeremy "Moose" Rappaport, who is a Wild Ones board member and the land manager at Riverside Park. He will focus on showing us the spring-blooming native plants at the park.

This program is free. It will be outdoors, so please dress appropriately for the conditions.

You planted native. Your neighbor has opinions. Maybe your HOA does too. If you’ve ever felt like the hardest part of native plant gardening is the conversations, not the gardening, you’re not alone.

Wild Ones is thrilled to share this upcoming free webinar as part of the 2026 Less Lawn More Life Challenge. Join Lorraine Johnson for a practical conversation on navigating HOA rules, addressing neighbor concerns, and fostering community conversations about native plant gardening and ecological landscapes.

Native plants are the foundation of habitat, but wildlife need more than food to thrive. Join ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Shaun McCoshum, PhD, to explore how nesting sites, shelter, water, soil conditions, and other often-overlooked resources can transform a yard into a functioning ecosystem that supports biodiversity year-round.

Join Wild Ones for a special guided tour of Benjamin Arnold's private property in Mequon, where years of restoration work have transformed the landscape into thriving native habitat. August is one of the best times to visit, with a wide variety of native wildflowers, grasses, and other plants in bloom. This walking tour will explore the property's trails and restoration efforts while providing opportunities to observe native plants and wildlife.

Advance registration is required. Parking is limited, and if attendance exceeds available parking, registered participants will receive information about carpooling options prior to the event.

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

Autumn is often overlooked as a planting season, but it’s actually a fantastic time to plant native plants! Johnson’s Nursery is embracing the season and offering Wild Ones members 15% off native container plants for one week only. Don’t miss this limited-time offer!

The hours are Mon–Fri, 8:00–5:00, and Sat, 8:00–2:00. Wild Ones volunteers will be present at various times to assist members, and the Johnson’s staff will also be on board. Members must show a printed or digital copy of their current membership card. Same-day online registration will generate a membership card that is acceptable for this offer. Plant purchases are final, not guaranteed, and non-refundable.

If you would like to help out and hang out, please sign up for a shift below, thank you! 

Happy Planting!! 

Our new advocacy committee will have its first meeting run by its newly elected co-chairs, Joey and Judy! Please email membership chair, Jacey Bonavia Murray, at [email protected] if you are interested in joining the committee and attending. You must be a member of our chapter to join.

Join us on Saturday, October 10, for our first speaker presentation of the season! Dr. Esther Durairaj will share her expertise on soil health and management for urban situations!

The presentation will talk about soil as a living system and what to look for in urban situations before you make any management decisions. The presenter will also guide you to think about regenerative agriculture principles when making those decisions with soil testing, reading reports and ecological balance in mind. Soil health principles to be considered when planting natives will also be covered.

Esther Durairaj, PhD, is the Education Director and Research Agronomist with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Learn more here: http://michaelfields.org. 

This meeting is free and open to the public; just let the front gate attendant know that you are there for Wild Ones.

We will be in a classroom two on the first floor of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (past the lobby desk down the hallway to the left).

An essential component of helping native landscapes thrive is removal of invasive species!

Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy is holding a small buckthorn removal work day on Sat., Oct. 17 from 9-11 am (with a bad weather date of Sunday from 12-2).  MALC will supply weed wrenches for this project.  The site is Sidney Woodlands Preserve in Glendale, in the vicinity of 27th & Silver Spring.  

MALC advises you to navigate to N. Dexter Ave. & N Sidney Place, Glendale. Do NOT click the map linked above; it will not get you to the right spot. You can click this link instead: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pUceZfzkbHZrs3Jx7.

They recommend that you wear gardening gloves, long sleeves, long pants, sturdy shoes, and bug spray.  

Please RSVP to Linda Frank, MALC President, at [email protected] if you plan to attend, so she can bring the right amount of equipment. 

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

During this meeting we will be comparing the ordinances of our various communities pertaining to landscaping with native plants. We will select some areas of focus and think about opportunities we might have to educate people in our communities about the benefits of native plant landscaping. 

If you do not already have the calendar invite, please email membership chair, Jacey Bonavia Murray, at [email protected] if you are interested in joining the committee and attending. You must be a member of our chapter to join.

Planting native species is an important step toward creating habitat, but how can you tell what’s working, what’s missing, and where to focus your efforts next?

Join Wild Ones and Wildr Places for The Habitat Check-up, a free webinar exploring a practical, science-informed approach to evaluating your home landscape. Presenter Zoe Evans will introduce five key areas to consider when assessing habitat and share how thoughtful observations can help guide your next steps.

Whether you’re just getting started with native plants or have been gardening for years, this webinar will help you look at your landscape through a new lens.

Join us on Saturday, November 21, for our next expert speaker presentation. Emily Helm, the Natural Resource Program Coordinator for Waukesha County Parks, will be presenting on oak ecosystems! 

Oak ecosystems are distinctive and ecologically important natural communities of southeastern Wisconsin. From oak savannas to oak woodlands, these landscapes support a remarkable diversity of native plants, wildlife, and pollinators.

Discover what makes oak openings so special! Learn about the incredible variety of life they support and why active management is essential to keeping these landscapes open, healthy, and thriving. We’ll explore management techniques such as prescribed fire, invasive species control, and restoration of native vegetation, and how these practices can contribute to the long-term health and success of oak ecosystems.

Speaker background:  Emily Helm has more than nine years of experience in natural resource management across the Upper Midwest. Her work includes habitat restoration, ecological assessments, environmental education, and volunteer engagement. Before joining Waukesha County, Emily worked with the Urban Ecology Center, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Chicago Park District Natural Areas program. Her professional interests include rare plant communities and prescribed fire ecology, with a focus on preserving biodiversity and maintaining ecological integrity.

This meeting is free and open to the public; just let the front gate attendant know that you are there for Wild Ones.

We will be in a classroom two on the first floor of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (past the lobby desk down the hallway to the left).

Monthly committee meeting. 

If you do not already have the calendar invite, please email membership chair, Jacey Bonavia Murray, at [email protected] if you are interested in joining the committee and attending. You must be a member of our chapter to join.