Free tour, Native Plants meeting

Free, self-guided tours of a native plant farm will be part of the next meeting of the Western New York Native Plants Collaborative. Anyone may attend.

The WNY Native Plants Collaborative will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 10 at the Gardens at Murder Creek and CW Native Plant Farm, 12288 Tonawanda Creek Rd., Akron. The hosts are Host Kathy Contrino and Ron Winkelman.

The event will include a potluck dinner (bringing food to share is optional).

Native plant farm and gardens

You may tour the gardens and farm. There is bird trail along the creek, nesting birds and fish in the pond, which covers three-quarters of an acre. Stay until dusk to see the spectacular firefly display.

The CW Native Plant Farm is a family-owned farm focused on native plants for restoration, environmental sustainability and resiliency in a changing climate. The farm offers trees, bushes and perennials native to the WNY area. See more here.

Gardens at Murder Creek include 10 acres in Newstead where they are recreating the Great Lakes ecosystem on a parcel that previously served as a horse pasture. The property includes a mature forest, five meadows, a pond and Murder Creek that joins Tonawanda Creek just past the property. These habitats help to provide balance with nature while the restored native plants support pollinators, birds, insects and mammals.

As you walk the demonstration gardens you will find biodiversity not found in other communities.

WNY Native Plants Collaborative/Wild Ones

The mission of the WNY Native Plants Collaborative is to increase the use of plants native to our region. The group aims to facilitate production of local native plants, to increase demand for native plants through education, and to influence policymakers.

The collaborative recently became a chapter of Wild Ones, a group that promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy and collaborative action.

If you are looking for native plants in our area, visit these native plant resources.

You can join the chapter now or get more information by emailing wildones.wny@gmail.com.