Connecting people and native plants for a healthy planet
Habitat Gardening in Central New York (HGCNY) is a local chapter of Wild Ones. Wild Ones promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy, and collaborative action, with a vision of native plants and natural landscapes thriving in every community.
At HGCNY, we bring this vision to life by helping people transition yards, big and small, into flourishing natural habitats throughout Onondaga County and neighboring Cayuga, Cortland, Oswego, and Tompkins counties.
Lawns don’t have to be lifeless
Native plants bring nature back into our communities. They provide food and shelter for a wide variety of birds and pollinators—from tiny moths to brilliant butterflies—many of which are in severe decline. They also add beauty to our surroundings and play an important role in keeping our air and water clean. Once established, native plants require less watering, fertilizer, and upkeep, helping you save time and money while also reducing your carbon emissions.
At HGCNY, we believe every yard can make a difference. By helping people replace turf grass and other non-native plants—especially invasive ones—with native species, we restore habitat, support pollinators, and welcome back a rich tapestry of birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. Over time, these living landscapes become more vibrant, more interesting, and—most importantly—healthier for you, your yard, and the environment.
Let’s turn everyday yards into healthy, living landscapes. Join Wild Ones to support our mission, connect with like-minded individuals, explore helpful resources, enjoy engaging presentations, and automatically become a member of Habitat Gardening of Central New York (HGCNY)!
What We Do
Our twice-monthly e-newsletter, featuring HGCNY events and helpful habitat tips, is FREE to everyone, member or not.
During the growing season, we host a variety of events:
- Our Native Plant Sales in the spring and fall make native plants more accessible while supporting local native plant nurseries. In addition, our Native Plant Shopping Guide makes it easier to find native plants.
- Our Show Me, Help Me Tours are a fun way to help everyone—host and guests alike—learn how to create natural landscapes with native plants in their own back (and front!) yards. Show Me, Help Me tours can be found in our Events Calendar.
- Tabling at local events is a key part of HGCNY’s outreach and connects people with information about native plants. Volunteer opportunities at these tabling events can be found in our Events Calendar.
During the winter months, we offer monthly meetings with guest speaker presentations.
You’re invited! Presentations typically take place the last Sunday of each month from October through April. Most are offered both in-person and on Zoom, with the exception of November (Zoom-only) and December (no meeting). Details about these presentations, titled “Wild Ones HGCNY – “, can be found in our Events Calendar.
Unless otherwise noted, meetings take place at Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip Street, Liverpool, NY (Directions) with refreshments and mingling at 1 p.m., followed by the presentation at 1:30 p.m.
Our meetings are recorded and available on our YouTube channel.
Our president, Janet Allen, can provide presentations on a variety of topics.
Caring for Our Piece of the Earth is a FREE six-session self-guided discussion course that will help you learn how to create an earth-friendly yard.