It Takes A Community
If there is anything that native plants can teach us, it’s that for an ecosystem to thrive, it takes a community. That includes real human connections.
Here, there is no competition. There is no one-upmanship. Together we inspire, educate, support and share to work towards a common goal, one in which we live in harmony with the ecosystem. Everything starts at the ground level.
No matter the size of your garden, even if it’s just a balcony or the front porch, we all play a part. If you steward a larger habitat or park, you are also welcome at the table. If you live in an apartment but wish to contribute, we could use the help. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities to be found – you just need to know where to look.
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
Aldo Leopold
WNF&GA Membership
In 2023, Magi Kern joined the local Woman’s National Farm & Garden Association – Ambler Keystone Branch, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. From the moment she joined, she’s been an active member of the organization, assisting in numerous endeavors:
- Assisting with both planting and maintaining the native demo garden, designed by Cindy Trilling Nuss, owner/founder of Nature’s Way Designs, LLC. The native demo garden is located at Twining Valley Park, easily accessible from the parking lot and open to the public.
- Collecting seed from Twining Valley Park’s native demo garden as well as her own property for donation to the local community seed bank, hosted by the Upper Dublin Library
- Teaming up with members of the WNF&GA Ambler Keystone branch at the Upper Dublin Library to clean native plant seeds for the free seed bank.
- Donating plants to and assisting with the 2024 native plant sale, including producing marketing materials and plant info sheets for the sale.
- Assisting with the inaugural native garden tour in 2024 as a volunteer at Jenny Rose Carey’s garden.
- Leading the 2025 native plant sale to be held Sunday, May 18th, 2025 at Twining Valley Park
Although each of the WNF&GA branches operate independently of one another, the organization as a whole has a long-standing history of promoting native gardening. In 2012 the association launched a national 100,000 Native Plants challenge to celebrate the organization’s centennial anniversary. The organization planted the ceremonial first tree at the Temple University Ambler Campus & Arboretum – the birthplace of WNF&GA. The 100,000th ceremonial tree was planted at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. in 2014. Today, the Ambler Keystone branch continues to emphasize gardening with native plants.
Invasive Species ID & Removal
Planting native species isn’t enough. Invasive species are destroying the native plant community. Magi is planning to hold several invasive species walks in partnership with Andrew Conboy through his nonprofit Community Canopy Project (formerly Colonial Canopy Trees) in 2025. This is in an effort to educate the public on what invasive species can be observed in each season, how to ID them, how they spread, and the damage they inflict on the environment.
Many commercial garden centers continue to sell invasive species. DCNR’s list of controlled invasive species is far longer than the ban list. The organization in charge continues to place the financial interests of business over the threat to our environment. If garden centers and corporate nurseries are unwilling to self-police and remove invasive stock before it is banned, we need to make invasive species control a community priority and effort.
Local Ecotype Wild Species Donations to Restoration Plantings
What does The MagiK Garden do with extra plants? Ilex opaca, the American holly, is a very slow-growing tree that can reach 100ft in its lifetime. NatureServe lists this as S4 “apparently secure” in the state of Pennsylvania, which could be better. This tree is one of several species Magi has donated to restoration efforts in the community. In the past, Magi has also gifted plants to homeowners to replace removed invasive species. All land matters, regardless of official designation.
Other trees and shrubs Magi has donated include Acer rubrum (red maple), Quercus spp. (oaks), Cornus florida (flowering dogwood), Lindera benzoin (spicebush), Cercis canadensis (eastern redbud), and Pinus strobus (white pine).
Ilex opaca, Lindera benzoin and other tree seedlings
“Thanks a ton for all the plants! We put them in this afternoon in the Gwynedd Preserve. They look great!”
– name kept anonymous, April 2024
By Supporting The MagiK Garden, You Are Helping To Support The Community
The MagiK Garden is a limited liability corporation (LLC) ran by a single member. This isn’t a nonprofit, but that doesn’t mean a for-profit business cannot be run in the spirit of one. As a society, we should hold all businesses and organizations to a higher standard. When you buy from The MagiK Garden, you aren’t just buying plants. You are helping to fund continued restoration and conservation efforts in the community.
The above list of volunteer efforts is not a comprehensive one. It is provided as an example of showing the work behind the words.
Need Plants?
Are you in charge of a local restoration planting effort?