Stories

Est. Read Time: 5 minutes This summer, we launched the very first Mosquito Bucket Challenge—a simple, pollinator-safe way to reduce fogging without harming biodiversity. And what a response it was! From decorated buckets to community giveaways, you showed just how creative and passionate this movement can be. Your suggestions are already sparking ideas for how […]

This story comes from Hannah Monroe, part of the Homegrown National Park community. Est. Read Time: 5 minutes How Motherhood Ignited Creativity and Community Like many of us during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, I needed a healthy outlet for my overwhelming stress. Gardening seemed to be helpful for other people I

You’re Invited! Night Magic: Marvels of the Dark with Bestselling Author Leigh Ann Henion Artificial light is disrupting the natural cycles of nearly every living creature on Earth, yet it hasn’t received as much attention as other forms of pollution. 🌗 What you’ll take away: Learn which light bulbs and fixtures help wildlife and your

From Garage to Grassroots It started in a garage. Not with machines or blueprints, but with bags of native seed, hand-printed labels, and a simple belief: If people had better access to native plant seeds, they’d plant them. Jim Carras, a board member of Homegrown National Park®, wasn’t setting out to start a nonprofit. He

Celebrating World Firefly Day with Homegrown National Park® Think back to summer evenings from your childhood. Warm air. Bare feet in the grass. Tiny sparks drifting through the dark, blinking in gentle rhythms. Fireflies were part of the magic, a quiet reminder that nature can be full of small wonders. These days, though, many of

By Tim Snyder, Executive Director Est. Read Time: 5 minutes One of those first warm spring days, I was sitting around with my 15- and 16-year-olds, just talking. Nothing formal, just one of those rare moments when the conversation flows and you realize they’ve actually been listening. We started chatting about Homegrown National Park®: native

An Important Update Regarding the Former Homegrown National Park® Facebook Group At Homegrown National Park®, we care deeply about the trust and sense of connection we’ve built with this community. That’s why we want to offer a clear explanation of a recent situation involving our former Executive Director and the misuse of a Facebook group

We’re excited to share that our partners at Plan It Wild were recently featured on NBC’s TODAY Show, showcasing the Less Lawn, More Life Challenge. This segment highlights the transformative power of rewilding lawns with native plants, turning traditional turf into thriving ecosystems that support biodiversity and combat climate change. In the clip below, Plan

By James Shepherd MD PhD Yale University School of Medicine Est Read Time: 6 minutes You might think that a garden full of native plants, thicker on the ground and under the trees, jumbled together in profusion, might be a better habitat for disease-carrying ticks, bugs, and mice than a closely cropped lawn of turfgrass

By Tim Snyder, Executive Director Est. Read Time: 5 minutes Earlier this spring, I found myself standing beneath a grove of live oaks in central Florida—massive, gnarled trees draped with Spanish moss and surrounded by the quiet hum of life. It was one of those moments that makes you slow down, tilt your head back,