Digging in the Dirt: November Planting Highlights 

NCWF, Bull City Trailblazers, Neuse River Hawks, Triad Wild! and North Carolina Plant Conservation Program staff planted 500 native plants at Hebron Road Prairie, a Plant Conservation Preserve (PCP) in Durham. The North Carolina Botanical Garden has grown a series of local ecotypes of prairie-affiliated plant species to share with conservation partners. The Burt’s Bees Foundation funded the project to help restore biodiversity and promote pollinator-friendly habitat. PCPs are permanently protected to conserve North Carolina’s native flora and their habitats. Currently, there are 26 Preserves managed by the program under the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

South Wake Conservationists worked with Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs to plant 200 shade-tolerant pollinator plants and transform the site into a native shade plant demonstration garden. Many people in the area wanted to create pollinator gardens in their yards but felt restricted by dense tree cover and limited sunlight. The demonstration garden is an example of what people can do in their own shaded yards.

The New Bern Wildlife Chapter planted 22 large native trees at Creekside Park to enhance the park’s beauty and provide essential sources of food and shelter for local wildlife. The 21 trees and shrubs planted at the same park last year continue to provide habitat for local New Bern wildlife.

NCWF, the Concord Wildlife Alliance and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation planted 14 trees and 75 pollinator plants at Wings of Eagles Ranch. The “Center for Hope” gives families with special needs children and adults, along with at-risk youth in the community, the opportunity to “Soar on Wings like Eagles.”

South Wake Conservationists spent a morning at the beautiful Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park located at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Volunteers planted 61 native trees and shrubs at the park, which was designed to connect art, nature and people.