Creating and Maintaining Community Gardens

Since this presentation was cancelled in July, and had such a great response, we have rescheduled it for September. Three speakers in one night! Come and hear how Amy Greene took a small group of volunteers and a small grant and planted over 1000 native perennials and shrubs in front of the Raritan Twp Municipal Building. Listen to Andrew Plunkett explain how he helped design native gardens in public space that educate the public about native plants and how Denise Birmingham created and maintains 5 native gardens in Clinton Township.

Andrew Plunkett The projects Andrew will speak about are in highly visible public spaces. He aims to not only beautify public spaces and make them more ecologically beneficial, but he also wants to educate the public on native plant gardens.These gardens are also designed to be as low maintenance as possible which also happens to be what is best for our ecosystem.

Amy Greene Who says we can’t plant a native garden in front of a government building? Amy will speak about the native plant and pollinator garden in front of the Raritan Township Municipal Building, where she worked with several township committees and a few volunteers to install over 20 trees and shrubs,and over 700 perennials.

Denise Birmingham The Clinton Conservancy’s mission is to provide native plantings on public lands that benefit both wildlife and people. Since its beginning in 2017 with a Sustainable NJ grant, Denise has helped create gardens in five public areas. She will take us through the annual routine of growth and maintenance that helps the gardens to thrive.