Connecting people and native plants in southwest Michigan
2025 Native Plant Sale
It’s almost time for our annual native plant sale! Proceeds from the sale make it possible for us to support multiple community projects and provide free educational outreach programs and field trips for the community.
Online ordering will begin May 3 and end May 16. Pick-up dates are May 28 and 29 at Hidden Savanna.
Our April
Program
Roger LaBine will speak on “Manoomin—The Sacred Food that Grows on Water.” Please note that this month’s program is on the fifth Wednesday, April 30, rather than the fourth. To read about Roger LaBine and the program, click on the “Learn More” button below.
Wednesday, April 30
6:30pm
Portage District Library
Kalamazoo River Cleanup
The second annual Kalamazoo River Cleanup will take place at Mayors’ Riverfront Park on May 17. The cleanup is from 10:00am to 2:00pm, with an afterparty from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. Download a flyer here or learn more and register on the project website.
Collaborate • Educate • Advocate
Help Us Connect People with Native Plants
We elect chapter officers every year in November. You can join one of our service committees any time, or get hands-on native landscaping experience through our community projects from spring through early fall.
Our Purpose – Your Importance
Native plants are part of our rich natural heritage here in Southwest Michigan. The Kalamazoo Area chapter of Wild Ones was established to help inform, educate and offer resources to people interested in learning about native plants. There simply isn’t enough protected or potentially protectable land to depend on its saving our birds, mammals, amphibians and insects, including pollinators.
You can make a difference—no matter the size of your yard
“Whether you live in the city or the country, on a small lot or a large property, you can help preserve the biological diversity of southwest Michigan by reducing the size of your lawn (or eliminating it entirely) and replacing it with native plants. These plants, as opposed to non-native ones, support the herbivorous insects on which all other wildlife—and we ourselves—directly or indirectly depend.”
You can make a difference—by making simple changes
“By planting a diverse assortment of native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses in your yard, you’ll be doing your part to replace the vast amount of habitat that has been lost to development or destroyed by invasive non-native plants. You’ll be helping to slow the rapid extinction of species already under way and providing protection for the plants and animals of our region against the coming rigors of climate change, with its increased temperatures and scarcity of water.”
You can make a difference—and you can see it
“For using native plants to supply food and shelter for wildlife, you’ll be richly rewarded right away. Your yard will come alive with butterflies and birds, which—along with the constantly changing spectacle of the plants themselves—will provide a year-round source of interest and drama. You and your family will be drawn ever closer into a rich and satisfying relationship with nature.”
” ” as articulated by Nancy Small, co-founder of KAWO
Learn more about the importance of native plants at
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