Browse activities you can lead in your school, workplace, or community
Build a Native Plant/Seed Library
You’ve heard of the popular “Little Free Libraries”; now we’re bringing you Seed Libraries. Native plants can get costly, and often price is a barrier for folks planting native. Seed Libraries are a great way to promote native plants in a budget-friendly way.
Create a Demonstration Garden
A demonstration garden is one of the most effective tools for shifting how people think about landscaping. Much like a native plant garden tour, it allows neighbors to see what is possible rather than simply hearing about it. These gardens create “aha moments” by showing how native plants support birds, pollinators, and biodiversity while still being beautiful, intentional, and welcoming.
Engage Your Employees
Homegrown National Park partners with companies to introduce employees to biodiversity restoration through talks, community programs, and workplace habitat initiatives. Companies can register corporate grounds and employee landscapes on the Biodiversity Map to track and share their collective impact.
Host a HNP Table
Hosting a table at an event is a great way to engage new community members and educate folks about native plants. You can set up a table at local markets, festivals, planting events, etc. The goal is to connect your community to HNP and the native plant movement.
Host a Plant Giveaway or Swap
A fun, community-based event where gardeners and plant lovers gather to exchange seeds, seedlings, and plants. It promotes biodiversity, sustainable gardening, and community connections.
Host a Recorded Doug Talk
Looking to inspire your community to take action for biodiversity? Gather your community for a free viewing of one of Doug Tallamy’s engaging recorded talks. These talks dive into the importance of native plants and how individual efforts can collectively restore ecosystems. Perfect for garden clubs, neighborhood gatherings, or educational events, each talk comes with a free event kit that includes promotional materials and hosting tips to make your event a success.
Host a Winter Seed Sowing Party
A fun, hands-on community activity where participants create simple “mini-greenhouses” from recycled containers and plant native seeds that will sprout naturally in spring. Many native seeds require a period of cold stratification to germinate, making winter the perfect time to start them. It’s low-cost, beginner-friendly, and a great way to help people bring nature home during the colder months.
Host The Extraordinary Caterpillar Film
Over 98% of the living world on Earth is smaller than a bee. Yet humans view the planet as a world centered around themselves. Landscapes are deconstructed to suit human needs, often with little regard for the natural systems that sustain the food web. The Extraordinary Caterpillar follows the scientists and community activists with this peek into the dazzling world of nature’s tiniest superheroes. Host a watch party in your community and inspire your friends and neighbors to create habitat for these extraordinary creatures, right at home.
Recruit Native Plant Businesses to the Directory
Thank you for helping expand the HNP Resource Directory! Your efforts will connect more people with the native nurseries and landscape professionals they need to create thriving native plant habitats in their own yards and communities.
Request a Speaker
Bring native plants and habitat restoration to your community. An HNP speaker can inspire your group to take action right where you live—whether that’s planting native species, removing invasives, or creating biodiverse spaces. Our speakers share practical, science-backed strategies that work in real yards and neighborhoods, not just in theory. When your community plants native, you’re building habitat for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife while strengthening the local ecosystem. Every conversation sparks change. Let’s start one in your neighborhood.
Share the Mosquito Bucket Challenge
Perfect for community workshops, neighborhood events, or educational programs, the mosquito bucket challenge encourages participants to create their own DIY cost effective mosquito buckets instead of spraying or fogging their property to manage mosqutioes. Free printable stickers with QR codes linking to step-by-step instructions are available to help spread the word.
Watch Kids Videos
Our collaboration with WonderGrove Kids, offers a series of educational videos tailored for children in grades K–2. Through fun and informative episodes, kids learn about creating bird-friendly habitats right in their own backyards, fostering a love for nature and an understanding of their role in preserving it. Explore the world of native plants, discover the wonders of bird nests, and find out how simple actions can make a big difference. Join us in nurturing the next generation of conservationists!