Butterfly Garden Presentation
Annett Nature Center and Park, Warren County
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Join Warren County Conservation and guest speaker Jim Kessler to learn how to design your own butterfly garden. Butterfly and pollinator populations are dwindling as habitat and food sources become scarce. These insects are vital to our ecosystems and agriculture. Restoring native plants to your land, no matter where you live will allow you to attract and observe these insects and help butterflies and other pollinators to continue to survive. Native plantings will also benefit your vegetable garden.
In this hands on workshop, you will learn how to select native plants for the garden, design a planting map for your butterfly garden, and learn native plant garden management strategies. A list of native trees and shrubs that are host plants that feed butterfly larvae will be presented. We will also enjoy a video “The Beauty of Pollination” and a video of a butterfly garden planting in Grinnell.
Jim Kessler, the workshop presenter, has over 40 years of experience restoring and managing native plantings. Jim and his wife Kathy live on 30 acres of restored prairies, wetlands, oak savannas, and woodland south of Grinnell. He teaches Biology and Environmental Biology at Iowa Valley Community College – Grinnell Campus.
