Midlands Chapter, South Carolina Native Plant Society

05/31/2026

Welcome to the Midlands Chapter, South Carolina Native Plant Society -- your community for protecting, restoring, and educating around native plants in the Columbia area.
Here's how to get involved:
🌿 Follow this Page for events, programs, and plant sales
🌿 Join our community group for plant ID help, photos, and conversation: facebook.com/groups/1825606274382956
🌿 Become a member: scnps.org/membership
Come grow with us.

05/27/2026

Love native plants? Come share that passion at Ag & Art Tours! 🌿

We're looking for volunteers to staff our info tables at two upcoming events - Fire Barrel Farm in Swansea (May 30) and Rosewood Community Orchard in Columbia (June 6 & 7). You'll greet visitors, chat about native plants, and introduce people to what SCNPS is all about.

No experience necessary - just enthusiasm! 🌻 Sign up now to join our awesome group!

05/15/2026

May is one of the best months to explore the Midlands - and we've got three incredible events lined up.

🌷May 16-17 - Columbia Green Festival of Gardens
Tour private gardens, meet local experts, and get inspired by the beauty of spring.
Event info: columbiagreen.org/2024fog-need-to-know-1

🚜May 16 - Ag + Art Tour (Calhoun County)
A free, self-guided farm + art tour celebrating local makers, growers, and rural heritage.
Event info: agandarttour.com/calhoun

🐢May 23 - Gopher Tortoise Field Trip
A rare chance to see South Carolina's only native tortoise in its habitat.
Event info: scnps.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/scnps/event.jsp?event-2007

Bring your curiosity, your camera, and a friend.

Let's celebrate the landscapes and species that make our region special.

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

Happening TONIGHT! South Carolina has its own mint species — and the botanist who helped document it is speaking.

We’re excited to welcome Dr. John Nelson at 7 pm for a fascinating deep dive into the mint family (Lamiaceae), including the story behind Stachys caroliniana, our very own native mint species.

If you’re into gardening, native plants, ecology, or just love learning something new, this is a perfect Thursday evening plan.

📍 1605 Park Circle, Columbia, SC
🌱 Free + open to everyone

💻 Can’t make it in person?
Join via Zoom — link in our LinkTree.

👉 Know someone who’d love this? Tag them or share this post to help spread the word.

05/11/2026

🌿JOIN THE MOVEMENT: LESS LAWN MORE LIFE 🌿

What if your backyard or balcony was full of birds, butterflies, and life with just one small action a week?

This spring we’re joining the FREE Less Lawn More Life Challenge, a 12-week program that guides you through turning your outdoor space into a thriving habitat. No experience needed. No lawn required. Balcony gardens, small plots, and rural acres all count.

The kickoff was a free live virtual event on May 7th at 7pm ET featuring a keynote from Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, and one of the most celebrated voices weaving together indigenous wisdom and plant science.

Every participant starts with a free Wildr Score, a 5-minute ecological health assessment of their outdoor space. Take it at the start of the challenge. Take it again at the end. Most people are surprised by how much changes.

Sign up → lesslawnmorelife.com

Share this with someone who's ready to see a little less lawn and a lot more life!

🌿JOIN THE MOVEMENT: LESS LAWN MORE LIFE 🌿
What if your backyard (or balcony!) was full of birds, butterflies, and life, and getting there took just one small action a week?
This spring we’re joining the FREE Less Lawn More Life Challenge, a 12-week program that guides you through turning your outdoor space into a thriving habitat. No experience needed. No lawn required. Balcony gardens, small plots, and rural acres all count.
The kickoff was a free live virtual event on May 7th at 7pm ET featuring a keynote from Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, and one of the most celebrated voices weaving together indigenous wisdom and plant science.
Every participant starts with a free Wildr Score, a 5-minute ecological health assessment of their outdoor space. Take it at the start of the challenge. Take it again at the end. Most people are surprised by how much changes.
Sign up → lesslawnmorelife.com And share this with someone who's ready to see a little less lawn and a lot more life!

05/06/2026

Join us at this special meeting to hear from the SC Department of Transportation about its pilot project to test planting pollinator habitat along Midlands highways.

Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m.
1605 Park Circle, Columbia, SC

We will join the Midlands Nature and Bird Alliance and others to host Jennifer Gruber, the State Roadside Manager for the SC Department of Transportation. Jennifer will share information about her agency’s pilot project to provide pollinator habitat along stretches of Interstates 95, 20, 26 and 77 in the Midlands. This is really exciting so we hope you’ll join us to find out what’s going on.

Please use the link below to sign up and find the Zoom link if you can't attend in person.
https://scnps.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/scnps/event.jsp?event=2179

Our regular meeting is still scheduled for May 14. Details in the calendar at scnps.org/calendar.
Midlands Nature and Bird Alliance

12/03/2025

Beautiful evening with .renkl in conversation with Jim Barilla at taking about the paths to writing and the solace of—and fight for—the natural world that surrounds and sustains us.
Heartening to be in a big room with so many folks working to grow native plants, protect wild places, introduce others to birds & bugs & wildlife & what they need to survive.
Thanks to fellow sponsors