Events

Sewanee Purple Phacelia (Phacelia sewaneensis) --  The Story of How We Discovered and Named a New Species of Plant that was Hiding in Plain Sight on our Campus.

NOTE: This event will be a hybrid zoom event. Dr. Evans will join via Zoom, and you have the option to join via zoom or join the WildOnes group at the South Huntsville Public Library for a watch party. Please email [email protected] in advance for a zoom link if you are not a WildOnes member.

These days, it is a rare and highly unusual opportunity in the life of a botanist to be able to name a new species of plant.  It is even more unusual when that new species happens to be one of the most charismatic spring wildflowers found on your own campus and whose flowers are also exactly the school color!    In this talk, I describe the ecological and genetic research over the last four years that led my lab to the conclusion that we had two distinct species of Phacelia living in Shakerag Hollow rather than just one.  My explanation for why I believe this species was missed by botanists for over 200 years, goes beyond science and involves a French spy from the 1700s.  Finally, I will explain the complicated process of how one goes about naming a new species and why we chose to name this species, Phacelia sewanensis,  the Sewanee Purple Phacelia!

Dr. Jon Evans is a Professor of Biology at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. His research in plant ecology focuses on plant population dynamics and the processes that determine the composition and structure of plant communities over time and across landscapes. He is specifically interested in the role of clonal growth as a mechanism for population persistence in plant communities. He also studies land-use history and exotic species introductions as drivers of long-term change in forest communities. Much of his research is conducted within ecosystems of the southern United States, concentrated on the southern Cumberland Plateau and on the coastal barrier islands.

Since 1995, he and his students have conducted research on the dynamics of old-growth, upland forests of the Cumberland Plateau.  Long-term plots established in Franklin State Forest and Fall Creek Falls have informed our understanding of the importance of old-growth upland forests to the maintenance of biological diversity on the Plateau and the critical role they now play in combating climate change by sequestering and storing large
amounts of carbon.

He also leads University efforts to promote landscape–level conservation across the Cumberland Plateau region. As founding Director of Sewanee’s Landscape Analysis Laboratory, he led a federally funded, multi-disciplinary project that used GIS and remote sensing to examine the environmental consequences of native hardwood conversion to pine plantations on the Cumberland Plateau. This research led to fundamental changes in land-use decision-making within the region and helped to catalyze major conservation initiatives.

He has been a faculty member at Sewanee since 1994 and teaches courses in ecology, botany and conservation biology. He also directs the Sewanee Herbarium, which maintains an extensive vascular plant collection for the University’s 13,000 acre campus and surrounding region.

In this special collaboration, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author, botanist, and founder of Plant Baby Plant, joins youth leader and Nurture Natives founder Esther Bonney for an intergenerational conversation about belonging, reciprocity, and native plant action. 

Together, they will explore questions such as:

How do we create opportunities for young people to have a voice and feel empowered, even when they are not homeowners or decision makers?What kinds of relationships and mentorships help people stay engaged in native plant work over decades?Why do stories, shared practices, and community invitations matter just as much as plant lists?

Robin and Esther will reflect on what invites people into this work, what keeps them here, and what elders and youth have to teach each other.

This will be an in-person workshop on winter sowing, inspired by Homegrown National Park and hosted by Sara Johnson. WONA members may participate for free, and the general public may participate for a $15 donation. Participants MUST RSVP before the event.

This workshop will consist of a lecture and skills training that will include: types of seeds and seed traits, advice on planting depth, how to address different seed coats, how to know when seeds are ready for harvest, basic collection ethics, where to source native seed and what to buy, seed cleaning and preparation, seed storage, seed stratification, seed scarification, soil types and germination substrates, and a guide to helpful resources to get you started on your journey.

NOTE: This event has been rescheduled from 24 Jan to 7 Feb due to the inclement weather.

Grab your boots, loppers, gloves, protective eyewear, weed wrenches and buckthorn blasters, and let's get ready to wrangle some privet! We will meet in the large parking lot near the pond off of Haysland Rd (look for the entrance columns). Some tools and PPE will be provided by WildOnes and the Green Team, but if you have your own tools and PPE, please bring them. This event is free and open to the public, ages 16+ (minors must be accompanied by a parent). We will have a brief training (depending on experience level) about privet identification and control methods before heading into the work site. 

Our upcoming webinar with Basil Camu explores practical, evidence based ways to heal suburban and urban landscapes by working with trees, soil, and natural systems, drawing on real world practices from Leaf & Limb and community centered models for restoring life where we live, work, and play.!  

Patrick Thompson grew up on Shades Mountain near Birmingham AL, earned a Master of Science degree in Horticulture and has been employed by Auburn's Davis Arboretum since the year 2000.  Patrick is the Arboretum’s Curator of Special Collections and Coordinator of The Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance. He works with native oaks, azaleas, and carnivorous plants. His primary conservation effort has been focused on the Alabama Sandstone Oak, Quercus boyntonii.

Grab your boots, loppers, gloves, protective eyewear and weed wrenches, and let's get ready to wrangle some invasive plants! We will meet in the pavilion next to the Chapman Mountain Parking lot. Tools and PPE will be provided by the Land Trust of North Alabama and WildOnes, but if you have your own tools and PPE, please bring them. This event is free and open to the public, ages 16+ (minors must be accompanied by a parent). We will have a brief training (depending on experience level) about invasive plant identification and control methods before moving onto the work site.

Rain date: 2/28/2026 (same time) 

WONA's quarterly board of directors meeting. All members are welcome to join. Please email [email protected] if you would like to be sent the zoom.

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

Join WONA for our quarterly member meeting to find out what we are doing to advance the native plant movement in our area. This is a meeting for planning, strategizing, and developing plans to educate our community about native plants.

You are invited to tour Melissa Kirkindall's native garden in Madison on Saturday, March 21st from 4-6.

The result of diligent preservation and decades of native gardening, Melissa’s woodland garden showcases our native spring ephemerals such as Wood Poppies, Rue Anemone, and Bluebells.  Her garden is designed to be a habitat for wildlife and includes areas for water, food, nesting places and cover; it is certified as a National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat.  The focal point is a water feature and a piece of fused glass artwork made by local artist Karen Reed. 

This garden tour is limited to Wild Ones members only and is not handicap accessible.  Guests are invited to sit a spell and look for migrating birds using binoculars or the Merlin app.

Melissa Kirkindall’s address

To be provided to members

Tour date:  Saturday, March 21st 

Tour time: 4-6

Rain date: Sunday, March 22nd

Is it really spring in Huntsville without a trip down the Wildflower Trail?

Join us on this short, rocky trail as we discover what spring beauties have already arrived! Please wear supportive shoes and bring water

Members: free

Non-members: $5

Gardening for Wildlife: Transform Your Garden into a Habitat for Pollinators, Birds & Beyond

By Sara Johnson, Conservation Biologist, North America Land Trust

Gardening for wildlife is more than feeding the birds and the pollinators. It means providing resources to all levels of the food chain! Learn how to integrate small changes and create a diverse ecosystem of insects, birds, and other fauna in your own backyard.

This program will focus on native plants and their interactions with various insect species in your garden to encourage wildlife. Learn more about the food web of your own backyard and the unique interactions within our urban or suburban ecosystems. 

Planning time for the WONA Weed Wrangle committee. If you'd like to get involved, please email [email protected] with the subject line “Weed Wrangle.”

Come see this unique Land Trust property that is closed to the public! We had a great turnout last year and I would love for you to join us this year. The trail is very gentle and there is no elevation gain. Please wear closed-toe shoes and bring water.

Members: free

Non-members: $5

Join us for a member panel on planting natives in clay, compacted soils. This is the most common soil condition that our members have at their dispossal for native gardens, so this is your opportunity to ask all your burning questions to some locals with experience on the topic. 

Panelists for this discussion include:

Aaron Stiles: Aaron Stiles is a landscape designer and owner of Foraging Ahead, he has worked on multiple farms and gardens throughout North Alabama and has experience working with and amending poor clay soil.

Lyn W: Lyn is a nomadic gardener and serial leaf bandit.  Whether your goal is to improve the soil or cope with what you have, she can help.

Denise Woodring: Denise has 16 years experience as a landscape designer and owner of Green Thumb Design, in Huntsville, AL.  As a gardener, she has designed and created native habitats and landscapes in clay soils, for her current and former homes over the past 30 years.

Samuel Sikes: Sam has been gardening in his own clay soils for five years, as well as two years professionally as the owner of the former Sikes & Carlton Corporation. Through the years, Sam has installed everything from large, mature burlapped trees and bare-root specimens to mature native plants and native seeds sown directly into garden beds. Unless the species you are installing is specifically adapted for heavy clay, he recommends not planting directly into it. The most effective way to ensure success when gardening in clay soil is to amend it.

Join WildOnes and ecologist Jon Evans on an exploration of Spring Ephemerals at the beautiful campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. Jon discovered a new species of Phacelia in Tennessee and North Alabama, and this will be a great opportunity to see both Phacelia bipinnatifida and Phacelia sewaneensis in their native habitat. One or more meeting places for carpooling will be announced for those interested. A group lunch will also be planned after the hike (dutch treat).

This event is for active WONA members only.

Join Wild Ones North Alabama in educating the general public about the importance of native plants for our native bees while helping children craft a bee house. You don't have to be a member of WONA to volunteer. Volunteers are welcome to enjoy the festival before and after their shifts.

Panoply is a rain or shine event so plan accordingly.

Please use a valid email as Panoply/Arts Huntsville will use that to provide parking and entrance information

Let's discover what this cool remnant has to offer in May! Less than 3 miles of easy-walking trails with no elevation gain. Please wear pants, closed toe shoes and bring water! I know the address is weird but trust the process and look for a sanctuary sign and gravel parking lot.

Members: free

Non-members: $5

Join local botanist and native plant advocate Lynne Weninegar as she takes us through the steps of planning a native garden.

Lynne Weninegar is a local botanist who has been  transitioning her landscape from non-native (often invasive) horticultural plants into an urban natural woodland setting with regionally-appropriate native plants. Her rocky limestone landscape feeds over 53 bird species throughout the year and features many plants that commonly occur in cedar glade/barren/woodland ecosystems with circumneutral soils. Lynne is a lifelong scientist whose landscape is an ongoing experiment to observe how plants and wildlife interact in a backyard that provides her with tranquility and year-round delight.

This is a member-only event. You must sign up and be a verified member to receive the address for the tour.

This event invites horticultural professionals, conservationists and home gardeners to envision cultivating beauty while sustaining ecology by integrating native plants into landscapes. Classroom presentations and botanical excursions offered.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) is an equal opportunity educator, employer, and provider. If you need a reasonable accommodation or free language access services, contact Holt Akers-Campbell at 205-471-0912 or [email protected] by 5/9/2026.

This event has multiple sessions:

Option 1: North Alabama Butterflies – May 30, 2026 at 10:15 AM to 11:15 AMOption 2: Bringing Research from the Field to Your Garden: Native Flowers – May 30, 2026 at 10:15 AM to 11:15 AMOption 1: Horticulture of Alabama Milkweed Species – May 30, 2026 at 11:30 AM to 12:00 PMOption 2: Safeguarding Native Trees: Pests and Diseases – December 31, 1969 at 6:00 PM to 6:00 PMOption 3: Rivercane Restoration Panel Discussion – May 30, 2026 at 11:30 AM to 12:00 PMOption 1: Why Foraging Is One of the Greatest Drivers of Plant Conservation – May 30, 2026 at 1:30 PM to 2:30 AMOption 2: Native Seed Collection and Processing – May 30, 2026 at 1:30 PM to 2:30 PMMonte Sano Botanical Hike – May 31, 2026 at 8:30 AM to 12:00 PMHuntsville Botanical Garden Conservation Program & Native Nursery Tour – May 31, 2026 at 9:30 AM to 12:00 PMDevil’s Racetrack Botanical Hike – May 31, 2026 at 10:00 AM to 12:00 PMNative Gardens in Public Spaces Tour – May 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PMNative Garden Design Tour – May 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PMNative Grassland Restoration & Invasive Species Management – May 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PMBotanical Stroll at Hays Farm (South Huntsville) – May 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PMPaint Rock Forest Dynamics Plot Tour – May 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PMRiparian Zone Hike on Flint River – May 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

WONA's quarterly board of directors meeting. All members are welcome to join. Please email [email protected] if you would like to be sent the zoom.

We are heading up to Blevin's Gap for June! We will be taking the Bill and Marion Certain Trail to SugarTree, and then up Varnedoe to see some Wood Lillies in bloom! We can either double back on Varnedoe or head back out on the Bill and Marion Certain Trail. Overall the trails are pretty flat, but there will be about 500 ft in elevation gain over a total of 4 miles. Moderate Difficulty

Members: free

Non-members: $5

Join WONA for our quarterly member meeting to find out what we are doing to advance the native plant movement in our area. This is a meeting for planning, strategizing, and developing plans to educate our community about native plants.

April Waltz will speak about the Alabama Wildlife Federation and more specifically the Habitat Learning Lab program. 

April works with schools to create schoolyard habitats that can be used for hands-on, inquiry-based learning opportunities.  The Habitat Learning Program emphasizes the importance of using native plants in pollinator, butterfly, frog & toad, and songbird habitats.  WONA members can learn more about our program on our website at https://alabamawildlife.org/habitat-learning-lab/.

This will consist of a 30 minute presentation with time for questions afterwards. 

Join WONA and Janice Barrett from Wild Alabama as she tells us the story of the hemlock wooly adelgid, an invasive insect threatening hemlock trees across the Easter U.S.

Planning time for the WONA Weed Wrangle committee. If you'd like to get involved, please email [email protected] with the subject line “Weed Wrangle.”

WONA's quarterly board of directors meeting. All members are welcome to join. Please email [email protected] if you would like to be sent the zoom.

Details coming soon! 

Lee McBride has been a tree care specialist since 1979 and an ISA certified arborist (currently a Master Arborist) since 1995. He started a business as an independent consulting arborist in 2005 and has decades of pruning and tree care health experience. Lee will discuss native hardwood care, pruning tips and insect issues affecting the health of our trees with WONA. There will be plenty of time for Q&A. 

We are going to be exploring a cool little nook on Monte Sano today. We will be connecting sections of multiple trails today including: Bankhead, Oak Park, Buzzard's Roost, and Dallas Branch. It will be right around 3 miles with good trail tread and 400 feet of elevation gain. Super fun trail system! Meet at the parking lot on Bankhead Parkway (see map).

Members: free

Non-members: $5

You will love this trail system! We will be forming a loop from the following trails: Jones Valley, Bailey Cove, Chittamwood, and Fanning. These trails have great tread and we will be covering about 450 of elevation gain over 2 miles. The entrance for this trail head is strange because it is behind a church. If you find yourself driving through a Southeast Church of the Nazarene parking lot, you're in the right spot! Please bring water

Members: free

Non-members: $5

Join WONA for our annual member meeting to elect a new Board and find out what we are doing to advance the native plant movement in our area. This is a meeting for planning, strategizing, and developing plans to educate our community about native plants.

Grab your boots, loppers, gloves, protective eyewear, weed wrenches and buckthorn blasters, and let's get ready to wrangle some invasive plants! We will meet in the Monte Sano Main Trailhead Parking Lot (where the South Plateau Loop trail begins), and head to the worksite that is covered in bush honeysuckle and other invasives. Tools and PPE will be provided by Alabama State Parks and WildOnes, but if you have your own tools and PPE, please bring them. This event is free and open to the public, ages 16+ (minors must be accompanied by a parent). We will have a brief training (depending on experience level) about invasive plant identification and control methods before heading into the work site.

Rain date: 10/24/2026 (same time) 

Details coming soon! 

Grab your boots, loppers, gloves, protective eyewear, weed wrenches and buckthorn blasters, and let's get ready to wrangle some invasive plants! We will meet in the pavilion next to the Chapman Mountain Parking lot. Tools and PPE will be provided by the Land Trust of North Alabama and WildOnes, but if you have your own tools and PPE, please bring them. This event is free and open to the public, ages 16+ (minors must be accompanied by a parent). We will have a brief training (depending on experience level) about invasive plant identification and control methods before heading into the work site. 

Rain date: 11/14/2026 (same time)

Details coming soon! 

Planning time for the WONA Weed Wrangle committee. If you'd like to get involved, please email [email protected] with the subject line “Weed Wrangle.”

Grab your boots, loppers, gloves, protective eyewear and weed wrenches, and let's get ready to wrangle some privet! We will meet in the large parking lot near the pond off of Haysland Rd (look for the entrance columns). Some tools and PPE will be provided by WildOnes and the Green Team, but if you have your own tools and PPE, please bring them. This event is free and open to the public, ages 16+ (minors with parental supervision only). We will have a brief training (depending on experience level) about privet identification and control methods before heading into the work sites. 

WONA's quarterly board of directors meeting. All members are welcome to join. Please email [email protected] if you would like to be sent the zoom.

Details to be provided. This is a native azalea propagation workshop led by Alabama Extension agent Shane Harris.