Create an Urban Oasis: How to Include a Wildlife-Friendly Garden May 15, 2010

Want to create an urban oasis for your family and our local wildlife? Join Kimberly Leeper of Mariposa Naturescapes and Heather Swift of Cohabitats to learn how to naturescape - design and install a native-plant, wildlife-friendly garden. Bring your gardening & wildlife questions, snacks for breaks, and sketch/picture/existing plant list of your yard.

Kimberly Leeper is founder of Mariposa Naturescapes which restores native plant habitat for local fauna and assists Seattle area residents with native, edible, and rain garden design and installation. She has a breadth of experience with native plants and landscape restoration as well as a background in naturalist education, including Wilderness Awareness School. Kimberly has worked closely with native plants since 2000 and completed the WNPS Native Plant Stewardship program in 2005. She is passionate about ongoing education - both her own and others. She completed a Permaculture Design Coursse in October 2009, and now strives to incorporate these sustainability principles into all aspects of projects.

Heather Swift is founder of Cohabitats which strives to bring a healthier balance between human and wild areas. Heather received intensive naturalist training at Wilderness Awareness School where she learned Washington flora and fauna, animal habitat and behavior, animal tracking, ethnobotany, and bird language. She works with a range of clients on projects to protect and restore habitat, and she is a regular speaker and educator. She has worked with the King Conservation District on helping landowners augment wildlife habitat on their properties and has been a speaker for Washington State University Extension, Built Green, and the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild. She is currently on the faculty of Alderleaf Wilderness College.

Official Website: http://www.mariposanaturescapes.com