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The Communal Garden: Natives for Your Beds

Classes in The Communal Garden series teach gardeners skills that can be used in community gardens or to support their community through gardening. They are low-cost in an effort to advance gardening skills in our communities. The series is a part of the Conservatory’s Growing to Green program, which supports and develops community gardens across Central Ohio.

Grow your garden beyond vegetables, and consider incorporating some of Ohio’s native plants! Learn more about native plants that can produce food, and even what ‘weeds’ you might be able to utilize in a harvest.

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Instructor: Rick Gardner, ODNR Rick Gardner is currently the chief botanist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. Rick has been studying Ohio’s flora and natural areas for over 30 years. He has spent most of his career in the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves but has worked for the Division of Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy of Ohio. Rick leads the Ohio Natural Heritage Section with the Division which tracks Ohio’s rare flora and plant communities. He also assists in land protection projects within the Division. He has conducted vegetation inventory studies at Camp Garfield Joint Military Training Center, McConnelsville Training Center, and Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge, other sites across the state. He is also a visiting scholar at the Ohio State University Herbarium conducting research on Ohio’s flora including invasive plant species, the sedge family, running buffalo clover, xeric limestone prairies and oak barrens. Rick has authored or co-authored peer- reviewed articles on Ohio’s flora. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Botany from Miami University.