This four-week course, held on Thursdays, Oct. 31 through Nov. 21, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., will help students better understand the principles and practices of ecological gardening with a focus on native plant communities. Students will learn the native plant palette, resources needed to identify these communities, and habitats and methods of introducing native plants into gardens. Identifying and controlling invasive plant species, in addition to restoring areas that have been impacted by invasives, will also be highlighted. Gardeners will learn how to enhance garden spaces with native plants that create sustainable and low-maintenance gardens. This course will be taught by Bridghe McCracken of Helia Land Design.

Helia Land Design (@helialanddesign) was founded by horticulturist and landscape designer Bridghe McCracken, following the sale of Project Native, a non-profit promoting native habitat conservation and education, where she was chief landscape designer for 10 years. The founding of HNN was a solution to continue her and Project Native’s mission to save unique Berkshire native plant seeds and propagate plants from those seeds, to be sold to landscape design clients and the public, part of an effort to restore and expand the strained ecosystem in the Berkshires. For more information, visit helialanddesign.com.