New England Wild Flower Society was involved in several projects with Smith College in 2010, including providing a source for edible native plants and advice about what to choose for an edible garden in a new community garden on campus, the creation of butterfly garden kits for three early childhood schools on campus, and the mapping and removal of invasive plant species from several areas along the Mill River which flows through the campus. Gaby Immerman, Lab Instructor/Summer Internship Coordinator at the Smith College Botanic Garden, Nasami Farm Operations Manager Kate Pawling and Vegetation Management Coordinator Ted Elliman were involved.  Immerman also brought a group of 15 Smith College interns to Nasami for a tour of the propagation business. They stayed and volunteered for several hours at the farm after the tour.

The Society was contracted by Smith College for several days of invasive control in both 2010 and 2011 (see Elliman’s article on this page). Nasami Farm also sold many of the native plants used in the edible garden to the college. In the future, more of the community garden will be used for landscape planting instead of farming, providing another opportunity for Nasami Farm’s involvement.

The butterfly garden kits offered a very interesting collaboration. Immerman had been approached by a couple of her son’s elementary school teachers to help students create a butterfly garden at the school. She discussed the plant list with Kate Pawling at Nasami Farm Nursery and it was decided to create butterfly garden kits which included the how-to’s of installation plus the plants. Nasami provided the native plants. These were mostly plants that needed to find a good home. Keeping them at Nasami would have necessitated repotting, pruning, and general care beyond their retail worth. Donating them to the butterfly kits was a great use. Immerman then worked with students and teachers to clear the garden plots and install the plants. It was a great learning opportunity for the students on many levels; learning about butterflies and butterfly life-cycles, native plants, gardening, and more. The full story of this project can be found at http://www.smith.edu/sccs/SCCSSpotlight/inthespotlight.php.

New England Wild Flower hopes to collaborate further with Smith College in the future to educate students and faculty, reclaim landscapes, and use native plants in creative ways.