Five native perennials happily getting some morning sun! Photo by Carolinian Love photo contest winner Diana Cornelis
Join Carolinian Canada and WWF-Canada staff as we spread the word about healthy habitats across the zone! In The Zone experts will be featured at these great public events, so check the list for an event near you!
Talks
In The Zone Gardens and Landowner Leaders Presentation
Date: Friday, November 8th,2019
Location: Simcoe Recreation Centre
Join Carolinian Canada at Long Point World Biosphere Reserve (LPWBR) 7th Research and Conservation Conference. Ben Porchuk and Koral Wysocki will deliver a presentation outlining Carolinian Canada programs that support the Big Picture goal to reverse the trend of habitat loss throughout the Carolinian ecoregion of southern Ontario. CC’s Landowner Leader and In the Zone Gardens programs encourage and assist landowners to become stewards of their land and plant native plants that are climate smart, build healthy habitat for wildlife and support resilient communities.
Through In the Zone we are calling for the restoration of the Carolinian Zone with native plants and connecting the actions of everyone who creates habitat for our native birds, bees, butterflies and more.
In the Zone is a partnership program of WWF-Canada and Carolinian Canada with many local partners in southern Ontario.
Contact us at www.inthezonegardens.ca
Past Events
Designing your native landscape workshop @ RBG
Date: Wednesday, May 4th, 2019
Location: Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton
Carolinian Canada had an in the zone booth at the Designing your native landscape event along with Cootes to Escarpment and Hamilton Conservation Authority who hosted an enthusiastic audience of over 40 people from the Hamilton/Burlington area.
Ben Porchuck spoke along with other ecological and landscaping experts about the mass extinction event we are facing and what us 'great lakes people' living in Southern Ontario can do on our properties to support the recovery of native species. Charlie Briggs, gardener and instructor at RBG spoke about how to assess the soil quality on your property and highlighted how residents living within the Carolinian Zone of Ontario have access to the most native plant resources in Canada because of the diversity that our ecozone supports. Michael Albanese from Avesi outlined ecological solutions with native plants for storm water management. Crystal Bradford and Liam Kijewski highlighted the services offered through their native plant business 'Wildlife Gardening' where they do design, landscaping ecological restoration and native plant nursery. Sean James rounded out the expert speakers with a talk about fusion gardens and how to add texture to your residential or commercial property with innovative native plant and permeable landscape design features.
Participants spent the last hour of the day asking questions to the experts about their properties and yards.
By the end of the workshop over 40 native plant ambassadors, equipped to talk about the benefits of native plants and practical ways private citizens can support healthy landscapes went out to share their new knowledge with their friends and neighbors, many joining the challenge to grow Canada's Biggest Wildlife garden.
Native Plants Can Save the World, Now
Date: March 26th, 2019 at 7pm
Location: Sparta Community Centre
Sparta Community Organization proudly presents Carolinian Canada's Zone Ecologist, Ben Porchuk Tuesday March 26th at 7pm at the Sparta Community Centre. Ben's talk, "Native Plants Can Save the World, Now (first, go ahead and finish your laundry)!" will blend fascinating information, humour and practical steps to ending the current mass extinction and delivering a big blow to climate change. For the low price of admission (free) saving the world has never been so easy. In addition to learning how to become an ecological super hero, come and be entertained with some great wildlife stories, wonderful photography, a bit of ecological slap stick comedy, and receive a small token gift to help you maintain your newly found ecological super powers. And wait, there's more! Ben will award a wonderful GO WILD GROW WILD GREEN EXPO gift pack to a participant who correctly answers a question at the end of the talk (anyone who has been observed nodding off during the presentation is unfortunately disqualified). Get there early. Stay late....and go and do your part to save the world with native plants!
Carolinian Canada's "In the Zone" Native Garden Tracker Program with Shawn McKnight, Return the Landscape
Date: Wednesday, March 13th, 2019
Location: 100 Christina St., N., Sarnia
In the Zone provides gardeners in Canada's Carolinian Zone with the tools to transform backyards into woodland, water and wildflower gardens for native wildlife and to connect with a community of gardeners to share tips, exchange plants and celebrate successes. FREE. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Maximizing the Forest Bathing Effect in Your Garden
Date: Sat. March 2, 2019 @ 11:30am,
Location: Rotary Complex, 353 McCarthy Road, Stratford, ON
Carolinian Canada’s Ben Porchuk will talk about using our native plants to create healthy environments in which we can bathe in the healthy air, generated right out our doorsteps. Commonly know as ‘forest bathing’, Ben talks about employing many species for the wide variety of health that is conferred to us as we go about our lives in our front and back yards.
Standing Up to the Mass Extinction with Native Plants in Your Garden
Date: Thurs. Feb. 28, 2019 @ 1:30pm
Location: Rotary Complex, 353 McCarthy Road, Stratford, ON
Carolinian Canada’s Ben Porchuk will speak about native plants in two contexts; the first about public engagement and responsibility to put in at least one native plant, to do their part to reverse climate change and recovery dwindling biodiversity, or the varied ‘spice of life’ found in prairies, forests, and wetlands.