Monarch Conservation Webinar is a FREE online monthly learning experience worthy of Master Gardener continuing education credit. One registration will get you access to the entire series. You are sent the link by email to access the webinar. November and December webinars are scheduled, but the topics have not been announced.

Please register here or use this link: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/monarchconservationwebinarseries/event/2025monarchconservationwebinarseries/

Fall Native Seedling Sale sponsored by the Grand Traverse Conservation District includes more than a plant sale. Enjoy the pumpkin painting, self-guided hikes, and cider & donuts.

Location for this event: Boardman River Nature Center, 1450 Cass Road, Traverse City, MI 49685

For more information and pricing of plants visit: www.natureiscalling.org

The next MMGA Book Club meeting will take place via Zoom on Thursday, October 23 at 7:00pm. We’ll be discussing “Night Magic, Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and other Marvels of the Dark” by Leigh Ann Henion.

Here is the Zoom link

Elder Piper Social

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 at 6:30 pm
Elder Piper, 923 Baxter St, Petoskey, MI, 49770 Map

Join other native plants enthusiasts to ask questions and share info. Whether your yard is completely native or you are just getting started on your native plant journey, come join others for some plant talk and good drinks!

This walking tour is hosted by North Central Michigan College and lead by Sierra LaRose, Certified Herbalist, Wild Harvester, and owner of Bear Earth Herbals. Sierra leads a walk in the woods of the NCMC Nature Area to learn about wild plants and their properties. This walk will cover plant identification, ethical harvesting, herbal remedy preparation and much more. Bring a notebook and gear for possible changes in weather.

Cost: $30

Location: North Central Michigan College Nature Area

Register click: https://www.ncmclifelonglearning.com/event-6125400

This event repeats on Wednesday, October 29.

Online meeting of the NMMGA board of directors. Please contact Beth Cowie for a link if you are interested in attending. Photo Credit: Babette Stenuis Stolz

The second and final Alanson Hillside Gardens fall clean up is on October 18 from 10:00am to 1:00pm. If anyone needs some additional volunteer hours, this would be a great way to finish the year. For more information, contact Nancy Zuker nancyzuker032@gmail.com

The Alanson Hillside Gardens has scheduled fall clean up on October 15 and October 18 from 10:00-1:00 each day. If anyone needs some additional hours, this would be a great way to finish the year. For more information, contact Nancy Zuker nancyzuker032@gmail.com

You are invited to a special membership meeting to talk about an exciting new project for our chapter. We will gather at 10 am on Wednesday, October 15, on the beautiful grounds of Camp Daggett on the shore of Walloon Lake. The fall colors will be on display and cider and doughnuts will be served, all good reasons for putting this event on your calendar! Camp Daggett staff will lead us on a short stroll to view the areas where they’d like Master Gardeners’ expertise. This includes a great space for an educational native pollinator garden and some raised herb beds. Please come share your plant and design ideas while enjoying cider, doughnuts, and the camaraderie of fellow Master Gardeners among the fall colors at Camp Daggett!

From Camp Daggett executive director Julie Joles: “Wow!!!! This is so exciting. What a wonderful group of people to partner with on a project that desperately needs an inspired team. So grateful for your vision and infusion of time, energy, and new direction at one of our most trafficked locations.”

LOCATION: off of Camp Daggett Road between Petoskey and Boyne City. The address is: 03001 Church Road, Petoskey. RSVP: Email Babette at jackandbabette@chartermi.net or text/call her at (231) 838-9177

This is a pre-registered monthly program. Registration was closed in November 2024. A year-long monthly series of workshops sponsored by the MSU Extension is free to Master Gardeners. Earn education hours with the hour long online Zoom programs. You only need to register once for the whole series. Look for registration for the 2026 series this fall.

Julie Crick, MSU Extension Natural Resources Educator presents Guiding Neighborhood Trees through Climate Change. Natural Resources Educator, Julie Crick, will discuss climate variations, both experienced and expected, and provide tips to limit resulting stressors on our urban trees. In addition, she will review species vulnerability reports for urban trees in Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The annual Bulb Sale for the Charlevoix Area Garden Club coincides with the community Apple Fest. The 2025 Apple fest is scheduled for October 10, 11, and 12. Details will be reported here as they become available.

Native Plants grown at Gruler Gardens are ready for transplanting to your garden. The inventory is always changing, and there may be additions to or deletions throughout the season based on availability, demand, and growing conditions. Can't make it to a plant sale? Plants are also available for purchase via email beginning in late May/early June with pickup as arranged. Send order requests to grulergardens@grulergardens.com with the word ORDER in the subject line.  Or use the contact form here on our website. Tell us the plants you would like, quantities of each, your name, email, phone number, and any other message you like. We will check our inventory and respond to you promptly to confirm availability and arrange a pickup time. Native plant orders received less than one week prior to any scheduled sale will be filled the following week with post-sale stock. Plants and flowers are subject to availability. Dates are subject to change. Additional sales may be added depending on inventory and availability. Subscribe to our site here to receive email updates.

To see the list of plants click here

Location: 1298 E Gruler Road, Petoskey, MI

Join members for a morning work session at the Emmet County Fairgrounds for fall clean up of the gardens.

Location: 1129 Charlevoix Ave. (U.S. 31 S) Petoskey, MI  49770. Closest major intersection is U.S. 31 and U.S. 131 North. Use the entrance off Eppler Road.

Questions? Call/text Linda at 231-838-1273

This regularly scheduled member meeting will include a tour of Gruler Gardens at 1298 East Gruler Road., Petoskey, MI with Monica Gruler Farrier, Master Gardener. Learn more about this beautiful farm of native plants and cut flowers at their website by clicking here.

Details will follow at a later date. Photo Credit: Babette Stenuis Stolz

Climate change is here and our landscapes are feeling the effects. But what if your garden could help turn the tide? Join Wild Ones for a free virtual webinar with environmental horticulturist Kim Eierman.

In this webinar, Kim will share practical, evidence-based strategies for designing and maintaining native plant landscapes that respond to climate impacts like drought, flooding, and biodiversity loss. Whether you’re new to native plants or already deep in the movement, you’ll leave with clear, actionable steps to make your landscape more climate-smart.

Can’t make it live? Register anyway- we'll send the recording link after the premiere. Register here.

About the Presenter: Kim Eierman is an environmental horticulturist and ecological landscape designer. She is a nationally recognized speaker on sustainable landscaping. Kim is also the author of "The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening."

The Charlevoix Evening Garden club in collaboration with the Charlevoix Library is bringing Kim Cameron, Ph.D. in from Tully, New York.  Kim does an amazing job teaching how plastics negatively impact our environment and bodies.  Join us at this FREE event, if you can, for a life-changing set of facts. 

On Sept 16 at 6pm at the Charlevoix Public Library Community Room. Listen to Kim Cameron on the topic of “Plastics and Beyond." This is a collaboration between the Charlevoix Public Library and Charlevoix Evening Garden Club.

Recent studies have found small fragments of plastics known as microplastics in the human brain and heart arteries. These studies have also shown a link between the presence of microplastics and adverse health outcomes. How do these tiny bits of plastic enter our bodies and make their way into our brains and our hearts? And what happens when they lodge there?   Microplastics have been found in the stems of plants. Learn how they travel into the fruits and vegetables we consume.

About the presenter:

Kim holds a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology (2001) and has taught biology courses at SUNY Cortland and worked as a research scientist at Cornell University. She is the owner of CNY Tutoring, LLC, a tutoring service that helps students in high school and college obtain their educational goals. Kim is also actively engaged in her community servicing on the Climate Smart Community Committee, the Tully Free Library Board, and the Song Lake Property Owners Association. As an environmentalist, parent, and grandparent, Kim is passionate about educating communities about climate change and the significant threat of plastics in our environment. 

She is pleased to have become part of the Beyond Plastics Volunteer Speakers Bureau after completing coursework with Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics founder, through Bennington College in 2022. In her free time, Kim loves to hike, camp, canoe, and enjoy the outdoors. She and her husband have recently purchased a small trailer that allowed them to spend six weeks traveling around the United States observing the effects of climate change. 

Online meeting of the NMMGA board of directors. Please contact Beth Cowie for a link if you are interested in attending. Photo Credit: Babette Stenuis Stolz

The Little Traverse Conservancy is hosting this free event at one of the preserves. The Chaboiganing Nature Preserve just outside of Brutus has long been known as an excellent place to find mushrooms. Join LTC Conservation Specialist Amy Lipson and her husband Joe for a dynamic exploration of local fungus as well as any other interesting things that happen to pop up along the way! The trails are easy to walk.

Directions: ADDRESS: 10251 Brutus Road, Brutus, MI 49716 - Take US-31 north from Alanson 3.5 miles to Brutus Road. Turn right (east) and travel 4 miles on Brutus Road. The parking lot for the Chaboiganing Preserve is across from the old Burt Lake Market.

The annual plant sale at the Emmet County Conservation District is hosted by the Conservation District, Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy, and the Lake Charlevoix Association this year. The sale is from noon to 3 pm and is in the barn at the Conservation District office at 303 North Street, Boyne City. Pre-order flats need to be submitted by September 1. You may browse and buy at the sale.

MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION OF NORTHWEST MICHIGAN (MGANM) Presentations offer Continuing Education credits unless otherwise noted. A $5 donation is requested for non-MGANM members. Registration is required. www.mganm.org Presentations are open to the public unless shown as “Members Only”. This presentation is held at the Grand Traverse Conservation District, 1450 Cass Rd, Traverse City, MI. For any questions, please contact Nate Walton at 231-256-9888 or waltonn2@msu.edu

“Caring for Trees in a Changing Climate” is presented by Bo Burke and Ellie Johnson. The presentation outlines recorded and projected climatic changes, how those changes impact the health of standing trees, and ways to be proactive in landscaping decisions. Since 2021, Ellie Johnson has served as the District Forester for Leelanau, Grand Traverse, and Benzie Conservation Districts. As District Forester, she offers technical assistance to hundreds of private landowners annually through the Forestry Assistance Program. She also connects with the greater public at numerous community workshops, field days, guided hikes, written articles, radio shows, and garden club meetings. Ellie has an MS in Forest Resources from Clemson University and a BS in Secondary Biology Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Bo Burke is an ISA-Certified Arborist and an ISA-Certified Tree Worker/Climber Specialist. He also holds an ISA Tree Risk Assessment credential and a State of Michigan Pesticide Applicator license. He is a Chainsaw Safety Instructor for the Grand Traverse and Leelanau Conservancies. Bo has extensive experience in promoting positive ecological attitudes by encouraging clients, trainees, and the public to protect native tree habitat, to be aware of tree health, and to respect natural cycles. Bo has served as Arborist for the cities of Chicago and San Francisco, as well as several cities in Colorado. Bo also consults for several organizations in northern Lower Michigan. Currently, Bo is the owner of Bo Knows Trees and Climb a Tree.