In our New England landscape, a meadow almost always brings with it a history of cultivation and human use, adding another layer to the story of its ecology. While meadows heavily populated with native flora provide habitat for butterflies, pollinators and fauna, starting or restoring meadows takes planning and patience. “Even in wild areas many plants are not the aboriginal species; they are imports from other lands,” writes Heather McCargo, executive director of the Wild Seed Project and instructor in the upcoming collaboration between Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and the Boothbay Region Land Trust, “Meadows and Grasslands for Butterflies and Other Winged Companions.”

“When the native plants are missing,” she continues, “fewer songbirds and pollinators can live and reproduce in this novel landscape and this loss has a ripple effect to other native species. When you return native plants to the landscape, they begin the process of providing habitat for all the other creatures up and down the food chain, from the pollinating insects, to the birds, amphibians, furry mammals, and the invisible creatures of the soil.”

Creating a meadow may seem as easy as letting a yard or field go wild, but the process isn’t quite so simple. While stopping weekly mowing is a first step, it takes a bit more planning to establish a successful meadow, such as an eye out for invasive species, for those natives already thriving and observation of empty patches where new natives can be sown. To help guide participants in this process, CMBG and BRLT have come together to offer the upcoming class, which will explore how to start, sustain and manage existing or derelict New England meadows.

The class will begin at the Gardens before traveling to BRLT’s Oak Point Farm to examine the fields there and discuss how to restore them. Participants, guided by McCargo, will take stock of the landscape and evaluate the unique details on-site, treating the meadow as a case study for putting learned principles into action. "As an organization that preserves and manages field habitat, we are excited to partner with CMBG on this important topic,” says Tracey Hall, environmental educator for BRLT. “At a time when the future of monarchs, bees, and other pollinators is uncertain, cultivating meadow and grassland on private and public land is essential."

McCargo agrees. “I want to give our native species a place back in our landscape so that they can send their genetic descendants into the future and be a part of the new landscapes of Maine,” she writes. “I also want them because they are beautiful and connect us to this land.” Heather McCargo is an educator with 30 years’ experience in plant propagation, landscape design and conservation. A former head plant propagator at the New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods, she has lectured nationally and is widely published in horticultural journals and magazines.

The class, held Wednesday, Aug. 1 from 1-4:30 p.m., is $55 for Gardens members, $68 for nonmembers. Those interested can register online or by calling 633-8008. For more information visit www.MaineGardens.org.