Have you heard the news about dwindling bee and bird populations and feel inspired to take action, but don’t know where to start? A solution to rebound these critical wildlife populations rests right in your backyard!

In this workshop, attendees gained the basic native garden skills and hands-on experience of converting a section of lawn into viable habitat to support critical wildlife species.

Participants were given free native landscape plugs to add to their own home landscape, courtesy of Homefields’ volunteer native plant grower, Matt Dilley.

Elyse Jurgen, owner of Waxwing EcoWorks Co., is a community collaborator working to rebuild ecological literacy and biodiversity through hands-on ecological gardening experiences in Lancaster/York County, PA.

She is certified as a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional and Ecological/Permaculture Designer, along with earning an Ecological Gardening Certification from Mt. Cuba Center. In addition to her ecological design skills, she has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education, 7–12 Biology Teaching Certification, and participated in Cornell University’s Civic Ecology program.

Elyse works alongside homeowners in a participatory approach to their gardening for wildlife needs, infusing educational opportunities during the design, installation, and management process. She invites homeowners to deeply engage with their land to maximize its potential in supporting dwindling bee, butterfly, and bird populations.