Upcoming Events
Rochester Pollinators: Winter Sowing Workshops
We have two different Winter Sowing Workshops coming up in January, including one designed specifically for kids!
Description: Learn all about the necessary practice of stratification and winter sowing with native plant seeds. We'll provide all the supplies you need to create 2 mini greenhouses. Choose from a variety of home garden friendly and beautiful Michigan native flower seeds to plant. You'll keep your winter sowing project outside until they sprout in spring.
January 21: Winter Sowing for Adults and Teens (14 and up), 10-11:30 am
Registration link
January 28: Winter Sowing for Kids (K-8), 10-11 am
Registration link
Location: Dinosaur Hill Nature Center, 333 N Hill Cir., Rochester Hills, 48307
Cost: $10
Other great educational opportunities:
Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan
When: Thursday, January 26, 6:30 pm
Where: Oakland Township Hall, 4393 Collins Rd, Rochester, MI 48306
No registration required!
Winter Stewardship Talk – Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan with Barbara J. Barton. Author Barbara J Barton will share her book, Manoomin The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan, winner of a Michigan History Award, Michigan Notable Book Award, American Library Association Choice List of Outstanding Academic Titles, and Independent Publishers Bronze Medal. Barton explores the worlds of the Anishinaabek and the colonizers as she contrasts their different perspectives and relationships with Manoomin. Participants also learn about Michigan’s historic wild rice beds, why many of them vanished, and how both tribal and non tribal people have sought to restore and protect Manoomin across the landscape.
When: Feb 9, 2023, 1-2pm ET
Where: Zoom Webinar, Register Here
Cost: FREE
Description: Urban landscapes are diverse and can provide unique habitat opportunities for pollinators and other beneficial invertebrates. However, habitat loss in urban areas is a driving factor of insect decline. Small urban farms and community gardens are great locations to add in native habitat pockets, strips, hedgerows, gardens, and more. At the same time, these habitats can be designed to offer many added benefits for wildlife, crop production, water quality, stormwater management, education, and the community! Growing food in urban spaces is not a new practice, but its presence is increasing in many cities as more people are taking an active role in where their food comes from and the betterment of their communities and environment. Join Mace Vaughan, Pollinator Conservation Program Co-Director, and Stefanie Steele, Pollinator Conservation Specialist, as they dive deeper into the issue of pollinator habitat loss in urban landscapes and how we can tackle this while also addressing other conservation and climate change challenges. They will also provide resources and techniques you can use on your small urban farm or community garden to increase native biodiversity and attract pollinating insects, beneficial predatory insects, and more!
Master Rain Gardener Certification Course
This is great opportunity to work directly with expert! Partners from across southeast Michigan have come together to offer the largest ever Master Rain Gardener Training Course, with capacity for over one hundred students drawn from across all of southeast Michigan. Students will be paired with expert instructors from their region, enjoying both one-on-one support and the friendly support of a small peer group of no more then ten fellow students.
In addition to the course work, participants will have the opportunity to tour model examples of established rain gardens in the SE Michigan area.
TIME: 10am – Noon
DATES: Five Thursdays, February 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23
TOURS: February 3 (Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County area) and March 9 (Plymouth, Wayne County Area), with additional tour dates and locations including the Clinton River Watershed TBA
LOCATION: VIRTUAL, with an in-person outdoor tour
COST: $89 Early Bird Rate ($380 value; sliding scale scholarships available, minimum fee of $20)
$145 for applications received after Feb 9th
Registration closes Feb 19th
Participants must attend all five classes and plant (OR adopt) a rain garden to earn their Master Rain Gardener certificate, garden sign, and t-shirt.
See: CRWC Rain Garden Program for more details and to register
More Information to Come Soon for:
