The North Shore Audubon Society will host a presentation about using Long Island native plants to protect wildlife with SUNY Farmingdale professor Rusty Schmidt.
Schmidt will explain why native plants are important, show how to determine if a plant is native to Long Island, and describe how to place these plants together for an aesthetic habitat for your yard.
The free presentation is set for 7 p.m. April 24 at the Manhasset Public Library on Onderdonk Avenue.
He will also explain what is a native cultivar and why we should use them as a second choice. By using native species in a habitat rich environment, we will have a positive impact on our fauna, especially birds and insects.
Schmidt is a landscape ecologist employed by Nelson, Pope and Voorhis in Melville. He also is an Adjunct Professor in the Horticulture Department at Farmingdale State College. He is President of the Long Island Plant Initiative.
He designs and constructs alternate ways of managing stormwater runoff, creating hundreds of designs for habitat restorations, complete restorations of ecosystems, and many rain gardens bio-infiltration swales, bio-retention basins and stormwater ponds, ranging in size from a small backyard to multi-acre projects. He has co-authored three books: “Plants for Stormwater Design,” volumes one and two, and a homeowner’s guide, “Blue Thumb Guide to Raingardens.”
