Programs that make a positive environmental impact
Wright Library's Ecology programs include talks from naturalists and native gardeners providing practical guides on how you can make a difference in your own neighborhood. Meet our community partners and find resources that inspire you to have a positive impact on the natural world in your own back (or front) yard.
Follow the growth of Wright Library's Native Plant Gardens.
Events in April 2025
April 5 - Mysterious Moths: The Darker Side of Butterflies. Explore the mysterious and captivating world of moths with Jim McCormac, a nationally recognized naturalist and one of Ohio’s best nature photographers. The lives of these fascinating creatures are intertwined with those of native plants, bats, birds, in our local ecosystems.
April 8 - Author Talks Online: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees. Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouse Horticulturalist Matthew Fleming guides us through the secret world of trees as is revealed in the beautiful and absorbing guide to the giants of the plant world.
April 29 - Dark Sky Ohio. Understand light pollution with Brad Kerry, Director of Government Affairs, Dark Sky Ohio.
Past Events:
2025
Astrophotography - March 23, 2025, A Wright Library partnership with Dayton Chapter of Hadassah
2024
- Trees of Oakwood: Past, Present, & Future - October 16, 2024.
- Native Plant Gardens Your Neighbors Will Love - September 28, 2024.
- Native Plant Garden Tour, July 11, 2024. Presented in partnership with Green Oakwood and Dayton Area Wild Ones.
- Lighting Up the Shadows: Gardening for Fireflies, Lightning Bugs, and Glow-worms, June 24, 2024. Presented in partnership with Green Oakwood.
- Dayton Area Wild Ones and Wright Library welcome Homegrown National Park Executive Director Brandon Hough, May 16, 2024
- Aullwood Audubon's Rich History and Its Ongoing Efforts to Help the Bird Population, April 21, 2024. A Far Hills Speaker Series presentation with Nenita Lapitan from Aullwood Audubon Center.
- Quilt Lawns & Ancestor Trees, April 20, 2024 with Dr. Ryan McEwan from the University of Dayton
- Family Fun with Earth Day, April 20, 2024
2023
- Oakwood BioBlitz, September 9-10, 2023
- Native Plant Garden Tour at Wright Library, August 14, 2023
- Compost Kickstart, June 28, 2023
- Historic Grotto Gardens Tours at VA Medical Center, June & July, 2023
- Climate Change: Beyond Hopelessness, April 24, 2023
- Landscape Design with Native Plants, April 22, 2023
- Foster Habitat in Your Own Backyard, April 22, 2023
- Because We Love This Earth: Eco-Poetry for Earth Day, April 22, 2023
- Recycling Update Expert Panel, April 22, 2023
- Give your Garden Some Ecological Clout, April 21, 2023
2022
- Native Plant Social, September 22, 2022
- BioBlitz Week, April 29 - May 3, 2022
- City-Wide BioBlitz
- Nighttime Mothing Meetup, Hills and Dales MetroParks
- BioBlitz Guided Hikes
- Community Social
- Chris Rowlands Children's Concert, 4/10/2022
- Attracting Pollinators to Your Yard, 3/17/2022
- Discovery & Renewal on the Huffman Prairie (Far Hills Speaker Series), 2/20/2022
2021
- Prepare Your Yard to Support Wintering Pollinators, 10/5/2021
- Native Plant Social at Wright Library, 9/29/2021
- Oakwood Native Plant Yard Tour, 6/22/2021
- Douglas Tallamy Author Visit, Nature's Best Hope, 4/29/2021 (RECORDING AVAILABLE)
- Nature's Best Hope Community Read events, April 2021 (DISCUSSION GUIDE AVAILABLE)
- Watching the Seasons in the Miami Valley: Notes by Bill Felker, 4/21/2021