Native Plants: Nurturing Nature and Our Community

Name: Native Plants: Nurturing Nature and Our Community
Start: 2026-06-13T10:00:00-04:00
Location: Jacob Coy Middle School

Schedule

Sat, 13 Jun, 2026 at 10:00 am

UTC-04:00

Location

Jacob Coy Middle School | Beavercreek, OH

Celebrate the power of native plants and their impact on our environment and community! Join us for a vibrant day filled with inspiration, education, and connection.
Browse a variety of native plant, natural product and artisan vendors set up throughout the courtyard, enjoy live music, and grab lunch while you explore. Step inside the auditorium for free presentations from knowledgeable speakers—just through the courtyard’s glass doors. (In case of rain, all vendors will be indoors.)
Whether you’re starting your first pollinator garden or expanding your landscape, you’ll find everything you need—and plenty of inspiration.
Scroll down or visit our website to meet our speakers, explore confirmed vendors, and plan your day. We can’t wait to see you there! 🌿
https://beavercreekwetlands.org/native-plants-nurture/
Speaker Schedule:
Courtney Denning
10:30am-11:15am
Title: Your Yard is Habitat: How Native Plants Connect People and Wildlife
Description:
Nature isn’t separate from where we live. It’s right outside our doors. This talk explores why native plants are essential to healthy ecosystems and how they support the insects, birds, and wildlife we see every day. We’ll look at the problems invasive species create, define what makes certain plants “keystone species,” and highlight fascinating plant-animal interactions you can observe in your own yard or local park. Designed for beginners, this talk will help you see your surroundings in a whole new way.
A person with short hair, wearing a purple DRL t-shirt and orange pants, sits on a wooden chair outdoors in front of yellow flowering plants, smiling at the camera.
ABOUT COURTNEY
Courtney Denning has been interested in nature and studying wildlife since childhood. She studied plant ecology at Ohio University and now designs native plant gardens, leads consultations, and supports education and outreach at Deeply Rooted Landscapes. At home, she grows more than 200 native Ohio plants on less than a quarter acre, proving that small spaces can make a big ecological impact.
Lauren Craig
11:45am-12:30pm
Title: Incorporating Native Edibles in Your Landscape to Feed Humans and Wildlife Alike
Description: Lauren Craig is a local homesteader and permaculture designer who specializes in using native edibles in her designs. In this talk, she’ll share some of the most fruitful native edible trees, shrubs, and other plantings that you can add to your yard to feed both you and the local ecosystem!
A woman with long curly hair and glasses, wearing a brown dress, smiles while standing next to green vines in a garden on a sunny day.
ABOUT LAUREN:
Lauren owns Humble Hive Consulting. She is a local homesteader and permaculture designer who spends her days designing gardens, landscapes and homesteads for clients worldwide. She specializes in incorporating edible, medicinal and native plants in her designs and is passionate about empowering others to grow more of their own food. She resides on her 1 acre homestead with her 2 children and their goal is to generate 80% of the resources needed to sustain their existence within 10 years’ time.
Carol Trosset
1:00pm-1:45pm
Title: When Spring Comes: Changing Wildflower Bloom Dates
Description: Native spring wildflowers bloom after the ground thaws and before tree leaves shade the forest floor. They bloom in a sequence that is related to the presence of pollinators and the amount of sunlight. Exact bloom dates vary with the weather, but have been changing over time since the 1970s.
The Trosset family established a small wildflower woods in the 1960s and kept detailed records of the timing of many different species. Our speaker will discuss the ecology of spring wildflowers, and what she has learned about the changing spring sequence from these records and more recent data.
A smiling person wearing glasses, a plaid shirt, and a tan zoo cap sits outdoors. A monarch butterfly rests on the back of their cap, surrounded by green foliage and branches.
ABOUT CAROL:
Carol Trosset grew up in Cincinnati studying nature with her family and in the Cincinnati Zoo’s Junior Zoologist’s Club. After retiring from her career as a social scientist studying higher education effectiveness, she returned to Cincinnati, where she manages the Trosset Wildflower Sanctuary at Gorman Heritage Farm and volunteers at the Zoo and at Great Parks. Carol is the author of The Woods: The Natural History of an Acre in Southwestern Ohio, published by the Ohio Biological Survey.

Registered Vendors & Product Description
Cojack Photography– Night/astro photography prints. Blending night sky images with foregrounds primarily from local parks. I also make small usable goods- tile coasters, bookmarks, and holiday ornaments with my art. I also plan on making new 12×12 wall clocks using total eclipse images from Beavercreek in 2024.
Dayton Bees and Native Plants– Native plants grown from seed. I will have at least 10 species of native plants in 3-4 inch pots.
Deeply Rooted Landscapes- Native Plant Nursery
Humble Hive Consulting- Garden design books with the design, shopping list, and installation instructions. Many of my designs include it highlight native plantings.
Junebug’s Natives– Native plants including perennials, vines, ferns, shrubs, and trees.
Lucky Rabbit Curios– Lincocut prints, original artwork, greeting cards.
http://lucky-rabbit-curios.myshopify.com/
Meadowsweet Ecological Landscapes- Native Plants and Seeds
https://meadowsweetlandscapes.com/
Midnight Maille Weaver- Artisan made chainmaille jewelry. I will be bringing pieces like butterflies pendants, butterfly bracelets, dragonflies, turtles, and rings with little bits of nature as the focal points. I work in anodized aluminum and stainless steel jump rings.
Milkweed Patch LLC– Located in Troy, Ohio. Providing several varieties of Ohio native milkweed and other native plants that have been selected to support monarch butterflies and other insects. Our plants are meant to be eaten – to feed monarch caterpillars and butterflies. That means no chemicals are ever used on them! Check out the catalog on our website to see what we might be bringing!
https://www.themilkweedpatch.com
Native Ohio Plants, LLC– All native plants sold in containers; mostly one gallon trees and shrubs and some one quart wildflowers.
https://nativeohioplants.com/
Patrick Goes Native– Patrick Goes Native offers locally grown native plants selected for Southwest Ohio landscapes, with nearly 150 species in production this season.
In addition to plant sales, we provide consultation, landscape design guidance, installation support, and prairie establishment services. Our plants and services help homeowners reduce lawn maintenance, eliminate pesticides, and create lasting habitat for pollinators, birds, and the broader food web, while blending ecological function with practical, beautiful landscape design.
Pollinators and Posies-Pollinators and Posies offers unframed, framed, and stained glass pressed flower artwork.
As a lifelong gardener and nature lover, I find beauty in natural elements. These passions flow into my simple, uncluttered designs, cutting through the noise and busyness of modern life. Every flower I harvest is grown using sustainable practices in my yard. The flowers are not color corrected; their vibrant colors are 100% natural.
Swallowtail Ridge Farm & Botanicals- Handmade self-care products made from home-grown native and medicinal plants: teas, soaps, salves, skincare products.
Our vision is to connect people with plants for a greater purpose: a deeper, more reciprocal relationship with this beautiful planet we call home. Our hope is that when people use our products, they remember how intimately interconnected we are with the Earth and how generously she supports us.
https://swallowtailridge.com/
Wild Birds Unlimited (Kettering/Huber Heights Location)– Nature oriented gifts and books along with a selection of items that support the hobby of backyard bird feeding.
Non-Profit Booths
Dayton Area Wild Ones- Dayton Area Wild Ones is a regional chapter of Wild Ones, a national organization that teaches about the benefits of using native plants to create natural landscapes. The primary goals of DAWO are to educate and support homeowners as they develop their own native landscapes, to educate the public, and to enhance public spaces in our local communities.
National Wildlife Federation- Garden for Wildlife literature from the National Wildlife Federation and information about their backyard habitat certification program, as well as information about supporting pollinators and native plants.
Nightingale Montessori- Native plants in mostly 1 gal. – 3 gal. pots