Native Plant Festival
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC – A Native Plant Festival is planned for Saturday, October 17 at the New Hanover County Arboretum, where a new Native Plant Garden is under development. Admission to the Festival will be free, and the event will be fun and informative for all ages.
“We want to show the public the ecological importance and beauty of native plants,” said Extension Agent Sabrina Woofter, who is co-chairing the Festival with Master Gardener Catherine Nesbit.
Kids attending the Festival can go on a scavenger hunt; identify native plants, insects, and types of soil at hands-on activity stations; and play jump rope and other active games.
Families can bring seeds to swap, buy native plants, browse information at booths sponsored by local gardening organizations and businesses, and enjoy the Arboretum’s gardens. Cape Fear Audubon Society will host “Discover the Wonders of Birds,” a hands-on learning area where visitors can learn why songbirds need native plants to thrive.
Food trucks will be on site for the Festival, and music will be played throughout the day.
Special presentations scheduled in the Arboretum’s auditorium are:
- 9:00 am: Soil Conditioning with Evan Folds, President of Progressive Gardens
- 10:00 am: Native Plants with Sam Marshall, Ag-Horticulture Extension Agent
- 11:00 am: Venus Flytraps with environmental scientist Roger Shew of UNCW
- 12:00 noon: DVD “Bringing Nature Home” by University of Delaware ecologist Doug Tallamy
- 1:00 pm: Bird-Friendly Habitats with Charley Winterbauer, Cape Fear Audubon President
- 2:00 pm: Waterford Community’s Cypress Awards for sustainable, eco-friendly yards, with environmental committee member Lynne Shineman
- 3:00 pm: Coastal Natives with Paul Hosier, Professor Emeritus of Biology, UNCW
- 4:00 pm: Invasive Plants with horticulturalist Melanie Doyle
The Native Plant Festival is co-hosted by the Arboretum nhcarboretum.com, a local center for NCSU Cooperative Extension services newhanover.ces.ncsu.edu; Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers nhcarboretum.com/master-gardeners/; New Hanover County Public Library www.nhclibrary.org; Cape Fear Audubon Society www.capefearaudubon.org; Cape Fear Garden Club www.capefeargardenclub.org; and the NC Native Plant Society www.ncwildflower.org.
###
Release Contacts:
Justine Roach
NHC Business/Law Librarian
910-798-6306 / jroach@nhcgov.com
Sabrina Woofter
Natural Resources and Environmental Education Extension Agent
910-798-7677 / sabrina_woofter@ncsu.edu