Besa Schweitzer joined Wild Ones St. Louis chapter in 2014, while she was employed as a Native Plant Specialist (2004-2017) at Shaw Nature Reserve. Since then, she has made many far-reaching contributions to native landscaping education. Here are some of her impactful contributions. At the national level: Aging with Your…
Taking Root is the heading of the article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that ran on March 23rd, 2025. It was great coverage for the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s multi-faceted, highly effective Grow Native! programming that is making a measurable difference for people, pollinators, water quality, and much more on landscapes…
Spring is near and this was very apparent by the crowd of over 100 who turned out on a sunny – but cool Sunday afternoon in February to learn about native plants at the Ballwin Grows Native 2025 event! Three Wild Ones St. Louis members: Krystal Coxon, Eileen Graessle and…
Native Edibles Presented by: Jen Sieradzki Jen discussed the various ways that you can enjoy edible plants from your native garden. As the Horticultural Manager at Shaw Nature Reserve, she experiments with harvesting and processing native plants and understands their ethnobotanical uses. She has a passion for native plants and…
Healthy Watersheds and Healthy Communities: Why Native Plant Rainscaping is important to local rivers and streams Presented by: David Wilson David retired after a career in environmental education and planning. The last 15 years of his career were spent at East-West Gateway Council of Governments where he led efforts in regional watershed planning…
Adopting Responsible Lighting for Healthier Plants and Ecosystems Presented by: Don Ficken, a Missouri Master Naturalist and Founder of DarkSky Missouri and Lights Out Heartland Don’s presentation provided information on how to balance artificial outdoor lighting which affects wildlife and plants with safety concerns. The mission of DarkSky Missouri is to raise awareness about light…
In addition to all of the great native plants available at our local nurseries, there are several shopping opportunities this spring. Be sure to check the individual sale website for additional important info and for any date or time changes. Partners for Native Landscaping plant sale Apr 5th from 8:15…
by Erin Goss, Wild Ones Member and Chairperson, Landscape Challenge Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 St. Louis Wild Ones Landscape Challenge, Linda and Buzz Jelinek! Their yard in Kirkwood was chosen from 26 applicants and features a small front yard perfect for adding a native landscape. Linda was…
The Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter mentorship program helps members build community and share experience, information, and enthusiasm about growing native plants. Mentorship is a one-year commitment starting in early spring; each mentorship circle is made up of a mentor and 1-3 mentees who all live or garden relatively close to one another. All current members are…
For many years, Linda Bennett served on the Board of Directors of the Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter. After she and her husband moved to Iron County in 2018, she organized the first meeting of the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the national Wild Ones organization. Serving as the first President…
