LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – The Lancaster Native Plant & Wildlife Festival is returning on Saturday, April 27 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Overlook Community Campus.

“Native plants are definitely important,” said Environmental Education Program Manager Alex Van Pelt. “More and more we’re taking those away to build things like the houses we live in or a park to play in, but it’s important that we do our part to keep some of those native plants there.”

The festival will be a celebration of native Pennsylvania plants with educational presentations, native plants available for purchase from local nurseries, local conservation organizations on site, wildlife art & craft vendors and more.

There will be a scavenger hunt for kids, food trucks, and honey sampling from the Lancaster beekeepers.

“It’s a great spring activity for people to come out and shop at some native nurseries,” Pelt said.

The vendors and nurseries who will be in attendance are as follows:

• Backyard Forest
• Beta Reader Connection
• Chesapeake Ecoculture
• The Artwork of Caety Porter
• Butterfly Oasis Nursery
• Paris Wyatt Llanso Art
• Calyx Nativee Nursery
• Mimi’s Watercolors
• Keystone Wildflowers
• My Glass Garden by Sue Fox
• Meadowsweet Native Plant Farm
• Grandma Lisa’s Garden

Pelt noted that all of the nurseries in attendance are very knowledgeable and will be willing to answer any questions attendees may have.

“If you tell them your specific situation, like if you want to turn that grass strip in front of your sidewalk into something native that you don’t need to mow, they can tell you exactly what you want in there,” Pelt said.

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Raven Ridge Wildlife Rehabilitaion Center will be the first presentation at 9 a.m. They will be bringing out one of their animal ambassadors to to allow attendees to get a close-up look of a native species.

“I don’t know what exactly they’ll bring out,” Pelt said. “Things you don’t really get an up-close look at. That’s really great to connect you to wildlife (and) connect kids and make them learn a little bit.”

The full presentation schedule is as follows:

• 9 a.m. – Raven Ridge Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
• 10:15 a.m. – An Engaging Garden Where Children and Wildlife Thrive presented by Lisa Doseff
• 11:15 a.m. – Native Plant Selection for Beauty and Food presented by Dan Shuff & Land Studies
• 12:15 p.m. – “Let Us Talk About Redbuds, Cercis canadensis ” presented by Dr. Jorge A. Santiago-Blay National Museum of Natural History

The whole event is free and open to the public. More information can be found at www.lancplantfest.org .

“Everywhere that was forest and fields before was habitats of something,” Pelt said. “So we need places to live, but so do all the plants, animals, insects. We (should) be conscientious of that when we are planting at home.”

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