On Sunday, March 2, is the Michigan Native Plant Conference at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. We will offer a light breakfast starting at 8:00 am. Our keynote speaker will begin at 9:00 am followed by breakout sessions so attendees can select the session most interesting to them. Of course, a delicious lunch will be served and there will be an array of vendors selling artwork, jewelry, books and more. During lunch, we will present the WAM Grant winners. These are non-profit organizations who will be using funds from our generous members and donors to create, install and maintain native plant gardens throughout the state. We will also learn about a particularly insidious invasive plant called Lesser Celandine by the WAM president, Caroline Miller.

Keynote speaker, Todd Crail, PhD., will present Plants, People, and Perseverance: Incorporating Native Plantings in Urban Environments – Greening Toledo Through Service.  Greening Toledo Through Service (GUTS) is a student-led project that works to increase native plantings on the Main Campus of the University of Toledo. Student employees convert turf to prairie, implement formal garden projects, and support these efforts through greenhouse cultivation of plant material. Much of the work is facilitated through service-learning opportunities where students experience real-life applications of what they have covered in class. In 2022-2024, GUTS facilitated 1000 student volunteer hours (600 for credit, 400 completely voluntary each year) to grow and plant ~20,000 native plant plugs. We will discuss what we’ve learned along the way about plants, people, and perseverance. There are also seven “Breakout” speakers on topics from pollinators to invasive species. Click here for details and registration.