On Sunday, June 5, Wanda Garland, botanist, photographer, and long-time educator, will lead a group on a wildflower walk. Come enjoy the beautiful trails at Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson, through the forest and out to the spectacular kettle-hole bog, from 10 a.m.-noon.

The bog is just waking up, with its collection of pitcher plants, sundews, bog laurel, rhodoras, leatherleafs and cotton grasses. And the walk through the woods will be just as exciting and alive with spring wildflowers emerging, including a large collection of lady slippers in bloom. Wanda has a tale for them all, including medicinal and Native American uses, as well as the natural history of the plants and their environment.

Wanda has a passion for Maine’s native plants; she encourages people to observe nature closely, wherever and whenever. “There’s something to admire in every season.” She wants people to get up close and personal with Maine's native flora by helping her students discover the surprising diversity, history, and loveliness of Maine’s wildflowers.

Wanda grew up on a dairy farm in Aroostook County in the 1940s and 1950s. Her parents taught her to identify the flowers and trees growing in the woods and fields around their home. “Mom knew all the edible plants because her family gathered them, and Dad knew all the trees and flowers,” Garland says. “We were so connected. Our lives followed the flow of seasons.”

Please dress appropriately – expect bugs, including ticks. $10 suggested donation, $5 for Midcoast Conservancy members. For more information, go to midcoastconservancy.org/events, or call (207) 389-5150.