When: February 7, 2026 @ 10:30 am
FIND FRIENDSHIP AND FULFILLMENT WHILE HELPING TO UNCOVER THE NATIVE PLANTS FROM THE 80’S
Join us on Saturday February 7th as we work to clear non-native invasives from a historic native plant garden! In the 80’s a permit was given to collect native plants from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and transplanted them at the Andrews Public Library in a native plant garden! Many plants successfully returned every year and the garden flourished under the care of the Cherokee County Master Gardeners until about fifteen years ago when the caretakers passed away. Since then invasive plants have crept in, shading out the sunlight and preventing the return of the ephemerals…until now! Clearing out the invasive ground cover will give these native plants the opportunity to grow again!
This project is especially important for Mainspring’s WNC Wildseed Library. We are entering the second year of a new native seed library volunteer program, which focuses on distributing seeds of local ecotypes to our communities. If we can unearth the native plants in the Andrew’s library garden and and provide them with room to grow, perhaps in the future we can collect and distribute their seeds through this program!
Volunteering with Mainspring will give you a chance to explore, protect, and restore the well-known spots and hidden gems of this region. There are opportunities to use all sorts of fun tools, from chainsaws to sledgehammers to good old fashioned elbow grease!
To receive regular emails about the details of upcoming workdays, please fill out our volunteer form.
Want to help protect the special places we know and love, but aren’t sure you’re up for digging in the dirt? We have indoor, low-exertion volunteer opportunities too! Check them out here.
To inquire about this workday, email Alina at [email protected]
