Past Events

Plant Swap Fundraiser May 8th

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9:00 am – 1:00 pm
39 Courtland Avenue

Once again this year the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network will be holding a plant swap fundraiser on May 8th from 9 am to 1 pm, hosted by Charlotte Caplan.  Our first plant swap in 2019 was highly successful, raising hundreds of dollars to supplement our annual budget.  Basically the idea is that folks can bring in plants from their garden (natives preferred) and exchange them for other plants.  Or they can simply buy plants at a nominal price of $4 each if they wish to take away more than they brought.  We make money by providing a start-up selection of plants donated by BRNN members.

With this message we would like to enlist your support in making this year’s event a success.  We need your help with the following:
Plant Donations

  • Many of us have gardens with interesting native plants.  The perennials gradually spread and benefit from divisions every couple of years.  March is the best time of year to divide your perennials – if you can save the divisions and pot them up with potting soil they should be in fine shape by May.  If you need pots, reach out to Charlotte at  ccaplannc1@juno.com and she can provide them.  We do ask that you label the pots; Charlotte suggests that plastic yogurt or similar containers can be cut up to yield plant labels.  We’d like each plant labeled with its common name, sun/shade preference, and mature height.  Our team can assist with this if required.

Volunteering to Work the Event

  • We learned from our 2019 event that things go best with at least five members working the event:
    • One person checking in plants and assigning credits
    • One person checking people out
    • One person potting and labeling the plants brought in
    • Two persons roving the crowd to answer questions and keep the displays organized

For this year’s event, we’re planning two 3 hour shifts, an early shift including set-up from 8 am to 11 am and a later shift from 10:30 to 1:30 with a little overlap and some time to help clean up afterwards.
If you would like to volunteer either your plants or your time, please let Randy Richardson know at outdoorprograms@brnnetwork.com.  Thanks in advance for your support.