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April is my favorite month. It is the time to start somewhere. When we moved into our house several years ago, we inherited a bed of hostas, a lovely ornamental plant that I quickly renamed "deer candy." They are green and fill the space, but they are not host plants for any native insects and they only last for a few weeks until the deer notice the buffet they represent and eat them to nubs. This is the year when I will replace them with native plants: golden ragwort, woodland stonecrop, white wood aster, wild ginger, blue mistflower, and zigzag goldenrod, all fairly deer resistant and shade tolerant.
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Our front yard has some mature trees and this planting bed by the house and plenty of grass. We will not be replanting the entire yard this year, but we are starting somewhere, increasing the biodiversity this season and adding onto that gain next season. Just like Plymouth Meeting Friends in the picture above. Every yard is part of an ecosystem, and if every yard started to include some native plants this year, think how that would look to the birds and insects and toads and salamanders seeking food and shelter.
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I was recently reading some back issues of Grid and was struck by a concept that Alex Mulcahy referenced in his editor's notes. He was quoting Katherine Gajewski, former director of Philadelphia's Office of Sustainability, who said "If we're gonna be the kind of society that is able to take ambitious action on climate...it's about creating a caretaking society."
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That idea is at the center of what we do at Journeywork. If we need to revitalize our habitat for the health of all its creatures, we have to start somewhere, and we can best do it together. With each other, for each other. And it's fun.
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Take the native plant leap, and Journeywork can help you with all levels of somewhere.
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Please keep reading for information about volunteer opportunities, events to attend in person and online, native plant sales, a grant that we won, and the botanically-related children's book that I just published.
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Happy Earth Day, Every Day!
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Join our team!
Journeywork will be planting in
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- Plymouth Meeting on 4/30 from 1-3:00
- East Norriton on 5/5 from 12-2:00 and 5/6 from 9-11:00
- Gwynedd on 5/20 from 9-11:00
- Upper Gwynedd on 5/27 from 8:30-10:30
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And we will be having a not-a-lawn party on 5/28 at 3:30 to showcase the new plants in Upper Gwynedd. Please join us for any or all of these events!
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Events coming up
Paige will be speaking in the second session of the Greening Sacred Spaces series of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting on Wednesday, April 5 from 7-8:30. To register, go here.
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Paige will be the first speaker in the Thursday Night Nature virtual series of Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve on Thursday, April 6 from 7-8:00. To sign up, go here.
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We will have tables at Upper Moreland EAC Earth Day Fair, Masons Mill Park, 3500 Masons Mill Road in Willow Grove and Hatboro Earth Day Celebration from 10-2:00 on Saturday, April 22.
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Journeywork will also be in attendance at Ambler EAC's EarthFest on Saturday, April 29 from 10:00-4:00. It will be held in the Ambler Borough Hall parking lot, and here is the link for more information.
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Check out our local native plant sales and nurseries!
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Thank you, Weavers Way Environment Committee!
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Journeywork received a grant to buy quality children's gardening tools so that kids can dig and rake and plant alongside their parents and grandparents (sample above). Plan a garden with some kids, invite their friends, and call us to help!
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Speaking of kids, Paige wrote a children's book!
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She Held Her Breath in Wonder is a picture book for ages 5-10 about Maria Sibylla Merian, a young girl in 17th century Germany who was captivated by butterflies. Their metamorphosis fascinated her at a time when scientists did not really understand how a butterfly developed. This book follows Maria's story as she grew into a gifted painter who overcame many obstacles to travel to Suriname, where she studied the butterflies there and painted them in all their stages, transforming how scientists understood metamorphosis. You can see a copy of the book Maria created at the Academy of Natural Sciences, and you can buy a copy of Paige's book here.
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Illustrations are gorgeous watercolors by Samantha Holden, and the text is embroidered by Paige. Yes, really. All of Paige's proceeds from the book benefit Journeywork.
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If Journeywork inspires you to sheet mulch, start seeds, or plant some native plants in your yard, please send us a picture! Let's celebrate and support each other!
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If this newsletter gives you something you can use, please consider donating--every little bit helps!
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Our wish list
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Rubbermaid bins with lids for storing gloves and tools
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clean, gently used 5-gallon buckets
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Follow us on social...
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