Your Garden: A Beautiful Ecological System

Your Garden: A Beautiful Ecological System

By understanding your garden as a dynamic and living system, you can harness its many seasonal and organic cycles to achieve twin goals— creating a place of great beauty while protecting the unique environment that makes Cape Cod so special. In this program we look at the importance of reducing lawn area; creating a landscape rich with native plants, varied habitat, and canopy layers; and the tremendous value of leaf litter as mulch, fertilizer, habitat, and soil builder. Embracing all the ecological processes in our landscapes is important locally and globally— for our own health, to stem declines in biodiversity, and for helping to mitigate climate change. We all love our Cape! Come and be inspired to express that love right in your own garden.

Ms. Thompson founded Grow Native Massachusetts in 2010, and her work leading the growth of this nonprofit throughout its first decade led to her becoming recognized nationally as a leader in the native plant movement. She has taught hundreds of programs throughout New England informed by her work as a landscape ecologist, by her extensive career in the environmental sector, and illustrated with her beautiful photographs. Notable past roles include serving as the Director of Education for the Appalachian Mountain Club, Director of Drumlin Farm for Mass Audubon, as well as on the board of the New England Wild Flower Society. She is a strong advocate for the importance of land stewardship on all lands, by all people, and believes that conservation begins at home. Claudia’s happiest moments are spent in her own gardens, watching the more than 80 species of birds—from hawks to migrating songbirds, and even rare species such as woodcocks— all taking sustenance and utilizing the habitat she and her husband have created on a small parcel in urban Cambridge. Learn more about her work at www.claudiagthompson.com.

Presentation Video