About Us
Wild Ones® is a national non-profit organization with over 100 chapters that promote the benefits of landscaping using native plants. Learn more about Wild Ones, join or renew your membership, find other chapters, and shop for merchandise.
About Wild Ones National Organization
Wild Ones® is a national non-profit organization with local chapters that promote the many benefits of landscaping using native plants – wildflowers, shrubs, trees, and grasses. You can learn more about Wild Ones, join or renew membership, find other chapters, and visit the Wild Store.
About the Rock River Valley Chapter
Monthly Educational Programs
Our monthly educational programs meet at Cherry Valley Library, the third Thursday of each month except December. Meetings begin with social time at 6:00 p.m. and the education program at 6:30 p.m. Most of the programs will also be presented via Zoom, many of which will be available via YouTube after the meeting. Details about monthly educational programs will be posted regularly on the Chapter’s Website.
Monthly Newsletters
The Wild Ones Rock River Valley Chapter publishes a Monthly Newsletter for its members, which contains informative and timely articles about upcoming events and other useful information.
Native Plant Sales
The Wild Ones Rock River Valley Chapter offers two plants sales each year: The Native Plant Sale in spring and the Tree and Shrub Sale in autumn. Both sales offer plant species native to Winnebago and surrounding counties that are suitable for many growing conditions. Click the following link for details about the chapter’s Upcoming Native Plant Sales.
Seed Exchange
The annual chapter seed exchange, which takes place at our November meeting, offers native plant seeds that have been collected by its members. Native plant seeds help increase the opportunity for more native plants to grow in our communities. Everyone is welcome to take part in the exchange and you don’t have to provide seeds to take seeds
Show Me/Help Me Day (SMHM)
SMHM is a members-only event during which we tour members’ yards, share ideas, and offer suggestions about using native plants in the home landscape. These events take place on an as-needed basis. Contact the Chapter President for information about your interest in these events.
Seeds For Education Program (SFE)
SFE is a grant and educational program to inform and support community efforts to establish or expand natural areas with native plants.
The SFE Program provides meaningful learning opportunities that connect youth to nature and the Wild Ones mission. This donor-funded program has provided grants ranging from $100 to $500 for native plant gardens and landscaping projects throughout the United States. The funds are designated for acquiring native plants and seeds for outdoor learning areas that engage youth directly in planning, planting, and caring for native plant gardens. Click the link above for more information about SFE.
Wild Ones Rock River Valley chapter received the
2014 Seth B. Atwood Award
for Parks and Conservation
in the Organzational category by the
Winnebago County Forest Preserve District.
The award was presented on April 28, 2014.
The Wild Ones Rock River Valley chapter carries out the mission of Wild Ones Natural Landscapers, Ltd. through a variety of activities, which includes the following:
- Informative Meetings, include how-to-do-it sessions, presentations by experts in prairie, woodland, and wetland native plants and related subjects and members profiling their own projects.
- Show Me/Help Me Day, a members-only event where we tour other members’ yards, share ideas, and offer suggestions.
- Native Plant Sales, with orders being taken February through April, for pick up in mid May. This sale offers species for any enviroment and growing conditions in your landscape. The pick up location is just east of Rockford near Caledonia, IL.
- Native Tree and Shrub Sale, with orders being taken in August. The pick up location is just east of Rockford near Caledonia, IL.
- Seed Exchanges, we meet in November to exchange native plant seed that members have collected.
- Seeds For Education Program, a grant and education program. The chapter educates and supports community efforts to establish natural areas and to work with educational institutions and other areas of learning.
History and Mission
The Rock River Valley Chapter was established in July 1994. Currently we have over 216 household and business memberships. The chapter is lead by dedicated volunteer officers, chairs and coordinators.
Our annual budget is approximately $24,000 and includes expenses for meeting room rent, speaker fees, printing and mailing of publications (newsletter, plant sale brochures), website maintenance and purchasing plants for plant sales. A A percent of our income comes from dues reimbursement from National Wild Ones (all dues paid to the chapter are forwarded to National Wild Ones) and 80% is from our plant sales. The remaining comes from merchandise sales and the generous donations of our members.
Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization.
Wild Ones distinguishes itself from other garden organizations by encouraging gardening with native plants and moving away from using chemicals, watering, excessive mowing and other practices commonly used by traditional gardeners. People come to Wild Ones to learn about environmentally friendly gardening—about plants native to our area that have evolved to survive our climate without help from artificial means.
