Happy Mardi Gras! The Mardi Gras season is in full swing in the Baton Rouge region, with lots of parades and parties. The Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge entered a walking krewe for the first time in the Mid City Gras parade. The annual event is a small, family-friendly parade in the Mid […] Continue reading "Neighborly Nature at Mardi Gras"
The tree planting season in Baton Rouge is in January so trees will have time to get established before the summer heat. This is why Arbor Day is so early here! Wild Ones volunteers got bundled up and headed out to the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens for the 15th annual Arbor Day event. Hundreds of […] Continue reading "Baton Rouge Arbor Day Celebration 2026: A Wild Success"
Heather Blanchard presenting plans for the Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site. Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge Membership Chair, Heather Blanchard, is passionate about the Plaquemine community and is actively involved in the project that is aiming to restore the Plaquemine Lock site and beautify and increase the biodiversity of the grounds. Plaquemine is located just […] Continue reading "“Locking in” Native Plant Landscaping for a State Historic Site Renovation Project"
Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge Members are actively adding native plants to their landscapes to share and enjoy the beauty of our native flora, preserve local ecotypes, benefit pollinators and wildlife, and protect the ecological value of their land. The Louisiana Certified Habitat program by the Louisiana Native Plant Society (LNPS) “recognizes the efforts of […] Continue reading "Leading by Example: Members Certifying Native Landscapes Across the Greater Baton Rouge Area"
Congratulations to our Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge members who were among the first in the state to complete the Louisiana Native Professional Certification Program! Six members are now certified: Over the two day workshop, the attendees learned to design and maintain landscapes with native plants through presentations, planning exercises, field trips and plant identification […] Continue reading "Wild Ones Members Receive Native Plant Professional Certification"
Are you looking to add low-maintenance native plants with lots of texture and seasonal color to your landscape? Then native prairie grasses are an excellent option! Clumping prairie grasses are the landscape architect’s secret to a great design by providing structure, texture, and drama. Did you know? Prairie grasses have roots so incredibly deep, they […] Continue reading "Great Native Grasses"
The Plaquemine Garden Club (PGC) was interested in learning about native plants, and Heather Blanchard invited her native plant-loving friends to speak at the PGC meeting, with whom she collaborated on presentation content for a memorable and informative meeting on November 11, 2025 at the Plaquemine KC building. As the Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge […] Continue reading "Plaquemine Garden Club Explores Gardening with Native Plants"
On November 8, 2025, the Baton Rouge community came together in a big way to install a brand-new, large-scale native plant pollinator garden in the front of the main branch of the East Baton Rouge Public Library (EBRPL). “The idea bloomed after seeing community interest and engagement with other gardening programs, such as Seed Swaps […] Continue reading "The Baton Rouge Community Pitches in to Re-Wild the Main Library"
The Greater Baton Rouge chapter of Wild Ones hosted their 4th annual seed swap October 19, 2025 at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens. Members look forward to this event all year because it is a wonderful opportunity to swap seeds native to our area and to donate local ecotype seeds to the Wild Ones seed […] Continue reading "Seed Swap 2025!"
The Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge chapter hosted a dozen eager members for a seed cleaning social to process seeds for the chapter’s seed library and seed packets, the East Baton Rouge Public Library seed libraries, and for the upcoming seed swap on October 19th. Our members learned different techniques for releasing seeds from the […] Continue reading "Seed Cleaning Social"