Late fall is the time to start thinking about spring sprouts! The Wild Seed Project will be leading a workshop on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon at Midcoast Conservancy’s Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson. Participants will learn about the diverse plants that grow here in Maine and their unique seed collection and seed sowing processes. In this workshop, Wild Seed Project staff will facilitate a hands-on exploration of the many steps of growing native plants from seed, and establishing diverse landscapes using seed-grown plants.

The class will begin outside with a walk, identifying different plants in the area and demonstrating ecologically-responsible seed collecting practices for those plants. The second part of the workshop will move inside, where the attendees will all practice winter seed sowing, and talk through the best practices for keeping their seeds outside for the winter. Each participant will sow two pots of seeds; one to take home with them, and one to stay at HVNC to add to the plant diversity at this amazing community spot! There will be future workshops at this location, to watch and interact with the life cycles of the seeds sown at HVNC. To learn more and register, go to https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/events-list/seed-sowing-with-wild-seed-project.

The goal of Wild Seed Project is to build awareness of the vital importance of native plants and to provide people with the tools to restore biodiversity in their own communities. They equip community members, public officials and municipalities, and land-holding individuals and organizations – from farmers to land trusts – with the skills and resources they need to collectively repopulate landscapes with native plants that expand wildlife habitat, support biodiversity, and build climate resilience.