Events

Since retiring, Herb Lewis has dedicated himself to landscaping, birding, and photography. Over the past 20 years, he has channeled his knowledge and experience into creating a natural wildlife habitat within his own backyard garden to attract native and migrating birds. Herb shares his success and techniques for attracting birds through presentations, workshops and training events.  His birding interest has expanded into the establishment of the Lewis Birding Trail and Lewis Bird Watch at the Huntsville Botanical Garden.  Herb also assisted the Land Trust of North Alabama in developing a bird viewing facility at their Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve.

The presentation illustrates the benefits of gardening for the birds.  Some of the techniques for developing a backyard wildlife habitat to attract a wide variety of birds are included along with personal photographs of the birds in the garden environment.  The program shows methods for incorporating native plants, providing shelter, and incorporating water features into the garden habitat.  The goal is to share the resulting enjoyment and benefits from expanding the vision of backyard gardening.

Why should you plant native plants? Planting native plants provides food for many insects, which in turn feeds our birds.  Additionally, native plants provide natural pest control and soil management.  This presentation focuses on which native plants attract which insects and how to plant and maintain a native garden. Join us for a special guest lecture from Wild Ones Middle Tennessee membership chair Alicia Allen who will guide us on a journey.

Alabama Cooperative Extension System commercial horticulture agent Holt Akers-Campbell will offer best practices in the propagation, planting, and management of some of our most cherished native fruits including pawpaw, American persimmon, blueberry and elderberry. We will discuss planting for wildlife value, managing for fruit yield, and how these fruits can fit into residential landscaping.

Donnie is Vice- President of Middle Tennessee Wild Ones, and a member of The Tennessee Native Plant Society. Since retiring from teaching high school arts in 2018, Donnie has dedicated his time to building an award winning native plant garden in his backyard and becoming a champion seed germinator. Donnie grows over 250 plants for his Wild Ones Chapter plant sales every spring and fall. He works to rescue native plants from local build sites in Nashville. He presents to garden long groups around the Middle Tennessee area. Donnie and his native garden were featured on Nashville Public Television's Volunteer Gardener. 

My name is Aaron Stiles and I run Foraging Ahead, a landscape design service dedicated to reintroducing native habitats to the urban setting. Habitats are more than just gardens that use native plants- they are dynamic ecosystems that support a wide variety of life. By utilizing native ecosystems as a model, we can create small sanctuaries for the plants and animals that make Alabama so beautiful.