Native Plant Nursery Updates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 29, 2022

Contacts: 

Janelle McCoy (541) 344-8350

Edward McNally (404) 281-6419

Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah Nursery Hosting Open House Event Sat May 7

The Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah (FBP) is hosting an Open House for the public on Saturday, May 7 at its Native Plant Nursery. Friends’ staff and volunteers will be available throughout the day to answer your questions about all types of plants that are native to this region. The Nursery is located at 34639 Frank Parrish Rd. Due to the pandemic, this will be the first major public event at the Nursery in more than two years.

Guests attending the Nursery Open House festivities are invited to…

- talk to Nursery staff and volunteers about native plants:

- wander through the Nursery on your own or join a guided tour:

- enjoy complimentary food and refreshments:

- meet FBP Executive Director Janelle McCoy and other members of the FBP staff and board:

- hear about upcoming FBP events and programs taking place online and in the Park:

- sign up to volunteer in the Native Plant Nursery and other parts of the Park:

- learn about FBP’s latest trail improvements and habitat restoration projects.

FBP Executive Director Janelle McCoy speaks for the entire staff when she says, “We’re genuinely excited to be hosting the first Open House at our Nursery in two and a half years. This sort of Open House has always been popular because visitors get the chance to have 1-on-1 conversations with our staff of native plant experts and master gardener volunteers.”

“Now more than ever, we are dedicated to preserving and maintaining the Park and making it safe and accessible to an even wider range of visitors.” McCoy went on to explain, “One of our core missions is expanding and enhancing the public's appreciation and knowledge of the greater Mount Pisgah ecosystem. Events like the upcoming Nursery Open House is a perfect example of that work.” McCoy added, “Everyone involved is working to nurture and restore our connection to nature. Our staff, volunteers and visitors all share the goal of protecting and sustaining the flora and fauna of this precious landscape.”

For more information on FBP and the Nursery Open House on Saturday May 7, visit www.bufordpark.org or call 541-344-8350.

FIELD AND NATIVE PLANT NURSERY OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

9 – 10 am

Bird Walk and Tour of Native Plants for Wildlife with Friends’ Nursery Manager Mieko Aoki

10 – 11 am

Landscaping with Native Plants, a tour with Friends’ Nursery Assistant April Dawne

10:30 am – 1 pm

“Germination and Phenology of Annual Prairie Species Research Project” a presentation by with research students working with Jeff Dietz, University of Oregon Biology Department

11 am – 12 noon                  

Pollinator Tour with August Jackson, Mount Pisgah Arboretum Interpretation Coordinator and author of The Bees of the Willamette Valley: a comprehensive guide to the genera

12 – 1 pm

Nursery Native Plant Phenology Project Tour with Gail Baker, retired Assistant Professor of Biology at Lane Community College

Growing Forward Together for Community

For close to thirty years, two organizations have provided for people and nature on Mount Pisgah--The Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah and The Mount Pisgah Arboretum. Both share a common history and a deep desire to nurture and restore our connection to nature. Now they are uniting with a stronger focus on building community in connection with the natural world. Realizing this vision depends on broader community engagement, expanded resources and new and evolving collaborations.

Over the next two years, The Boards of the Arboretum and the Friends will be working to combine the two entities into one organization. The leaders and staff of both organizations are now busy bringing together their strengths, their unique talents and their heartfelt commitment to a growing, ever more diverse community and an extraordinary natural landscape.

“Mt. Pisgah”

At 2,214 acres, Howard Buford Recreation Area (HBRA) is Lane County’s largest park. Known to many in the region as “Mt. Pisgah,” HBRA welcomes nearly half a million visitors annually. People of all ages enjoy exploring 25 miles of trails and taking in the outstanding views of the southern Willamette Valley from Mt. Pisgah’s 1,518-foot summit. Situated between the Coast and Middle Forks of the Willamette River, HBRA contains a wide range of native habitats including some of Oregon’s largest remaining sections of publicly owned native Oak Savannahs. Staff and volunteers from Mount Pisgah Arboretum and the Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah work with Lane County Parks to care for HBRA. Together, they provide a variety of recreational and educational opportunities and carry out vital ongoing natural area restoration projects.

Since it first opened to the public in 1973, HBRA has been home to Mount Pisgah Arboretum, a 209-acre natural area focused on engaging people with nature through interactive learning and stewardship. Each year thousands of children and adults learn about local ecology on the Arboretum’s seven miles of family friendly trails through a wide range of native habitats. Thousands more enjoy the Arboretum’s popular annual Mushroom Festival in the Fall and the Wildflower Festival each Spring.

The Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah formed in 1989 to steward public and private lands throughout the greater Mount Pisgah area. The Friends’ staff and volunteers stay busy all year long working on a range of goals. They protect and enhance native ecosystems and encourage compatible recreation activities, they improve and maintain recreational trails, they grow native plants for habitat restoration, they foster community stewardship of natural areas, and they work to bring more lands in the Mount Pisgah area into conservation status.

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