Sustainable Warwick to offer winter seed sowing workshop

The Sustainable Warwick Pollinator Pathway Committee will hold a winter seed sowing workshop at Mountain Lake Park (46 Bowen Rd, Warwick) from 1 to 3 p.m. on January 25, 2025. The workshop will be held in the Main Lodge and will be guided by Pam Golben, lead educator at the Mamakating Environmental Education Center, and Soňa Mason, professional land restorationist.

Certain seeds require a period of “cold stratification,” which means they need to be exposed to weeks or months of cold weather before they will break dormancy and germinate. In this workshop, participants will gain hands-on experience in how to use flats and upcycled milk jugs to winter sow native seeds.

In the spring, the plants grown from the seeds sown in this workshop will be planted next to the pickleball courts at Mountain Lake Park to create a pollinator-friendly native plant garden.

“Our Pollinator Pathway members have put a lot of effort into selecting the best plants for the new pollinator garden,” said Michael Helme of Sustainable Warwick. “It should be very informative for community members to participate and see how Pam and Soňa evaluate the seed selection and guide the actual seed sowing.”

The workshop is free, but a $10 donation is suggested to help cover the cost of plants for the new garden. Participants are encouraged to bring gardening gloves and a trowel. They will also receive extra seeds to take home and plant.

To learn more about the workshop and to RSVP, email Pollinators@sustainablewarwick.org.