Native Plant Workshop April 7
The Native Plant Workshop, hosted annually by Keep Sedona Beautiful (KSB), will be held on Saturday, April 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., at the West Sedona School, 570 Posse Ground Road, Sedona, Arizona. Doors open at 7:45 a.m. Coffee, breakfast nibbles and water will be available. (Please bring your own water bottle.)
This popular annual program offers six one-hour presentations ranging from attracting birds and butterflies to repelling pests (in an environmentally friendly way, of course). Xeriscaping and the native plant walkabout are always popular. This year, appreciating the unpopular (lichens) rounds out the six breakout sessions. Attendees choose two workshop topics when enrolling and receive tickets to those when checking in at the Saturday event.
“Unleash Your Garden’s Wild Side: Garden Design Using Native Plants” is the morning keynote, addressing Sedona homeowners’ number one landscaping question: How do we use native plants without making our front yard look like a weed patch? Hattie Braun, Master Gardener and Director for Coconino Cooperative Extension, promises that with a little planning, attention to some principles of landscape design, and careful selection of plants, you can have a native plant landscape that works in harmony with the environment, provides a haven for native wildlife, and is attractive in the most urban of settings. Whether you want to add a few native plants to an existing landscape or are starting from scratch, this talk focuses on steps and ideas to help you create an appealing landscape using primarily native plants.
Braun has lived and gardened in Flagstaff for 25 years. She has an M.S. in Horticulture and is a Coconino Master Gardener. In fact, she has been coordinating the Coconino Master Gardener program for the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension since 2003. She took the reins as Director for Coconino Cooperative Extension in 2016.
In the afternoon, VIVA LA VERDE!, a 58-minute independent documentary film seven years in the making, explores the past, present and future of Arizona rivers, using the foremost surviving perennial river in Arizona, the Verde River, as a case study. The film combines amazing wildlife photos and video with educational animated sequences, expert interviews, and an original soundtrack.
Filmmaker Hugh Denno, who began this film as his senior project for Prescott College in 2011, will host the film and answer questions. More than 90% of the river habitat in Arizona is already gone, but there is still hope for the Verde river and other rivers like it. Viva la Verde! reminds us time is running out and we must take action or completely run out of water.
Advance tickets for the Native Plant Workshop are $25 for KSB members and $35 for the general public. At the door, tickets are $35 for KSB members and $45 for the general public. Admission includes two keynote speakers, two out of six workshops, breakfast savories, lunch, a silent auction and access to plant-related vendors. Order tickets and reserve your workshop spaces at https://www.keepsedonabeautiful.org/2018-39th-annual-native-plant-workshop/.
Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc., acting through the stewardship of its members and volunteers, is committed to protecting and sustaining the unique scenic beauty and natural environment of the Greater Sedona area. For more information call the KSB office at 928-282- 4938 or email info@keepsedonabeautiful.org.