Even small changes to your yard can make a big difference to native plants and pollinators, said Jamie Koehler, assistant director of the Conservation Nature Center in Cape Girardeau.

This year’s Native Plant and Garden Seminar, set to start at 8:15 a.m. March 14 at the Nature Center, will center on empowering gardeners with knowledge to help build and boost ecosystems in their own yards.

Research by Doug Tallamy, professor and author of “Bringing Nature Home,” indicates even a small garden or yard in a city can make a difference if native plants are incorporated, Koehler said.

“We can provide good habitat for insects, and if we do that, we can provide good habitat for birds. It’s all linked together,” she said.

Keynote speaker Matt Lebon of Custom Foodscaping is driving in from St. Louis for the event, Koehler said.

Noppadol Paothong ~ Missouri Department of Conservation

Lebon is part of a movement to incorporate edible plants into the landscape, Koehler said.

“It fits in with permaculture, sustainability, acting locally,” she said. “He’ll show us how we can use our own front- and backyards, not only to grow flowers for insects and birds, but grow food for ourselves, too, making use of every inch of space.”

Lebon’s sustainability workshops have been well attended in St. Louis, Koehler said, and she said she’s excited to bring him to Cape Girardeau.

Several sessions will be offered throughout the day, both informational and hands-on, Koehler said.

One session will cover Missouri orchids.

“I’d think people would be very interested in Missouri orchids. We have a lot of them and they’re really beautiful,” Koehler said, noting the session will give information on when and where to view these native plants in the coming months.

Another session, Ornamentals Gone Wild, deals with invasive species.

“We have a real problem with invasive species,” Koehler said. “Almost all of them were planted in people’s yards and gardens once upon a time, escaped into the wild, and often revert to bad behaviors, or otherwise become a real problem.”

A Missouri Department of Conservation official will speak on best practices to deal with invasive species, she added.

The two hands-on sessions, plant propagation in the morning and an afternoon class on native bees, will each give participants something to take home: plant starts in the morning class and a bee shelter from the afternoon class.

“There’s just no end to the topics. We always have to whittle it down because we’re limited on space, and time,” Koehler said.

Additionally, vendors will offer native plants, shrubs and trees, goat milk products, honey, nature-inspired jewelry and more, Koehler added.

The Native Plant and Garden Seminar will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. March 14 at the Conservation Nature Center, 2289 County Park Drive in Cape Girardeau, .

Registration is not required to visit the event vendors, but is required to attend the sessions, which are free of charge.

For more information, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/events or call (573) 290-5218.

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