Every Friday: Big Lake Native Plant Trail Restoration Project
2026-05-29 09:00 - 23:00, 2026-06-05 08:00 - 10:00, 2026-06-12 08:00 - 10:00, 2026-06-19 08:00 - 10:00, 2026-06-26 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Chicago) | Big Lake, City Park, 7 Freiderichs Ave
Put your gardening skills to work (and learn some new ones) at the Big Lake Native Plant Trail in New Orleans City Park (the trail is near the boat and bike rental on Friedrichs Avenue). Pull weeds, prune, plant, and work with some of the most knowledgeable gardeners around. City Park provides tools, clean gloves, water, and insect repellent or you can bring your own. Pick a Friday (or two? or more?) and sign up at the City Park Conservancy Volunteer Calendar of Events webpage. If you have questions, email team leaders Susan Norris-Davis or Jennifer Prout.

NPI Meeting - Common Ground Relief Native Plant Nursery
2026-05-30 09:00 - 12:00 | Common Grounds Relief, 1800 Deslonde Street, New Orleans, LA, 70117, United States
Common Ground Relief serves Greater New Orleans through wetlands restoration, food assistance, education, and building coalitions to make everyone’s lives better. NPI has been invited to tour the nursery where the Common Ground Relief team grows the native plants essential to stabilize Louisiana coastlines; the space is also used for educational programs and as a green space open to the public. Executive Director Christine Lehew will lead the tour and share stories of how Common Ground Relief is making a difference with native plants and community action. Nursery plants will be available for sale via the usual payment methods of cash, check, or credit card: here’s the latest plant list. Note that restrooms are available at headquarters right around the corner at 1800 Deslonde Street. As always, anyone and everyone (NPI member or not) is welcome to attend the meeting. Free.

Prune and Pull Lafitte Greenway
2026-06-09 18:00 - 20:00 | Lafitte Greenway, Greenway Plaza, 436 N. Norman C. Francis Pkwy., New Orleans, Louisiana
Help us maintain our native garden at the Lafitte Greenway Turning Sculpture (at the corner of Conti and Norman C. Francis Parkway in New Orleans). We’ll be pulling weeds, pruning our native plants, and chatting with passersby about the great work NPI does. New to native plants? Don’t worry, we’ll have experts on site to teach you how to work in the garden. Please bring your own water, gloves, sun protection, and bug spray. We’ll have some extra gardening tools on hand, but if you happen to have your own, bring them! Need more info or have questions about the event? Email admin@npi-gno.org

Night Out with Native Plants
2026-06-12 18:00 - 19:30 | Big Lake, City Park, 7 Freiderichs Ave
What to plant where? Get expert advice to improve your garden at the Urban Conservancy‘s Night Out with Native Plants. Max Bowen-Koonse, licensed horticulturist and NPI president, and K Landis, co-founder of Whimscapes garden design and education, will provide info and ideas in two workshops. For beginners, “Ground Treasures” will explore native alternatives to the usual grassy lawn; “Small Space, Big Impact” will present design tips for more experienced gardeners. Light refreshments will be served, and even the location will provide inspiration: Night Out happens at the Big Lake Native Plant Trail in New Orleans, a public garden project maintained by NPI volunteers located near the boat and bike rental on Friedrichs Avenue.

NATIVE PLANT PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
2026-06-13 08:00 - 2026-06-14 17:00 | Red River National Wildlife Refuge, 150 Eagle Bend Point, Bossier City, LA, 71112, United States
Louisiana Native Plant Society has scheduled the latest in its series of trainings for native plant professionals and dedicated gardeners, providing information and best practices on topics from ecology to garden design. Read all about it here; registration deadline is May 23.

History Of Garden Design Talk
2026-06-30 14:00 - 15:00 | Lakeshore Library, 1000 W Esplanade Ave, Metarie, 70005, United States
The Louisiana Master Gardener program presents Anna Timmerman of the LSU AgCenter, who’ll share the history of gardening from ancient times to now. As we know from our own experiences, gardens can be fine art, totally functional, and everywhere in between, and they can reveal a lot about our relations to the natural world.

Wild Ones Pontchartrain Basin Meeting With Presentation On Native Plant Taxonomy
2026-07-19 13:30 - 16:00 | 63350 Pelican Dr, 63350 Pelican Dr, Mandeville, LA, 70448, United States
Dedicated birder and native plants gardener Wendy Rihner shares the secrets of plant taxonomy, which sets the rules for scientific names. Her talk’s official title “From ‘loathsome harlotry’ to DNA: plant taxonomy is not nerdy!” suggests that this has been a controversial topic from its beginning. Taxonomy prevents the confusion created by multiple common names for the same plant; more importantly, it may help address the threats a changing climate poses for plant communities from life cycles to extinction. Wendy is a retired Delgado Community College English professor, Wild Ones Pontchartrain Basin board member, active member of NPI and the Orleans Audubon Society, and owner of Birdgirl’s Blooms native plants. If you can’t make it in person, the recorded meeting (and other presentations) will be available here. If you can make it in person, here’s a map.

Bartram Bio Bash
2026-09-25 - 2026-09-27 | FONTAINEBLEAU STATE PARK, 62883 HIGHWAY 1089, Mandeville, LA, 70448, United States
It’s like nature camp for grownups, though kids are welcome too! Hike, paddle, listen, and learn; come for the day or stay overnight. Details and how to sign up at the link; early bird registration is now underway.
