Events Calendar

Join Dr. Richard Clements, professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Chattanooga State, as he explains how light receptors in plants impact when they grow, reproduce, and go dormant, and what effects this has on a plant's phenology.

Board members meet to discuss our chapter's progress and make decisions when necessary.

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

Why Botany? 
This class introduces foundational botany concepts—plant anatomy, physiology, reproduction, and growth patterns—to help students understand how plants function, not just what they are. By learning how roots, stems, leaves, and flowers work together; how plants respond to stress; and how they interact with soil, water, and light, gardeners gain the insight needed to make informed, ecologically sound decisions. A solid grounding in botany empowers native plant stewards to diagnose problems accurately, choose the right plant for the right place, and support resilient, biodiverse landscapes across the Tennessee Valley.
The goals of the class are to explain qualities that plants share with other living things, as well as characteristics that set them apart, and to become acquainted with the range of different organisms that make up the plant kingdom.

Be on the lookout: Once you have registered, we will email you with pre-course work and any other materials needed for this class.

Materials to bring! Notebook, pencils, snacks, water, and a lunch. Please wear weather-appropriate clothing and footwear.

Registration Policy: 

As with all CNP classes, class size is limited. To give everyone the best opportunity to participate, there is a non-refundable cancellation fee of $10, with the balance refunded if you cancel at least 7 calendar days before the class will be held. If the class is cancelled by the instructor or the CNP program, registrants will get a full refund.

If registration is full, you may email [email protected] and ask to be placed on a wait list. This is not a guarantee that a spot will open up. Please be gracious, we are all volunteers.

Join us for a discussion of the second half of Margaret Renkl's The Comfort of Crows: a Backyard Year

Renkl wrote 52 stories for each week of the year, and we will be discussing the second half of the book on October 26!

In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons--from a crow spied on New Year's Day, its resourcefulness and sense of community setting a theme for the year, to the lingering bluebirds of December, revisiting the nest box they used in spring--what develops is a portrait of joy and grief: joy in the ongoing pleasures of the natural world, and grief over winters that end too soon and songbirds that grow fewer and fewer.

Along the way, we also glimpse the changing rhythms of a human life. Grown children, unexpectedly home during the pandemic, prepare to depart once more. Birdsong and night-blooming flowers evoke generations past. The city and the country where Renkl raised her family transform a little more with each passing day. And the natural world, now in visible flux, requires every ounce of hope and commitment from the author--and from us. For, as Renkl writes, "radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world."

With fifty-two original color artworks by the author's brother, Billy Renkl, The Comfort of Crows is a lovely and deeply moving book from a cherished observer of the natural world.

Help make our chapter's Annual Meeting a success!

Please sign up and help set up and decorate, organize the potluck and plant/seed/gear swap, greet attendees, and assist with clean up. 

Bring a dish to share: sign up here for the potluck. 

Additional details will be emailed to volunteers before the event. 

All Tennessee Valley Wild Ones members and their guests are welcome to attend. We will have a potluck lunch, election of officers, highlights of 2026, and a seed/plant/gear swap. This event is open to all members and registration is not required to attend. 

Potluck: Please bring a dish to share. We’ll provide beverages and tableware. Sign up here.

Seed/Plant/Gear Swap: Please label your items with scientific name, common name, where & when collected, and any interesting/fun details. We will have extra containers, empty seed packets, sharpies, and labels. If you have spare gardening gear to pass along, bring it as well. Please only donate items you'd be happy to receive yourself.

Board Elections: Information coming soon. 

Zoe Evans, rewilding coach and VP of Partnerships & Programs at Wildr shares a practical, science-informed framework for evaluating a home landscape, identifying its greatest habitat opportunities, and choosing actions that support more plants, insects, birds, and other wildlife.

Registration link coming soon.

This is part two in the Botany Core Course series. You must complete Botany I prior to taking Botany II. (Believe us, this is for your own good!)

About this class: The goals of the class are to discuss plant cell and tissue types and major vegetative structures, explore reproduction, and sample some of the strategies and structures that plants use to continue life from generation to generation. 

Be on the lookout: Once you have registered, we will email you with pre-course work and any other materials needed for this class.

Materials to bring! Notebook, pencils, a 10X Magnifier, snacks, water, and a lunch. This class will be both in and out of doors, please wear weather-appropriate clothing and footwear.

Registration Policy: 

As with all CNP classes, class size is limited. To give everyone the best opportunity to participate, there is a non-refundable cancellation fee of $10, with the balance refunded if you cancel at least 7 calendar days before the class will be held. If the class is cancelled by the instructor or the CNP program, registrants will get a full refund.

If registration is full, you may email [email protected] and ask to be placed on a wait list. This is not a guarantee that a spot will open up. Please be gracious, we are all volunteers.

Help make our chapter's Holiday Gathering merry and bright!

We're looking for volunteers to help set up and decorate, organize the potluck and food drive, greet attendees, and assist with clean up. 

Link to sign up coming soon. Additional details will be emailed to volunteers before the event. 

Join your native plant friends in celebrating another successful year for the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones! Members are welcome to bring a guest.

Potluck: Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share. Main dish and beverages, including beer and wine, will be provided. (Registration link coming soon.)

Food Drive: We'll be collecting canned goods, cash, or checks for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.  Not able to bring food items? Your donation will go straight to stocking the pantry and supporting families in this community. Every contribution helps. 

Member Anniversary Recognition: We'll be honoring members celebrating 1, 5, and 10 years of tenure with the chapter.

Join Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones for our 7-class series in Ecological Gardening, taught by local experts who are passionate personal and professional ecological gardeners. You can attend classes as a series, or as standalone classes. 

This seventh and final class in the Ecological Gardening Series will cover the basics of collecting your own seeds, as well as different propagation methods.

More details to come! 

Presenter: Jonathan Nicholson, Board Member of Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones

No yard required. Learn how native plants can turn patios, balconies, containers, and other small spaces into meaningful habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. This practical panel will cover plant selection, container design, seasonal care, and realistic ways to support biodiversity in limited spaces.

Registration link coming soon.

Birds depend on healthy, connected habitats for food, shelter, nesting, and migration support. Join experts from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to explore how native plants and thoughtful landscape choices can support birdlife at home. Learn how gardens, yards, and community spaces can provide the insects, seeds, berries, cover, and habitat structure birds need throughout the year.

Registration link coming soon. 

Monarch butterflies depend on a network of habitats stretching across North America, and home landscapes can play an important role in their survival. Join experts from Monarch Joint Venture to explore the science behind monarch conservation, including the importance of milkweed, nectar resources, and regionally appropriate habitat. Learn practical ways to support monarchs through native landscaping and help sustain one of the world's most remarkable migrations.
 

Registration link coming soon.