July 1 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Our July 1 chapter meeting will include a presentation by Roger Sanderson on “Ecological Importance of Landscaping with Native Plants – Trees & Shrubs“. You can attend either in-person at the Heard Museum in McKinney or virtually via Zoom.
The naturalist Doug Tallamy has brilliantly elucidated the critical need for using native plants in our home gardens and landscapes. Most people concerned about the natural world know that we need native plants to provide food for insects, which in turn are necessary to provide food for birds and other animals. They also provide fruits to feed them directly and flowers to maintain pollinator populations to ensure their reproduction. So which trees and shrubs are most beneficial, and provide the most uses to the most species of insects, birds, or animals – especially the ones we most want to share our backyards with? This presentation will cover a wide variety of trees and shrubs and what each provides. We will review which birds, bugs, or other wildlife use them, their advantages to the home landscape, and how they sustain the local ecology and a healthy environment.
Joining our Meeting
Doors (and Zoom) open at 6:30 PM for connection testing and setup. The meeting officially begins at 7:00 PM with a brief chapter update from our President Rodney Thomas, followed by Roger’s presentation.
Our meetings are open to the public. You can join us in person at the Heard Museum’s Laughlin Hall, via the south entrance to the building, or online through Zoom using the following details:
Zoom Link: https://tinyurl.com/yn85nbzd
Meeting ID: 885 5459 6572 / Passcode: 571904
About our Speaker
Roger Sanderson has a vast and varied background as a naturalist, with interests in native plants, snakes, birds, insects, and paleontology. He was Director of Horticulture at the Texas Discovery Gardens for over 7 years. In addition, he was the Director of Botanical Gardens / Wildlife Biologist at the Heard Natural Science Museum for the prior 11 years. Roger also owned his own landscape company, which he still operates part-time. A specialist on Pollinator Gardens, he created a huge Butterfly Garden and Hummingbird Garden of national acclaim at Texas Discovery Gardens. He also developed noteworthy pollinator gardens at the Heard Museum, Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, the Dallas Mayor’s Pollinator Garden, and for numerous schools throughout the DFW area. Roger had a weekly column for several years in the Dallas Morning News on plants and gardening and continues to write articles about nature in several publications.
