We hope you will join
The Garden Club of Weaverville
for Our February Meeting
Program: The Life, Death and Rebirth of the American Chestnut
Tuesday, February 9 at 9:30 am
via Zoom
[Zoom meeting link will be sent to Club members prior to the meeting]
Just over 100 years ago about 400 billion American Chestnut Trees towered over our present day oaks and other broad-leaved trees as the predominant hardwood. As the premier Chestnut Tree in the world, they provided fast growing lumber that was light, straight-grained, and rot resistant. The American Chestnut Tree was also a pivotal part of a native, healthy, diverse ecosystem ranging from Canada south to Mississippi and from the Ohio Valley to the eastern seaboard. Lisa Thomson, President & CEO, and Sara Fitzsimmons, Director of Restoration of The American Chestnut Foundation will explain the demise of the American Chestnut Tree, the science that could save the species, and their non-profit’s collaboration with outside partners to restore this grand tree to its native range.
Our Speakers:
In 2015, Lisa joined The American Chestnut Foundation as its President & CEO to build on its loyal constituency and help restore the magnificent American chestnut tree to its native range. Her expertise includes conservation land management and species restoration, family philanthropic advising and estate planning, and the building and mentoring of staff teams.
Sara Fern Fitzsimmons has worked with The American Chestnut Foundation at Penn State University since 2003, assisting chestnut growers and researchers throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Sara hopes her research and professional work will facilitate long-term conservation and restoration of native tree species at risk from exotic pests and diseases.
The Garden Club of Weaverville is a co-ed, non-profit organization open to everyone. For more information on what we do, becoming a member or supporting the clubvisit our website.
We hope you will join
The Garden Club of Weaverville
for Our January Meeting
Program: Saving Seeds From Your Garden
Tuesday, January 12 at 9:30 am
via Zoom
[Zoom meeting link will be sent to Club members prior to the meeting]
Seed saving is a powerful and simple act that can launch you into a world of heirloom seed stories, varietal adaptation, seed swaps, seed preservation, and increased biodiversity. Chris Smith will offer a glimpse into the joys of seed saving and leave you with some practical knowledge and follow up resources to start (or continue) your seed saving journey.
Chris Smith is the executive director of the Utopian Seed Project, a crop-trialing non-profit working to celebrate food and farming. His book, The Whole Okra, won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2020. He also co-hosts The Okra Pod Cast. More info at blueandyellowmakes.com
The Garden Club of Weaverville is a co-ed, non-profit organization open to everyone. For more information on what we do, becoming a member or supporting the clubvisit our website.
We hope you will join
The Garden Club of Weaverville
for Our December Meeting
Program: An Update on Recent Work of the Bountiful Cities Non-Profit
Tuesday, December 8 at 9:30 am
via Zoom
[Zoom meeting link will be sent to Club members prior to the meeting]
Cathy Cleary will update our group on the recent work of the Bountiful Cities organization for which she is the outreach coordinator.
Bountiful Cities is an Urban Agriculture and Food Justice Non-Profit working towards long-term food security for our community. As is true for many organizations in 2020 they have had to get creative! Their educational programming has shifted largely to virtual platforms (see the photo below of Jordan giving a virtual garden tour to 4th graders on her phone!) and instead of working with kids in school gardens they have relied on volunteers to do the work that many small hands usually do during school days. They have directed food from donors and gardens to communities that are most marginalized, and many of the gardens in our community garden network have focused more on growing more to donate. They recognize the need for resilience and are so grateful to volunteers and supporters who have helped them continue to do the work of serving our community.
The Garden Club of Weaverville is a co-ed, non-profit organization open to everyone. For more information on what we do, becoming a member or supporting the clubvisit our website.
We hope you will join The Garden Club of Weaverville for Our November Meeting
Program: Planting for Resilient Landscapes – Presented by Nina Shippen
Tuesday, November 10 at 9:30 am
– via Zoom –
* Zoom details sent to Club members prior to the meeting
* Visit Join us! on our website to become a member
Over time, the plantings in our urban and suburban gardens tend to become less like naturally occurring plant communities. Nina Shippen will share her insights on inviting wildness back into our gardens by designing landscapes that look and function more like they do in the wild: resilient, diverse, and visually harmonious. The underlying concepts in Nina’s presentation are drawn from the book Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West. This book is dedicated to the idea of a ‘new nature’ – a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated – that can flourish in our cities and suburbs. It includes practical guidelines for how to incorporate and layer plants into plant communities to create an environment that is reflective of natural systems and thrives within our altered landscapes.
Nina Shippen practices residential landscape and garden design that focuses on coupling the principles of healing gardens with sound ecologic practices to create satisfying gardens for her clients. A graduate of the landscape design program at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, she has lived and gardened in Transylvania County since 2005. She has taught several courses at NC Arboretum since 2009. Currently, she teaches the introductory classes for the Ecological Gardening certificate program, landscape design, slopes, and healing gardens.
The Garden Club of Weaverville is a co-ed, non-profit organization open to everyone. For more information on what we do, becoming a member or supporting the club visit our website.
The Garden Club of Weaverville, NC 