• General Meeting & Guest Lecture

    URI, Coastal Institute (Weaver Auditorium) 1 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI, United States

    Big & Little Bluestem, Michigan roadside. Photo Rhobin's Garden Blog Meadows of Native Warm-Season Grasses and Forbs Coming to New England's Roadsides? A major research project of the New England Transportation Consortium (NETC), funded by the Department of Transportation in all six New England states, aims to find the most affordable, reliable, and expeditious methods for establishing meadows of […]

  • 30th Annual Meeting & Guest Speaker – Lisa Lofland Gould

    URI Pharmacy Building, Room 170 7 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI

    Back to Our Roots: Being Wild About Wild Plants In celebration of RIWPS 30th Anniversary, Lisa Lofland Gould, founding member and first president of RIWPS will address the question, Why should anyone care about plants, and especially about that seemingly obscure and often subtle flora we Wild Folks so enjoy?  She will consider the pivotal […]

  • Lisa Lofland Gould Lecture – Ecological pollinator conservation: How do we keep our native ecosystems humming?

    URI Pharmacy Building, Room 170 7 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI

    Pollinators are declining at an unprecedented rate worldwide due to human-induced rapid environmental change. These declines pose a significant threat to our food supply and consequently, there has been major focus on the development and implementation of conservation strategies aimed to increase pollinator abundance in agricultural areas. The ecological needs of 98% of wild pollinator […]

  • Social & Potluck Luncheon

    Rhode Island Historical Society, Aldrich House 110 Benevolent Street, Providence, RI

    Go Wild about Native Plants with RIWPS Members & Friends Social & Potluck Luncheon Join us for visual wild plant storytelling and socializing. This is an opportunity to mingle with your fellow native plant enthusiasts. Seed Starts East will be offering packets of seeds for butterfly milkweed, swamp milkweed, red cardinal flower, great blue lobelia, […]

  • ONLINE PLANT SALE FOR MEMBERS – STARTING AUGUST 1

    ONLINE PLANT SALE FOR MEMBERS STARTING AUGUST 1, 2020 • SHOP ONLINE  • DRIVE THROUGH PICK UP AT PLANE VIEW NURSERY, PORTSMOUTH, RI See all the details     

  • Seeding the Future: A Panel Discussion

    URI Pharmacy Building, Room 170 7 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI

    photo (D.Vissoe) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, November 12, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at the University of Rhode Island Pharmacy building (Rm 170), Kingston, RI. WHY: RIWPS is 35 years old this year, and we want to celebrate our history – and discuss where we go from here, in this era of climate change and […]

  • Annual Meeting + Presentations

    University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

    RIWPS annual meeting will take place at the URI Pharmacy Building on Saturday, March 11, 2023 from 1:00 to 3:30 pm. (Directions below). The business meeting  includes the annual report, elections for Board of Trustees. We will also be  celebrating our volunteer award recipients. Lifetime Service Volunteer Awards  -  Mary Lou Upham & Nancy Weiss […]

  • The Best Native Plant Sale in Rhode Island 2023

    University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

    Save the date!   June 3, 2023 | 9 am - noon   URI Botanical Garden, Kingston, RI   (Member's pre sale from 8 to 9  am)   More Details […]

  • Wild Things – Family Walk, Carter Preserve

    Kingston, RI

    On June 12, 2023 at 10 am we will have a family walk at the  Nature Conservancy's Carter Preserve in Charlestown.  Our walk along the Pawcatuck River in a unique […]

  • In the Landscape of … the Foleys (members only)

    Cranston, RI

    THIS PROGRAM IS STILL PLANNED FOR SATURDAY.  WEAR APPROPRIATE CLOTHING IN CASE OF SHOWERS.  This landscape is the first in a three part series, In the Landscape of ..... , open to members only, as a special thanks for their support and in many cases, countless volunteer hours. Members are invited to take an informal […]

  • Small Scale Meadow Workshop

    URI East Farm, Kingston, RI

    Creating a mini meadow in your landscape? Whether you are beginning a project soon or have one in progress, find inspiration, ideas and practical information tailored to strengthen your project and learn more about the design process in this workshop on June 22, 2023 from 2 to 4 pm at URI East Farm. Under the […]

  • Fall Native Plant Sale 2023

    Rhodes on the Pawtuxet 60 Rhodes Place, Cranston

    Solidago sempervirens, seaside goldenrod with common buckeye butterfly On August 26 from 9 AM to noon find our booth at the  Pawtuxet Village Farmer’s Market 60 Rhodes Place from 9 - 11 am. More details

  • First Thursday Botanizing Walk – Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge

    Coventry, RI

    Seaside goldenrod with common buckeye butterfly In late summer the flora begins to change as asters and goldenrods bloom and seeds and fruits mature. Animals rely on many plants for food and shelter while many plants rely on animals for pollination and dispersal. At times the interactions get quite defensive. If you would like to […]

  • Nature Walk: Birds & Their Habitat – Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge

    Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge 1040 Matunuck Schoolhouse Road, South Kingstown 02879, Rhode Island

    Hummingbirds buzzing wild bergamot (Monada fistulosa), Trustom Pond. Photo: Carmen Rugel September is a great time to look for migrating birds! Come on a nature walk with fellow bird and native plant enthusiasts on Friday September 15, 2023 from 10 am to noon at the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingston, RI. From […]

  • First Thursday Botanizing Walk – Taylor Point Nature Preserve

    Jamestown, RI

    On Thursday October 5, 2023, from 10 am to noon, come explore some of the Taylor Point Nature Preserve. It has a variety of natural communities within its 20 acres, including maritime woodlands and shrub lands and 4000 feet of shoreline along the East Passage.  A multi-year plant inventory has produced a list of 143 […]

  • Lisa Lofland Gould Lecture: Native Plant Supply Chain

    URI Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Thomas Ryan Auditorium 120 Flagg Rd, Kingston, RI

    NOTE.  Page updated on November 12 with NEW LOCATION OF THIS PROGRAM Thomas Ryan Auditorium, Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS) Upstairs Lobby and Lecture Hall 120 Flagg Road on the URI Kingston Campus. What are the challenges, opportunities and issues related to sourcing and supplying native plants, especially as demand for these plants […]

  • ReSeeding RI – Class offered by the Native Plant Trust

    The program below, on our Reseeding RI initiative, comes from the class offerings of the  Native Plant Trust.  The registration link takes you to their website. In 2022, Rhode Island Plant Society (RIWPS) began ReSeeding Rhode Island, an initiative to increase the availability of ecotypic seed and plants within the state. In this session, you […]

  • Beechwood Lecture: Planning for Residential Turf Resilience Organically

    Beechwood Center 44 Beach Street, North Kingstown, RI, United States

    On Wednesday, February 21, 2024 from 2:00 to 3:30 pm, join Dana Millar, owner of Dana Designs, at Beechwood Center, 44 Beach Street, North Kingston. Organically grown turf is not only stronger, but also more resistant to environmental stressors. Dana's approach is to work harmonious with nature, using a bottom-up approach to lawn care through […]

  • ReSeeding RI: Replenishing Native Plants – a URI Master Gardener Program

    Online

    The program below is from the URI Master Gardener Program. It is free and open to the public. Join Dave Vissoe, University of Rhode Island Master Gardener 2017 Hall of Fame and RI Wild Plant Society Vice President, as he takes you on a visual journey of ReSeeding RI from its inception and vision to […]

  • Book Discussion: Brave the Wild River (Members Only)

    Online

    Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa Sevigny (W.W. Norton Press) Join fellow RIWPS members on March 3 from 2 to 4 pm to discuss Brave the Wild River, the beautifully written adventure story of two women botanists running the untamed Colorado […]

  • 2024 Annual Meeting & Presentations

    KIngston Congregational Church (Fellowship Hall) 2610 Kingstown Road, Kingston, RI

    RIWPS annual meeting will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Fellowship Hall of the Kingston Congregational Church, 2610 Kingstown Road Kingston, RI on Saturday, March 23, 2024.  […]

  • Tour the Brown Herbarium

    Brown University Herbarium 171 Meeting Street (Room 225), Providence, RI

    Tour Brown University Herbarium on April 1 from 10 to 11:30 am.  The Brown Herbarium is located on the second floor of the Biomedical Center, 171 Meeting St, Providence.   […]