Gardening for Wildlife : Creating and Caring for a Wildlife Garden

The Brielle Public Library presents the Gardening for Wildlife series, sponsored by the Bayberry Garden Club of Brielle and the Native Plant Society of NJ. Wildlife, including birds, bees, and butterflies, are declining at an alarming rate, but you can be a part of the solution. Learn how to attract and sustain wildlife, what wildlife need to survive, and how you can be a part of the new movement to create wildlife habitat in your own backyard, simply by planting beautiful and resilient native plants.

About the Garden for Wildlife 2024 Speaker Series

The Brielle Public Library presents the Gardening for Wildlife series, sponsored by the Bayberry Garden Club of Brielle and the Native Plant Society of NJ. Wildlife, including birds, bees, and butterflies, are declining at an alarming rate, but you can be a part of the solution. Learn how to attract and sustain wildlife, what wildlife need to survive, and how you can be a part of the new movement to create wildlife habitat in your own backyard, simply by planting beautiful and resilient native plants.

March 19: Wild in the Garden State documentary, presented by the filmmaker, Sarah Galloway

Wild in the Garden State is the story of two city transplants connecting to the natural world in suburban New Jersey. Sarah Galloway and her husband, Dave Comins, had no gardening experience but wanted a beautiful, ecological garden. Shot over ten years, WILD in the Garden State documents gardening missteps, lessons and experiences that go far beyond replacing a rectangle of lawn. This documentary short (30 minutes), followed by Q&A with the filmmaker, will attract new and experienced gardeners who want to spend more time enjoying the natural world right in their own backyard.

Speaker Bio: Filmmaker Sarah Galloway honed her craft producing exhibit media for the American Museum of Natural History. Dave Comins is an architect who is inspired to garden for nature while creating a beautiful, park-like space.  WILD in the Garden State premiered at the Garden State Film Festival and has screened at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, the Environmental Film Festival at Yale, and the Princeton Environmental Film Festival.

April 2: Gardening for Wildlife 101, presented by Kim Rowe, Native Plant Society of NJ

Gardening for Wildlife 101. The future of wildlife depends on small efforts by many people creating home habitats to sustain the insects and animals around us. You can make a real difference to the future of biodiversity simply by planting the right plants.  Learn how native plants sustain moths, butterflies, and by extension birds and other wildlife, then take 5 simple steps to get started saving the wildlife around you.

Speaker Bio:  Kim Rowe is the Monmouth Chapter Leader of the Native Plant Society of NJ, and co-leader of the NPSNJ initiative to support IGCs and landscapers as they transition to native plants. She holds a BS degree in horticulture, is a Rutgers Environmental Steward, and has a lifelong interest in gardening and the green industry. In 2014, she began converting her traditional perennial garden to NJ native plants and has never looked back. Kim has designed many gardens for homes and public spaces. She is working to build habitat for wildlife by encouraging others to use NJ natives in home landscapes.

April 23: Designing Your Own Wildlife Garden, presented by Kim Rowe, Native Plant Society of NJ

Your own yard can become a wildlife habitat in no time: just plant native plants! This presentation will discuss how to attract wildlife to your garden by addressing their most important needs. We'll talk about how to choose a site, how to design a garden for beauty and environmental benefits, how to select native plants and avoid invasive ones, and how to plant for greatest visual and environmental impact. Even if you have a small garden or live in an apartment, you can plant for wildlife. Join us to learn how to create a beautiful and functional wildlife garden!  This presentation will include a case study of the design and development of Kelly Balon's beautiful garden in Brick.

Speaker Bio: Kim Rowe is the Monmouth Chapter Leader of the Native Plant Society of NJ, and co-leader of the NPSNJ initiative to support IGCs and landscapers as they transition to native plants. She holds a BS degree in horticulture, is a Rutgers Environmental Steward, and has a lifelong interest in gardening and the green industry. In 2014, she began converting her traditional perennial garden to NJ native plants and has never looked back. Kim has designed many gardens for homes and public spaces.  She is working to build habitat for wildlife by encouraging others to use NJ natives in home landscapes.

April 30: Creating and Caring for a Wildlife Garden, presented by Deb Ellis, Native Plant Society of NJ

Like us, birds, animals, and insects need food, water, and shelter to live. By choosing locally native plants for your yard, you can transform any outdoor space into a wildlife sanctuary that also saves resources such as water and thrives without the use of fertilizer and pesticides. This presentation shows how to plant native shrubs and flowers that are easy to grow and sustain wildlife in all seasons. You will also learn how to care for your plantings through the year and how to modernize fall cleanup by “leaving the leaves” to nurture wildlife throughout the winter.

Speaker bio: Deb Ellis is an environmental activist who is passionate about teaching people how to use native plants to promote biodiversity and heal the Earth. She is the founder and leader of the Essex chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey, a Master Gardener, a Rutgers Environmental Steward, and formerly served on the Montclair Environmental Commission. A retired social justice lawyer, she was named a Champion of Change by the Obama White House in 2011.

Deb grew her garden while raising two kids and commuting to NYC, so she became an expert in “keep it simple” gardening with natives. She gives thanks for her love of gardening to her dad, Homer, who planted wildflowers with her when she was a girl, and her mom, Loismary, who made them into beautiful bouquets!