Conversations for Conservation: Life-Magnet with Sean James - Creating a Layered Native Garden for Biodiversity
Wed Feb 19, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Preston Heights Community Group (350 Linden Dr, Cambridge), N3H 5N7
Description
Wash away the winter blues and start dreaming up your spring gardening plans! Join rare for the first Conversation for Conservation of 2025 with Master 'Eco' Gardener, writer, and teacher, Sean James, to learn about creating a native garden for biodiversity right in your own yard.
With the expanding trend toward landscaping to enhance all forms of life, the question becomes… how. By choosing plants favouring native species, and creating layers including varying heights of plants, focusing on what food and habitat niches those plants would fill, the life cycles of many species can be supported. This involves looking at all life stages: from birth (larva and eggs) to adulthood; and from first food sources to berries and insects. Also worth considering is where creatures need shelter; old logs, standing trees, twiggy shrubs for nesting, and more. We’ll delve into recommended plant choices, design considerations, the ‘native vs. non’ issue, and finer details such as supporting obligat feeders (those that can feed on only one genus or species).
Photo by Sean James
About the Presenter
Sean owns ‘Sean James Consulting & Design’. Named by Landscape Ontario as 2020 and 2021’s Garden Communicator of the Year, gardening has been Sean James’ passion and profession for over 40 years. A graduate of Niagara Parks School of Horticulture, a Master Gardener, writer, and teacher, Sean focuses on eco-gardening techniques. He has spoken at events from the Maritimes to Seattle and landscaped from Switzerland to California. Sean had the honour of being part of creating the new Ontario Landscape Tree Planting Guide, the Grow-Me-Instead guide, the Ontario Horticultural Apprenticeship Curriculum, the national Red Seal Occupational Standard, and the Master Gardeners Reference Manual. He has chaired the Environmental Stewardship Committee for Landscape Ontario and the Environmental Committee for the Perennial Plant Association and been featured on radio and television, including filling in for Paul Zammit occasionally on CBC’s ‘The Gardening Show’.
Pay What You Can
rare strives to host community events for everyone with a 'pay what you can' model. If you are in a position to make a contribution, all proceeds help us to offer meaningful events and activities for our community to engage with and learn about our natural world.
Questions? Contact Sara Clark, Events & Development Coordinator, at Sara.Clark@raresites.org or (519) 650-9336 x122.
Location
Preston Heights Community Group (350 Linden Dr, Cambridge), N3H 5N7