Get ready for spring by attending one or all of these webinars about ecological gardening, presented in collaboration with our Friends of Lower Lake volunteers and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes!

Tuesday, March 2 at 7pm Go Wild in Your Own Yard presented by Peggy Spaeth
A personal story about how someone who wanted to live in the Cleveland Metroparks was inspired by nature to garden with native species in her own green space. Take a walk through her garden.

Peggy Spaeth works on improving habitat with the Heights Pollinator Path; Friends of the Bradford Cinder Path; the Nature Center plant sale committee; and as the co-chair of Friends of Lower Lake, a volunteer program of the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership. In the end, she wants everyone to take responsibility, to improve and maintain a patch of healthy green space.

Wednesday, March 10 at 7pm Identifying and Removing Harmful Invasive Plants presented by John Barber
How do you deal with thugs that take over our private and public green spaces? Why are non-native plants undesirable? Where did they come from and why? Learn best practices for removal and replacement to benefit wildlife.

John Barber has been a citizen scientist for over fifty years, active in green space preservation, the recovery of Peregrine Falcon populations, and the continuing recovery of Eastern Bluebirds. Now retired after 35 years in the business world, he is focused on restoring and maintaining biodiversity. He continues studies on bluebirds and passionately performs habitat restoration and ecological gardening with native plants. He served on the board of the Nature Center for ten years, including two terms as Board President. He is co-leading the Friends of Lower Lake, a program of the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership, working to restore habitat around Lower Lake Park in the Shaker Parklands.

Thursday, March 18 at 7pm Native Shrubs for NE Ohio: What Natives? Which Shrubs? presented by Robin Schachat
What great reasons are there for choosing native shrubs for our home landscapes? They create a basic framework for our home gardens that simultaneously create form and flow while feeding our pollinating insects, our birds, and the animals who bring life to our gardens.

Robin Schachat is a certified landscape designer (retired) who loves to see gardens that are buzzing with bees, butterflies, and bird nests. This talk will explain how to achieve a beautiful, living home landscape that relies heavily on structure created from shrubs that will thrive in our area.  She is former president of the Shaker Lakes Garden Club, now engaged in planting a native grove at Lower Lake, and has volunteered on the Nature Center’s Plant Sale for over a decade. Robin sits on the board of Holden Forests and Gardens.

Monday, March 22 at 7pm Refresh Your Garden with Good Design and Best Practices presented by Chris Cheraso, Landscape Architect
Planting with a purpose, inspired by ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar.’ It’s your yard –what would you like to see in it?

Tuesday, March 30 at 7pm Plant for Pollinators! presented by Dr. Lara Roketenetz
Dr. Lara Roketenetz is the University of Akron Field Station Manager, Project Wingspan State Coordinator of the Pollinator Partnership, and former Nature Center at Shaker Lakes naturalist!

Wednesday, April 7 at 7pm Plant Sale Preview: Nick’s Picks 
Nature Center Natural Resources Specialist Nick Mikash will introduce you to his favorite plants for your garden.

To RSVP for this program please register here. If you miss any of the webinars, watch them here.