Program to teach gardening to city, suburban dwellers
There’s a buzz in Butler about a program that will instruct those with small properties how to assist in the pollination process by planting a perennial garden.
Native Gardening in Suburbia will be the topic of an informational session at 6 p.m. July 20, at the Butler Area Public Library on North McKean Street.
Anyone can attend the free event, and registration is not required.
Dianne McCauley, adult program coordinator at the library, said the session will cover the description and identification of native plants and why using them for landscaping is “gardening for nature.”
Choosing the proper plants for a location also will be discussed at the session, McCauley said.
She said the library is always happy to provide informational sessions to its patrons and the public on a variety of subjects.
“Our business is information,” McCauley said. “That doesn’t just mean books.”
Native Gardening in Suburbia will be led by Clinton Township resident Kathy Allen, a Penn State Master Gardener, who will show a video by Michelle Stoken on incorporating native planting in urban and suburban gardening.
Allen said that in addition to being a Master Gardener, Stoken is a member of Wild Ones, a national group with a mission of reintroducing native plants to the environment.
The group has a greater Pittsburgh chapter that includes Butler County.
Allen said members of the Wild Ones promote environmentally friendly and sound landscaping to preserve biodiversity through preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities.
“It’s really an interesting group,” she said.
The forum at the library will focus on native perennial plants, which are plants that return each spring when the weather turns warm.
Allen said native plants promote pollinators, which include bees, birds, butterflies and bats.
“Pollinators are not just out in the country,” she said. “They are in urban and suburban areas too.”
Allen said pollination, or the act of plant reproduction, is central to maintaining life on Earth.
Pollination results in a plant’s production of the flowers, fruits and vegetables that sustain life on Earth.
The more native perennials that are available, the more pollinators will visit them, and that means regeneration of plants and the efficient production of produce.
“I hope people get the understanding of the importance of biodiversity and utilization of native plants that add beauty to our environment, but also become a permanent pollinator for our region,” she said.
Allen said that, over time, humans have become accustomed to being surrounded by concrete, highways and buildings, and are considering the natural world less and less.
“It’s important for our survival and life on all the planet,” she said. “We do live in a world with a lot of growth and a lot of native plants.”
Allen has native perennials, such as columbine and rose of Sharon, that originated from plants cultivated by her husband’s great-grandmother and grandmother.
“In order to maintain our biodiversity, you need pollinators,” she said. “Those native plants encourage that.”
Allen will answer any questions posed by those who attend Native Gardening in Suburbia after the 40-minute video.
Diane Dallos, educator and Master Gardener coordinator with the Penn State Extension office in Butler, said encouraging the planting of native species will increase the number of birds, bees and other pollinators, which will in turn benefit the environment.
“If everyone takes one or two steps to improve the pollinator population in their yard, it can add up to a large-scale change to protect pollinators,” Dallos said.
She appreciates the extension office’s relationship with the Butler Area Public Library and many other libraries in the county.
“It’s great to be a part of that community at the libraries,” Dallos said. “They are great partners for us to spread the word on pollinators, vegetable gardens and food security.”
She said more environmental programs are in the works for the libraries.
“We are always looking for new ways to engage library patrons to learn about gardening,” Dallos said.
