Home Gardener Day

Space is limited

Reserve Your Seat Today!

COST – $85

For inquiries contact our Education Department at 757-441-5830 ext 338 or email registrar@nbgs.org

Sponsored by:

9-9:30am

Registration

9:30-10am

Welcome – Role of Botanical Gardens in Horticulture and Future Outlooks

10-10:15AM

Break

10:15-11:15AM

Connect with Nature and Improve your Wellbeing – Kathleen Wellington

Studies show that spending time in nature can help us reduce stress and pain, restore our tired minds and  boost our immunity.  This presentation will explore these benefits through discussion of nature restorative theories along with practical suggestions we can use to incorporate nature into our daily lives.  Learn how spending time in nature can lower your blood pressure, increase your vitamin D and help you sleep better.

11:15-11:30AM

Break

11:30AM-12:30PM

Replacing the Green Desert: Native Plant Alternatives to Turf – Kim Eierman

The great American love affair with the “Green Desert” (aka turfgrass lawn) has a long tradition with a very high ecological cost. Exotic grass lawns are virtual wastelands in our local ecosystems, providing little to our native species, while demanding tremendous amounts of water, labor and fertilizer. Learn how to turn a lifeless lawn into a thriving ecological system filled with native plant alternatives.

12:30-1:30PM

Lunch

1:30-1:45PM

Welcome Back & Door Prize Announcements

1:45-2:45PM

A Gardener’s Guide to Climate Change – David Mizejewski

Explore natural gardening in an era of climate change. How is climate change already affecting our gardens, and how can we as sustainable gardeners create gardens that are resilient to the effects of climate change and help support local wildlife species that are impacted by climate change?

2:45-3PM

Break

3-4PM

The Pollinator Victory Garden: Winning the War on Pollinator Decline – Kim Eierman

Many pollinator species have suffered serious declines in recent years. It’s a serious problem for all of us since pollinators are responsible for the pollination of 80% of all flowering plants, and at least 30% of the food that we eat.  Unfortunately, most of our landscapes offer little in the way of appropriate habitat and forage. With simple strategies, you can attract and support not just bees, but an array of pollinators that have different requirements. Learn how to create a Pollinator Victory Garden to help win the war on pollinator decline.

David Mizejewski

National Wildlife Federation

David Mizejewski has been fascinated by our natural world for as long as he can remember. A lifelong naturalist, he spent his youth exploring the woods, fields and wetlands, observing and learning about the surprising diversity of wildlife that inhabits them.

David is a naturalist and television host with the National Wildlife Federation. He holds a degree in Human and Natural Ecology from Emory University and is an expert on wildlife and our environment. He’s dedicated to using his knowledge and his enthusiasm to help others understand and protect wildlife.

David regularly appears in the media to promote wildlife conservation. He hosted and co-produced Backyard Habitat, a television series on Animal Planet that showed people how to transform their yards and gardens into thriving habitats for birds and other local wildlife. He appeared in the Animal Planet mini-series Springwatch U.S.A. that looked at the effect seasonal change has on wildlife, from salamanders and flying squirrels to great horned owls and black bears. He’s appeared on NatGeo WILD on series such as Are You Smarter Than, How Human Are You, and Unlikely Animal Friends and co-hosted the network’s prime time television series Pet Talk.

David is a regular guest on NBC’s Today Show, Conan, The Wendy Williams Show, Hallmark Home and Family, Access Hollywood, Inside Edition, Build Series NYC and Good Day LA. He has appeared on Ellen, TMZ Live, Mashable, Adult Swim, Fox and Friends, The Martha Stewart Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, The Doctors, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and numerous other shows on networks including HGTV, Sundance Channel, The Weather Channel, History, PBS and CNN.

Click here for more information about David!

Kim Eierman

EcoBeneficial LLC

Kim Eierman is an environmental horticulturist, specializing in ecological landscapes and native plants, and ecological landscape designer and founder of EcoBeneficial LLC. She inspires audiences to make simple changes in their landscapes that make huge environmental improvements. Kim is the author of “The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening” and is an active speaker nationwide on many ecological topics – as she tells her audiences, “every landscape matters!”

Kim teaches regularly at:

Kathleen K Wellington

M.Ed., L.C.P., CIMHP

Kathleen Wellington is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia and spent 40+ years working in the behavioral health field in administrative and clinical positions.  Prior to her retirement she served as Vice President of Clinical Service for a local non-profit, and also worked part time as a therapist specializing in anxiety and affective disorders.

Since retirement she has become certified Green Springs Extension Master Gardener and  is currently pursuing coursework in the field of Medicinal Herbalism.

Kathleen’s passion is horticulture therapy.  She has taken certificate courses in horticulture therapy and worked throughout her career developing, implementing and consulting on various horticulture therapy projects.  She has presented on these issues at the United States Botanical Gardens in Washington DC, at several National Horticulture Therapy Association Conferences including, in 2018, on the Green Spring Extension Master Gardeners Project at the Fairfax County Woodburn Crisis Care Program and at the 2021 International Master Gardeners Conference.