Rhode Island Wild Plant Society

06/19/2026

🦋 National Pollinator Pathway hosted a powerful and timely webinar on pesticide use and its impacts on pollinators, wildlife, and human health. The conversation was thoughtful, informative, and ultimately hopeful—grounded in science and focused on real actions we can take at the local and state levels. The panelists included:

🐦 Emily May, Agricultural Conservation Lead with the Xerces Society.
Emily provides a broad overview of pesticide toxicity and how its use has increased since the 1990s, with a focus on the impacts of common lawn and garden chemicals—including neonicotinoids—on pollinators and birds.

🪲 Lucas Rhoads, Senior Attorney on the Pollinators and Pesticides Team at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Lucas works to protect bees and other pollinators from a wide range of threats, including pesticide use, habitat destruction, and climate change. He advocates at both the federal and state levels for policies that protect these vital species—while employing litigation to enhance and enforce existing protections.

🌱 Dina Brewster, farmer and founder of the Northeast Seed Collective.
Dina grounded the discussion in real-world experience—sharing how organic farming, local seed systems, and healthy pollinator populations are deeply interconnected, and how communities can support farmers and regenerative practices.

Click the link in this post to view a recording of the webinar. Enjoy!

Join us for this free webinar to hear about actions we can take at ...

06/16/2026

🌏 Ecological gardening sustains the living systems shaped by evolution—systems on which microbes, plants, wildlife, and all life depend.

🌱 Planting species historically native to Rhode Island and our larger ecoregion (Ecoregion 59!) fosters the rich, complex, interdependent web of relationships that sustain our plants and local wildlife. 🕸

🌦 When properly sited for their growing conditions, native plants will thrive and consume minimum ecological resources. In particular, ecotypic plants (those sourced and grown from local wild populations) can carry genetically-coded local adaptations.

📖 Head to RIWPS.org/ecological-gardening to learn more and access resources to help you develop your own ecological garden!

🙋Always feel free to reach out to this account with all of your burning native plant and ecological gardening questions.

What to plant to enhance biodiversity, including plants for birds and pollinators

06/12/2026

🛶 Join RIWPS, the Wood-Pawcatuck Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship Council, and the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association for a series of summer evening paddles on the Wood River to discover aquatic flowers!

🏞️ In addition to plant identification, attendees will also learn about the ecology of the Wood River and why it has been designated as a National Wild and Scenic River. These paddles will be led by naturalist Denise Poyer, former Program Director for WPWA and currently a member of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Council and RIWPS.

🗓 Paddles will be held on several dates, including:
🔆 Thursday, July 23, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
🔆 Friday, July 24 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (rain date: Saturday July 25)
🔆 Thursday, August 20 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
🔆 Friday, August 21 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m (rain date: Saturday August 22)

📒 Registration Required
👥 Limit of 15 participants per paddle session
🌲 Location: 203 Arcadia Road, Hope Valley
💰 Fee: $30 per person (includes individual kayaks, paddles, life jackets, and paddle guides)

Click the link in this post for registration and payment information!

Summer Evening Kayak: A Delightful Way to Experience Wetland Flowers When • Thursday, July 23, 2026 from 5 pm to 7:30 pm • Friday, July 24, 2026 from 5 pm […]

06/09/2026

🔆 Many of you may have been following along with RIWPS’ first ever capital campaign, “Seeds for the Next Generation,” to raise funds for new facilities for Seeds Starters West in South Kingstown.

🪚 While there is still much work to be done (and many funds still to be raised 💸), things are coming together nicely. The hoop house is completed and work on the shed/workspace will begin soon!

🌱 The completed hoop house was put to good use as we prepared for the Spring Native Plant Sale held this past month. After starting many of the plants for the sale from seed in January 2025 (or earlier!), dedicated SSW volunteers utilized our new facilities to sort, primp and price the plants they were proud to offer at the sale.

🪴 This beautiful new hoop house is already starting to grow even more plants for next year's May sale. The entire SSW team sends heartfelt thanks to the incredible carpentry team and to everyone else whose contributions made this new "home" possible!

💲We are about half way to our fundraising goal. If you are able, please head to RIWPS.org to donate. THANK YOU for helping us grow!

05/30/2026

🌺 RIWPS’ May Invasive Plant Spotlight features non-native European columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) vs. our native red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis).

A few posts back, we talked about the importance of early-season nectar to pollinators, including hummingbirds! European columbine often blooms later in the spring than native red columbine. Migrating hummingbirds depend on the nectar from the earlier blooming native plants as a source of food and energy. 💪

🔋 While both flowers are beautiful, only one (our native red columbine!) produces sufficient nectar for pollinators.

05/27/2026

💡 Looking for ways to help migrating and native birds, insects, and wildlife in general? Consider turning off your outdoor lights!

The LIGHTS OUT program from the National Audubon Society provides guidance on how all of us can help migrating birds. Butterflies, moths and other pollinators also benefit from turning our outdoor lights off during this critical time of the year. 🦋

🐦 Every year, billions of birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall, the majority of them flying at night, navigating with the night sky. However, as they pass over big cities on their way, they can become disoriented by bright artificial lights and skyglow, often causing them to collide with buildings or windows. 🌇

Learn more at the link below! ⬇

Providing safe passage for night-migrating birds.

05/25/2026

💫 CONGRATS to our hardworking RIWPS Grant recipients!

A total of $9,685 has been awarded to twelve recipients for programs ranging from research to planting Keystone trees and shrubs. These programs are local to Rhode Island and focus on projects that advance our core mission to protect native plants and their habitats. We look forward to seeing the results of your exciting work! 🌱

05/22/2026

🔍 Looking to brush up on your native plant identification? Join botanist Beth Dickson for a workshop on how to key wildflowers using Newcomb's Wildflower Guide and GoBotany!

Plant ID in the Classroom: Techniques of Identification
🌱 May 30, 2026, 9:00 to 12:00
🌱 URI Greenhouse, Kingston, RI
🌱 Paid registration required: $20.00 for members, $30.00 for non-members.

📇 Click the link in this post to learn more or to register. See you there!

Upcoming programs and events page

05/18/2026

It’s springtime! Is it too late to sow native plant seeds? 🌼

🌱 Rest assured: the answer is no, it’s not too late!

❄️ Many native seeds require a cold/moist period called stratification before germination and are best sown in winter, but some species will germinate without it.

🌿 RIWPS' ReSeeding RI seeds and other ecoregion 59 seeds are available online at the Northeast Seed Collective (northeastseedcollective.com). Just look for species with a germination code of "A"!

Some species to sow now include:
✅ common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
✅ common selfheal (Prunella vulgaris lanceolata)
✅ wild bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)
✅ broad leaved mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
✅ narrow leaved mountain mints (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)

📸 Pictured: common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

🌱 Happy sowing!

05/12/2026

🌱 THANK YOU to all of the many volunteers and attendees that contributed to this year's RIWPS spring native plant sale ❣

These plant sales are made possible by the hours of hard work our volunteers pour into them - and they would be nothing without fellow native plant lovers coming out in droves to buy our plants! Swipe through for some scenes scenes from the day ⏩

Cheers to our attendees and volunteers! 🎉

📸 Photos courtesy of Peter L.