All events are open to the public and held on the campus of Westchester Community College in Valhalla, NY, unless otherwise stated.

4 Easy Ways to Register (Include your e-mail, confirmations and directions will be e-mailed)

1. Pay Online: Click here or http//www.mysunywcc.org/store
2. Fax: (914) 606-6143 Registration Form
3. Mail to: The NPC at WCC Library, 75 Grasslands Rd, Valhalla, NY 10595 Registration Form
4. Phone: (914) 606-7870

2010 Annual Garden Tour - Sign Up Today

Monday, May 3 - Thursday, May 6, 2010:
Annual Garden Tour - Capture the Capital
Deposit Deadline: Monday, February 1

View Itinerary

Wednesday, February 10:
Plant Pre-Sale Order Deadline

Click here to view Photo Catalogs and Order Form

Order Pre-Sale ahead of time, & pick-up April 20-24

Regular Plant Sale Saturday, April 24, 2010 (Rain or Shine)

Join as a member to receive a discount on Pre-Sale Orders and early addimision
into the Sale on April 24.

Read more about the Annual Plant Sale and plant ideas on page 1 and 2 of the January, 2010 NPC Newsletter.

Monday, March 15 (SNOW DATE - March 19):
7th Annual Spring Landscape Conference
Turning Gray to Green: Developing Urban Natural Spaces and Native Plant Gardens
Carol Franklin, Amy Gavaris, Gretchen Schneider
5 PDHs (Professional Development Hours) available from
LA CES
8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. at WCC

Relentless urban sprawl is stimulating an increasingly critical need for the preservation, restoration and creation of natural spaces and gardens within our towns and cities. Grassroots organizations often spearhead the initiative on projects that fulfill this need. Our presenters, representing the Big Three cities of the Northeast, will offer their insights into the particular challenges, pitfalls and tremendous rewards that are associated with this type of development. Brochure available online.
Five Professional Development Hours (PDHs) Available.

Working from the Ground Up: 
Stories from a Grass Roots Organization
Gretchen Schneider - AIA, Boston Natural Areas Network
Boston urban gardeners have long been transforming vacant lots into vibrant gathering spaces, yet there’s something new in their zeitgeist: national economic woes combined with the promotion of local food, environmental awareness, and do-it-yourself chic have spurred an increase in urban garden projects. This presentation features the work of The Boston Natural Areas Network which oversees 150 community gardens.

Greening New York City One Block at a Time:
Challenges, Opportunities and Progress
Amy Gavaris - vice-president, New York Restoration Project
The mission of the New York Restoration Project is to carry out Founder Bette Midler’s dream of a cleaner, greener New York City. NYRP restores and revitalizes under-resourced parks and community gardens throughout the city’s five boroughs, working to ensure that every resident, family and neighborhood has access to vibrant, green spaces. This presentation will cover the evolution of the organization and its three main programmatic areas: Parks, Community Gardens and Milliontrees NYC.

Making a Pot from the Shards:
What it Really Takes to Restore Native Plant Communities and Habitats
Carol Franklin - ASLA, Andropogon Associates
Landscapes that repair and celebrate each unique landscape are not easy to achieve. Examples of Andropogon Associates work will illustrate
conceptual approaches, strategies, and the time,
money, effort and sheer numbers of plants needed
to actually achieve this ideal. This presentation introduces two new tools for understanding what needs to be done and evaluating the results - the Plant Stewardship Index and the Sustainable Sites Initiative.

Conference brochure and registration form available in January
Join as an NPC Member and Save!
Membership Information

Full-Day Conference Fee Includes:
8:30 A.M.
Registration and Continental Breakfast
9 A.M.
Conference Introduction
9:15 A.M.
Gretchen Schneider
10:15 A.M.
Q & A
10:30 A.M.
Break
10:45 A.M.
Amy Gavaris
11:45 A.M.
Q & A
12 Noon
Lunch
12 Noon - 2:45 P.M.
Books for Sale
1:15 P.M.
Carol Franklin
2:15 P.M.
Q & A
2:30 P.M.
Break
2:45 P.M.
Panel Discussion with Speakers
4:00 P.M.
Conference Ends

Registration Form Advance registration required (Highly Recommended)
PAY ONLINE
Join as an NPC Member and Save!
Membership Information

Friday, March 26:
The Living Landscape: Broadening Your Horizons
Jay Archer - John Jay Landscape Development
2 PDHs (Professional Development Hours) available from
LA CES
10:00 a.m. - 12 noon at WCC

Environmentalist and landscape designer Jay Archer will explore ways in which we can move on from traditional landscape practices to eliminate potentially harmful pesticides, reduce lawn areas and introduce native plants to attract birds, butterflies and beneficial insects. He will also discuss the dynamics of water in the landscape environment and give firsthand tips on how to build a safe and comfortable outdoor space that conserves and protects our precious natural resources.

Jay Archer is a product of the New York Botanical Garden School of Professional Horticulture. He has studied at Rutgers University Center for Urban Ecology and has worked as an interpretative naturalist for The Nature Conservancy and Audubon. Jay has lectured extensively on stormwater management, wetland restoration and ecological landscape design and management. Jay is also an instructor at NYBG and erosion & sediment control professional.

2 PDHs available from LA CES

Registration Form Advance registration required
PAY ONLINE
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Membership Information

Saturday, April 10:
Spend a Morning with the National Wildlife Federation
David Mizejewski and Curtis Fisher
3 PDHs (Professional Development Hours) available from
LA CES
10:00 a.m. - 1 p.m. at WCC

Join representatives from the National Wildlife Federation for a fun and informative morning. NWF Media Spokesperson and Naturalist, David Mizejewski, will present: Designing a Wildlife Garden for the Home Landscape, in which he will show you how to create a beautiful nature-friendly landscape that is an integral part of your daily life. Next, Curtis Fisher’s lecture: Safeguarding the Northeast’s Wildlife, Natural Resources and Communities in a Warming Climate, outlines how NWF’s Northeast Regional Center is working on regional, state and local strategies to make ecosystems more resilient to climate change and adopt policies that protect wildlife and people in our area. The National Wildlife Federation will also staff an information table to answer questions and distribute educational publications.

Curtis Fisher is the regional executive director for NWF’s Northeast Regional Center. He oversees programs that connect families to nature, promote global warming solutions, and protect wildlife, natural resources and communities from the impacts of global warming. He serves on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Landscape Conservation Cooperative Steering Committee and is co-chair of the NY Climate Action Council’s subcommittee on climate adaptation.

David Mizejewski is a naturalist, author, blogger and media personality with National Wildlife Federation.  He holds a degree in Human and Natural Ecology from Emory University and is an expert on wildlife, our environment and green lifestyles. David is dedicated to helping others understand the wonders of the natural world and how to live sustainably.  He regularly appears on a variety of national television networks.

3 PDHs available from LA CES

Registration Form Advance registration required
PAY ONLINE
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Membership Information

Friday, April 16:
Designing Your Garden with Northeastern Flora: A Personal View
Carolyn Summers
2 PDHs (Professional Development Hours) available from
LA CES
10:00 a.m. - 12 noon at WCC

Author and landscape designer Carolyn Summers will present an informative review of current research that reveals the many ways in which indigenous (native) plants form the basis of the food web and support a healthy landscape. She will then offer a selection of striking design alternatives using native plants in place of more commonly used exotics in a variety of traditional styles. Copies of Carolyn’s newly released book Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East may be on sale at the lecture.

Carolyn Summers is an adjunct professor for continuing education at Westchester Community College and a technical assistant to The Native Plant Center. She holds a Landscape Architecture degree from City College of New York and works with government and non-government organizations on environmental/landscape projects. Carolyn maintains native plant demonstration gardens that she has created on her two family properties. Her first book hits the shelves in April.

2 PDHsavailable from LA CES

Registration Form Advance registration required
PAY ONLINE
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Membership Information

Saturday, April 24, 2010:
11th Annual Wildflower and Native Plant Sale
Rain or Shine - Tent Coverage
NPC Members 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Non-NPC Members 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
(Join as a Member for Early Admission into the Sale)

Regular Sale held at Westchester Comm. College
Parking Lot # 1
Rain or Shine
Admission Free and Open to the Public

Buy your plants ahead of time in the Pre-Sale, and pick-up in April. Read 11th Annual Plant Sale article on page one to learn how the Pre-Sale and Regular Sale work.

Help support future programming and similar events join as a Member
Click here for Membership Information

Directions to Lot #1 at the WCC Valhalla Campus located at 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla, NY 10595

Read more about the Annual Plant Sale and plant ideas on page 1 and 2 of the January, 2010 NPC Newsletter.

Monday, May 2 - 8:
National Wildflower Week

Check your local listings for events around town and like-minded organizations.

Saturday, May 22: Field Trip
SPRING Field Trip
Get Back to Nature - Visit the Recently Opened
Angle Fly Preserve

Advance registration required

Take advantage of a private guided tour of Angle Fly Preserve in Somers, New York, a 654-acre sanctuary holding the last natural brook-trout spawning stream in Westchester County. We will walk along trails through a mosaic of forest, field andwetland habitat. Our guides will be naturalists Bob McGregor, Director of Operations for Somers Land Trust and his wife, Pat, who is Chairperson for the Reynolds Pond Habitat Restoration at the Preserve.

NPC Members - Field trip free
NON-NPC Members $10 fee

Join as a Member & attend for free, enjoy many other perks!
Register in January, 2010

Newsletter article and photo read page 3 of the January, 2010.

Registration Form Advance registration required
PAY ONLINE
Join as an NPC Member and Save!
Membership Information

Sunday, July 18:
Garden Conservancy Open Day Tours
Guided Garden Tours at The Native Plant Center
at Westchester Community College
12 noon - 4 p.m.
1 p.m. Presentation ~ TBA

Park at the end of Lot # 1 at Westchester Community College
Admission Free and Open to the Public ~ Rain or Shine

Are you wild about wildflowers? Ready to see meadows in bloom? Come to The Native Plant Center’s demonstration gardens at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York and imagine how wildflowers and native plants would spice up your garden!

The Lady Bird Johnson Demonstration Garden and the Stone Cottage Garden will be open for free tours on Sunday, July 19 from 12 noon until 4:00 p.m. As part of the Garden Conservancy Open Days program, volunteer guides will showcase the garden and answer questions about various plants and flowers. The gardens are described below.

Presentation ~ 1 p.m. - TBA

2009 Press Release

Additional Westchester Organizations to visit:

Teatown Lake Reservation
(914) 762-2912

Greenburgh Nature Center
99 Dromore Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583
(914) 723-3470
www.greenburghnaturecenter.org

Blue Mountain Reservation

Cranberry Lake Preserve
(914) 428-1005

Croton Point Park Nature Center
(914) 862-5297

Lenior Preserve
(914) 968-5851

Marshlands Conservancy
(914) 835-4466

Merstead Historic Site
(914) 666-4258

Read Sanctuary
(914) 967-8720

Rye Nature Center
(914) 967-5150

Trailside Nature Museum
(914) 864-7322

Learn more about The Native Plant Center's history and accomplishments by reading the most recent Years In Review.