Past Events › Eco-tour

Native sedges are gaining in popularity, growers are responding, and more varieties are coming to the market. With so many to choose from, there are endless options of color, texture, and size.

The Ecological Landscape Alliance invites you to tour the private gardens of landscape designer and pollinator expert, Thomas Berger. When choosing plants to support insects in our gardens, we want to make the most of our limited space. Which plants nourish the most species? And which kinds of insects need our support the most urgently?

During the Research Field Tour Dr. Cathy Neal, UNH Extension Professor and Researcher with the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, will share results from ten years of research on wildflower meadow establishment, helping you to successfully plan, prepare, plant and maintain a beautiful and functional wildflower meadow that blooms all season long.

Join John Kinchla, owner of Amherst Nurseries, for a guided walk through the growing areas, following the life of a tree at the nursery. You’ll see equipment and practices in use now and learn about sustainable options the nursery is exploring for the future.

Charbrook Farm is the modern homestead of Lauren and Stephen Stimson and their family in Princeton, Massachusetts. Located down the road from the historic Stimson Farm and Charbrook Nursery, this working farm has become a field station for the STIMSON landscape architecture practice. On this guided tour, Lauren and Stephen will discuss the concept of integrating ecology, agriculture and landscape architecture.

To manage meadows and control invasive plant species, Habitat has incorporated a small herd of resident Nigerian Dwarf goats. The goats happily graze on invasive plants such as bittersweet, buckthorn, and multiflora rose, as well as successional saplings.

Asters and Goldenrods Start to Finish will focus on different species with a focus on their use in the garden and will include discussion of species selection for different sites. Additionally, this tour will address the propagation of various species, including how to collect and sow seed.

The park introduces a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial plant communities and habitats to the formerly desolate site and incorporates stormwater management techniques that capture runoff for irrigation. Ongoing park maintenance and upkeep is self-financed and funded through revenue generated from vendors, donations, and development parcels located within the park.