Knowing Native Plants
17May
Knowing Native Plants: Flowering Shrubs with Mary Anne Borge (May 17, 2025)
The Mid-Atlantic region has a stunning display of spring flowering native shrubs that fill the Preserve and surrounding natural areas with color and fragrance every year. Join Naturalist Mary Anne Borge to learn about our native shrubs, their wildlife value and landscape beauty. Mary Anne Borge is a naturalist, photographer, author and educator. She is the editor of Butterfly Gardener Magazine, a naturalist and instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and a Pennsylvania master naturalist. She is the team leader for Lambertville Goes Wild, a volunteer organization that successfully led Lambertville to certification as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. On her blog, Mary Anne writes about and illustrates with her photography the importance of native plants to all life. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 Virtual: $25
24May
Make A Rain Barrel Workshop with Olivia Spildooren (May 24, 2025)
Capturing and reusing rainwater for your gardens with a rain barrel is an easy way of controlling stormwater, reducing local flooding, and saving money on water bills! Join Watershed Institute River-Friendly Coordinator, Olivia Spildooren, and Santino Lauricella, BHWP Education Manager in a workshop where you will construct your own rain barrel plus go home with instructions for installation, maintenance, and appropriate uses. As the River-Friendly Coordinator, Olivia works with residents, schools, businesses, and golf courses to increase their environmental literacy, promote behavior change, and create in-the-ground projects to protect water quality and restore wildlife habitat. She has gained many hands-on experiences designing, installing, or maintaining naturalized detention basins, rain gardens, green roofs, rain barrels, and even constructed floating wetlands. When not working you might find Olivia hiking local woods, pointing at a bird, using iNaturalist to become more of a plant nerd, or playing the violin in her local orchestra. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. Registration Fees: $65 members ($78 non-members)
07Jun
Knowing Native Plants: Focus on Ferns with Ed Lignowski, Ph.D. (Jun. 7, 2025)
There are some native plants, such as ferns, that don’t flower at all. In this popular program, Ed Lignowski, Ph.D., former botany/plant physiology college professor, will teach you to identify many native ferns. He will highlight their evolutionary history and unusual reproductive habits, as well as their natural habitats and usefulness in native plant gardens. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. LACES CEUs are available for this class. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 Virtual: $25
21Jun
Knowing Native Plants: Invasive Species ID and Management with Mary Anne Borge (June 21, 2025)
What is an invasive plant? What problems do invasive plants cause? Join Naturalist Mary Anne Borge to learn the answers to these questions, as well as how to identify the most common and troublesome invasive plant species in the Delaware Valley region. You'll also learn about several alternatives for control of these exotic intruders, many without the use of chemicals. Mary Anne Borge is a naturalist, photographer, author and educator. She is the editor of Butterfly Gardener Magazine, a naturalist and instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and a Pennsylvania master naturalist. She is the team leader for Lambertville Goes Wild, a volunteer organization that successfully led Lambertville to certification as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. On her blog, Mary Anne writes about and illustrates with her photography the importance of native plants to all life. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 Virtual: $25 If you cannot add the in-person option to your cart, it is sold out!
26Jul
Knowing Native Plants: Meadow Magic with Mary Anne Borge (July 26, 2025)
Join Naturalist Mary Anne Borge and discover the Preserve’s 4-acre meadow. This program will introduce you to native plants that thrive in a meadow habitat, including wildflowers, grasses, sedges and rushes. Learn what defines a meadow, the benefits it provides, meadow successional stages, the actions necessary to maintain a meadow and the animals that depend on this type of ecosystem. Find out why it is important to plant native species and avoid non-native ornamentals that may escape from cultivation. Whether you are looking for ideas for your own meadow or want help identifying plants in the meadows where you hike, this program is for you. Mary Anne Borge is a naturalist, photographer, author and educator. She is the editor of Butterfly Gardener Magazine, a naturalist and instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and a Pennsylvania master naturalist. She is the team leader for Lambertville Goes Wild, a volunteer organization that successfully led Lambertville to certification as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. On her blog, Mary Anne writes about and illustrates with her photography the importance of native plants to all life. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 Virtual: $25
23Aug
Knowing Native Plants: Confusing Yellow Composites with Mary Anne Borge (Aug 23, 2025)
Join Preserve Naturalist Mary Anne Borge as we focus on the confusing late summer and fall-blooming yellow composites, including goldenrods (Solidago spp.), sunflowers, coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) and beggar-ticks (Bidens spp.). She will cover the features that make aster family members unique, as well as the relationships these plants have with the insects, birds and other animals that depend on them. Find out which of these species might be good candidates for your own garden. Mary Anne Borge is a naturalist, photographer, author and educator. She is the editor of Butterfly Gardener Magazine, a naturalist and instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and a Pennsylvania master naturalist. She is the team leader for Lambertville Goes Wild, a volunteer organization that successfully led Lambertville to certification as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. On her blog, Mary Anne writes about and illustrates with her photography the importance of native plants to all life. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 (if you cannot add to your cart, in-person tickets are sold out) Virtual: $25
20Sep
Knowing Native Plants: Classic Asters and Their Colorful Companions with Mary Anne Borge (Sept. 20, 2025)
Join Preserve Naturalist Mary Anne Borge to find out what makes aster family members different from all other plants and their importance to both wildlife and people. You’ll learn about classic asters such as New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) and many other species found in different habitats; some that bloom into November; as well as bonesets (Eupatorium perfoliatum), white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) and mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum). Learn which of these species might be good candidates for your own garden. Mary Anne Borge is a naturalist, photographer, author and educator. She is the editor of Butterfly Gardener Magazine, a naturalist and instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and a Pennsylvania master naturalist. She is the team leader for Lambertville Goes Wild, a volunteer organization that successfully led Lambertville to certification as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. On her blog, Mary Anne writes about and illustrates with her photography the importance of native plants to all life. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 Virtual: $25
04Oct
Knowing Native Plants: Trees of the Preserve with Ed Lignowski, Ph.D. (Oct. 4, 2025)
Learn about our native trees that dominate the landscape of forests, homes and municipalities. Former botany/plant physiology college professor Ed Lignowski, Ph.D., will discuss Pennsylvania’s forests, tree growth and development and how to identify the many native tree species of the Preserve. The biological and environmental changes occurring in autumn that provide brilliant seasonal tree colors will be explained. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 Virtual: $25
01Nov
Knowing Native Plants: From Flowers to Seeds with Ed Lignowski, Ph.D. (Nov. 1, 2025)
How do angiosperms reproduce sexually? Former botany and plant physiology college professor Ed Lignowski, Ph.D., will discuss the life cycle of flowering plants, from pollination to fruit and seed dispersal. The general anatomy of flowers will be covered along with specific examples of native plants that illustrate the many interesting differences in floral structure and function occurring in nature. Additional Information: Online registration for this program closes 12 hours before the start of the class. If you need help with registration, please email education@bhwp.org. If you need assistance with your membership code, please contact development@bhwp.org. You will receive an email with a Zoom meeting invitation before the program begins and after registration closes. Registration Fees: In-Person: $30 Virtual: $25
Thursday Night Nature
22May
Thursday Night Nature: Why Cicadas Matter with Chris Alice Kratzer (May 22, 2025)
Cicadas are large and clumsy insects whose calls are synonymous with "summer" the world over. Learn how cicadas fit into the broader ecosystem and how they serve as a foundational pillar of the natural world. There is so much more to these strange and charming creatures than initially meets the ear! Chris Alice “Alie” Kratzer is an engineer, scientist, entrepreneur, illustrator, and author. She serves as the founder and Director of Owlfly LLC and manages both its engineering and publishing divisions. Alie's newest book is The Cicadas of North America, which offers a glimpse into the lives of some of the world's most delightful insects. Her first book, The Social Wasps of North America, was released in 2022 and established Alie as one of the youngest published field guide authors in history. Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.) All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.
29May
Thursday Night Nature: Gill Creek Green Infrastructure Solutions Project – Creating and Using Natural Ecosystems for Stormwater Purification with Brad Mudrzynski (May 29, 2025)
Gill Creek and its impoundment Hyde Park Lake are located within Hyde Park in the City of Niagara Falls, New York. The lake has poor water quality and experiences frequent Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), which impact aquatic life, prevent recreational fishing, and reduce lake and park aesthetics. This project was designed for the client, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, to intercept and treat approximately 2,000,000 gallons of previously untreated stormwater per year, as well as to provide riparian buffers that will reduce impacts from the surrounding golf course. The project includes creating wetland basins, beneficial reuse of spoil materials for additional wetland establishment, forested buffers with habitat mounds and pools, and establishment of perennial meadows surrounding Hyde Park Lake. The project will start construction in March 2025, and should be substantially complete by May 2025. Brad is a retired farm kid with a master's degree in Environmental Science from SUNY Brockport, a state college in upstate New York. He is a co-founder and partner of Land Ethic Planning & Restoration, a western New York-based environmental consulting firm. He serves as their principal ecologist and specializes in wetland ecology, ecological restoration design, and ecological planning. When he is not tromping through swamps or writing reports, Brad enjoys spending time with his family, tending to his bees, making maple syrup, and drinking coffee. Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.) All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.