By: Mitch Leachman
Sure enough! We’ve known it for some time, but this year’s Partners for Native Landscaping events showed just HOW popular native plants have become. In just 6 days we sold out both the March 6th lecture and reception and the March 7th all-day workshop! 560 tickets total. All by e-mail, social media and word of mouth only; no traditional advertising.
To be fair Doug Tallamy was headlining both events and just released his third book called “Nature’s Best Hope.” Authors have typically drawn good crowds, and Doug has his own following. Still, we had never had a wait list in the previous eight years of the Partnership, and fortunately we were able to satisfy most all those on that list. Final attendance for the two events, including sponsors, partners and volunteers was just about 630.
The Friday event was hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden and their BiodiverseCity St. Louis Team. The Saturday workshop was hosted by the Maryland Heights Parks and Recreation Department at their Community Center. Many thanks to both for their generosity which was very helpful in our keeping registration prices low.
The Saturday workshop included a new idea – short case studies on how people are improving our community with native plants in public spaces. All four presentations have received very high marks so far in our in-progress feedback survey. Special thanks to Jennifer Schamber, Yvonne Steingruby, Angie Weber, Rachel Witt, and Michael Wohlstadter for accepting the invitation and challenge of telling their story in 15 minutes!
Also, please help us thank our sponsors, most of whom have supported this event nearly every time we have asked. They included Greenscape Gardens, Forrest Keeling Nursery, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Native Landscape Solutions, and St. Louis Composting. The Katy Land Trust / Magnificent Missouri provided additional funding for the Friday night event. Missouri Wildflowers Nursery was again our native plant retailer for the Saturday workshop and gave 15% of their proceeds back to the Partners. Finally, thanks also to our sustaining sponsor the Missouri Department of Conservation which has provided financial support every year since the partnership began in 2012.
St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program is just one of eight members of the Partners. For a complete listing, see the logos below.
The Partners are anxious to start planning for the 2021 event and hopeful we will have a larger venue to serve even more native plant enthusiasts. Stay tuned to this newsletter and our partner websites for a save the date announcement later this year.
