Members and friends of the Dayton Area Wild Ones are invited to help with several ongoing projects within our community. Project work days are announced as needed – come as you are able to do so! Be sure to sign up to receive our news and/or check our Facebook page for dates.
Here are some of the projects we do:
Beavercreek Station: In 2013 the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association established a Monarch Waystation along a busy bike path near Beavercreek Station and the adjacent Beavercreek 9/11 Memorial. Since then, this “wildscape” planting has received a lot of attention from people passing by, including from City of Beavercreek employees caring for the landscaping at the Beavercreek Station. In 2019, the City of Beavercreek was put in contact with DAWO to discuss the possibility of incorporating some of the native plants growing in the Monarch Waystation into the landscaping around Beavercreek Station.
In late winter 2019, DAWO put together a landscape plan using all native plants for an area which had recently been cleared of overgrown shrubs. The City of Beavercreek purchased the plants and DAWO members and other volunteers installed them in July. The area is irrigated so the young plants grew quickly. Two species of milkweed were included, and they hosted 18 monarch caterpillars their first summer, showing that a formal landscape can still provide habitat!
The planting includes coreopsis, spiderwort, butterfly weed, whorled milkweed, button blazing star, purple prairie clover, aromatic aster, New Jersey tea, meadowsweet, and little bluestem. Other native grasses – side oats grama, purple lovegrass, and prairie dropseed – were planted in groups to highlight their beauty and suitability for the home landscape. Each grouping of native plants has a small sign providing the botanical and common names of the plants.
DAWO members and volunteers are still assisting with maintenance of this demonstration garden, but the goal is to turn it over to City employees to care for it long-term.
Our hope is that this planting will inspire those passing by and that they incorporate native plants into their home gardens!
Project Pollinator Pack: DAWO volunteers go into various classrooms throughout the Dayton area and give a ~30 minute talk about the importance of native plants and pollinators. After the hands on talk every student receives a handout to take home explaining to parents what the child learned at school that day and a description of a POLLINATOR PACK that can be purchased. The pollinator pack is composed of 6 native Ohio species chosen for their successive bloom times, pollinator value, host plant value, and beauty in the landscape. They include Golden Alexanders, Virginia Mountain Mint, Rose Milkweed (asclepias incarnata), purple coneflower, wild bergamot, and sky blue aster. Included in the Pollinator Pack are planting instructions and a key with photos of things the families can look for in the summer after planting (i.e., monarch egg, caterpillar, black swallowtail). The cost of these pollinator packs is kept low to encourage families to buy a pack, therefore fulfilling the objective of Wild Ones to get more native plants into all landscapes!
