Live at Lunch: Incorporating Native Plants Into Your Home Garden

Every time we add a native plant to our garden, we improve the ability of our garden to support ecological interactions and support landscape connectivity. For example, by supplying the host plants for caterpillars we aid in pollinator recovery and also support birds which depend on those caterpillars. Thus, over time we can transition our gardens from areas of low ecological integrity to high integrity.  

Through this process we learn about the interdependence and interactions between species and perhaps gain some insights into the ecological and cultural processes and histories which have shaped the places we call home.

About the Speaker: 

Jay studied Natural Resource Management and Environmental Studies at the University of Guelph and worked at the University Arboretum. After graduation, he mentored in sustainable forestry practices with renowned ecoforester Merv Wilkinson.  Over the past 25 years he has shared these teaching and principles with thousands of students and adults.