Native Companion Plants for Juicy Gardens [Video]
Native Companion Plants for Juicy Gardens [Video]

Want a juicy garden bursting with ripe fruit and vegetables? Inviting the right pollinators in the right season makes a huge difference to the quantity of fruits and vegetables, as also their size, shape and juiciness!

In this video blog, Raju Rajan, President of ReWild Long Island, talks about how native perennials as companion plants makes so much sense. These plants provide nectar, pollen, habitat, protection and host services for pollinators. In essense, you are growing your own native bees alongside your vegetables and fruits!

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AReWild Long IslandVideo
Louisa’s First Time Rewilding Story
Louisa’s First Time Rewilding Story

Louisa is a first time rewilder who’s trying out native plants in the front yard of her home in Floral Park. She recounts her journey as a first time suburban homeowner, gardener and rewilder.

With fairly straightforward first steps, she was able to turn a crab-grass ridden front lawn into a hopeful first rewild garden delighting her and the host of pollinators she finds in her yard.

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ReWild Long Island
Conversation on Tree Law in the Town Of North Hempstead [Video]
Conversation on Tree Law in the Town Of North Hempstead [Video]

Do you feel sad when a large healthy tree is taken down? Wondering how Long Island can stop canopy loss and ensure bio-diversity by regenerating a “green ceiling” that resists Climate Change?

ReWild Long Island and Transition Town Port Washington invite you to join a virtual forum on the Town of North Hempstead Proposed Amended Tree Laws on Tuesday, September 28th at 7:00 PM. Join us as we learn about the benefits of a strong canopy for our community and discusses key policy elements required to stop loss and start regeneration of healthy trees.

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ReWild Long IslandEvents, Video
Thank You 2021 Volunteers
Thank You 2021 Volunteers

We are an all-volunteer non-profit and cannot accomplish a fraction of our work without the free and enthusiastic hard work of our volunteers.

Whether it is weeding, trellising, watering, composting or harvesting - our volunteers make it happen.

So from the bottom of our hearts - Thank You!

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ReWild Long Island
Free Public Webinar: Maintenance for a Weed Free and Vibrant Native Garden [Video]
Free Public Webinar: Maintenance for a Weed Free and Vibrant Native Garden [Video]

Anthony Marinello, a permaculture and rewilding expert, presents this session on Native Garden maintenance for new and experienced rewilders alike. He walks us through the seasonal calendar, discussing the do’s and don’ts of caring for native plants, with tips and tricks for weeding out unwanted.

Anthony founded Dropseed Native Landscapes to give Long Islanders the ability to transform their piece of the island into a native plant oasis to sustain both humans and wildlife alike.

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ReWild Long IslandEvents, Garden, Video
Free Public Webinar: 22 Native Plants for 2022 : How to Prep This Fall for Next Spring [Video]
Free Public Webinar: 22 Native Plants for 2022 : How to Prep This Fall for Next Spring [Video]

As many know, Fall is a great time to plant native perennials in your yard. They go dormant over winter and come back strong in Spring and beyond.

If you are new to native plants and need help getting started, the wide variety of plants available and information can be overwhelming.

Experienced horticulturist Kim Simmen and avid native plant gardener Rebecca Vargas, both Rewild board members present an introductory session on garden preparation and native plant selection. No prior experience is required as Kimberly and Rebecca walk through the process, the plants, the planting and maintenance.

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AReWild Long IslandEvents
2021 Summer Program Zoom Series: Professor Jonathan Lehrer on Ecology and Invasion [Video] Biology
2021 Summer Program Zoom Series: Professor Jonathan Lehrer on Ecology and Invasion [Video] Biology

Prof Jonathan Lehrer is Chairperson at the Department of Horticulture and Urban Design at Farmingdale State College.

He presented the basics of Long Island Ecology and Invasion Biology to the student volunteers at the Summer Program To Fight Hunger and Climate Change yesterday. New rewilders would much appreciate this excellent presentation on the basics of terms such as “weed”, “native”, “invasive” and “naturalized”.

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AReWild Long IslandVideo
2021 Summer Program Zoom Series: Lily Goch on Bird Identification [Video]
2021 Summer Program Zoom Series: Lily Goch on Bird Identification [Video]

Lily Goch is a Senior in High School from Merrick, Long Island. She is also one of the organizers and youth mentors at the Summer Program to Fight Hunger and Climate Change. She has a passion for the environment with a fondness for birds that has turned from interest to hobby to lifestyle. This presentation was made to introduce our Summer Program youth to the birds on Long Island.

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ReWild Long IslandVideo
Purchasing Beneficial Insects for Pest Control in the Garden.
Purchasing Beneficial Insects for Pest Control in the Garden.

Summer brings colorful blooms and lots of insect dilemmas. It seems everything can look great one day and be covered in bugs the next. Mainstream gardening education has taught us that bugs are bad (they’re not) and that they must be controlled immediately with chemicals (they don’t have to be!). With the rising popularity of chemical free, native gardening, many gardeners are opting for a more natural approach to pests: purchasing beneficial insects and releasing them into the garden. This is a great idea as long as the insects purchased are native to the area they are released in. After all, we don’t want to add to the pest problem by releasing the wrong kinds of bugs into the environment. Here is some information about two commonly purchased insects: lady bugs and praying mantis.

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Guest User
What is Weed? And Why Do We Care? [Video]
What is Weed? And Why Do We Care? [Video]


Prof Jonathan Lehrer is Chairperson at the Department of Horticulture and Urban Design at Farmingdale State College. New rewilders would much appreciate his excellent presentation on the basics of Long Island Ecology and Invasion Biology. Very accessible information about what makes a species a “weed” or “native” or “non-native” or “Invasive”. Also, which of these terms have a scientific basis and why do we care about these classifications

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ReWild Long IslandGarden, Video
Pocket Prairie for any Size Yard by Anthony Marinello [Video]
Pocket Prairie for any Size Yard by Anthony Marinello [Video]

You don’t need a lot of space to create a big buzz with pollinators and other wildlife. Whether you have a small yard, or just want to convert a portion of a larger space, a Postage Stamp Prairie is the answer. Also known as Pocket Prairies, these small plantings have the ability to recreate the Maritime Grassland plant communities that once dominated large portions of Long Island, providing you with an attractive, biodiverse garden filled with color and life.

Anthony Marinello, a permaculture & rewilding expert, presents this session for new and experienced rewilders alike.

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AReWild Long IslandVideo
TLC for Native Plants : How to Maintain your Garden?
TLC for Native Plants : How to Maintain your Garden?

You’ve installed your native plant garden and now your plants need a little TLC to help them get established.

Native plants require less assiduous maintenance than comparable exotics. But like all other garden plants they do need to be watered and weeded.

In this post, Rebecca Vargas, a home gardener and native plant enthusiast, outlines the basic care and feeding of your native plant oasis!

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AReWild Long IslandGarden
ReWild and Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society Announce Partnership to Increase Native Plant Availability
ReWild and Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society Announce Partnership to Increase Native Plant Availability

With growing awareness of the importance of native plants as aesthetically pleasing, chemical-free and low maintenance alternatives to conventional exotics, the demand for affordable and high-quality native plants has exploded over the last years. However, as conventional garden centers still lag behind, environmental non-profit organizations like ReWild and Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society (HOBAS) have been blazing a new trail.

Read on to learn about how ReWild Long Island and HOBAS are working to increase the geographical availability of native plants this spring.

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ReWild Long Island
ReWild Edible Garden by Kimberly Simmen
ReWild Edible Garden by Kimberly Simmen

ReWild works with expert Native Plant landscape designers to bring you ideas based on their years of experience.The ReWild Edible Garden featured in this post is by Kimberly Simmen, a native plant expert and owner of KMS Native Plants LLC. The design features berry bushes that are attractive to birds and humans. Get yours first if you can …

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ReWild Long IslandGarden, Design
ReWild Wildflower Meadow by Kimberly Simmen
ReWild Wildflower Meadow by Kimberly Simmen

ReWild works with expert Native Plant landscape designers to bring you ideas based on their years of experience.The ReWild Wildflower Meadow featured in this post is by Kimberly Simmen, a native plant expert and owner of KMS Native Plants LLC, Long Island’s first year-round retail native plant garden center. The design features vibrant flowering perennials with year round pollinator interest for small spaces.

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ReWild Long IslandGarden, Design
ReWild "Bee and Butterfly" Showy Sun Design by Rusty Schmidt
ReWild "Bee and Butterfly" Showy Sun Design by Rusty Schmidt

ReWild works with expert Native Plant landscape designers to bring you ideas based on their years of experience. The “Bee and Butterfly” Showy Sun Design from Rusty Schmidt, one of Long Island’s premier Landscape Ecologists, provides year-round interest with plants guaranteed to be blooming from late May well into October. Their contrasting colors and varying heights are designed to show off each in the verdant background of the others.

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ReWild Long IslandDesign, Garden
ReWild "Cool & Vibrant" Shade Design
ReWild "Cool & Vibrant" Shade Design

ReWild works with expert Native Plant landscape designers to bring you ideas based on their years of experience. The Cool and Vibrant Shade Design from Rusty Schmidt, one of Long Island’s premier Landscape Ecologists, provides year-round interest with plants guaranteed to be blooming from late May well into October. The garden is vibrant with plants that flower attractively despite the shade.

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ReWild Long IslandDesign, Garden