On Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, Calvin’s Ecological Preserve hosted its annual fall Native Plant Sale. This year, the sale was conjoined with a class on native plants held on Friday.
According to Benji Steenwyk, greenhouse manager, preparations for the Native Plant Sales start in February for their spring sale and continue until their fall sale, while also running an online store throughout the summer. The process starts with handpicking seeds from the preserve’s Native Gardens, which grew 503 different species this past year, according to Steenwyk. “We buy a lot of soil, trays and pots,” Steenwyk told Chimes. “Then there is a lot of planning that we need [to do] to grow the plants: controlling the systems of the greenhouse, making sure the temperature is what the plants need and having the proper staffing for watering all the plants.” This year, the greenhouse also implemented a new tagging system to better help people learn about the plants they buy.
Another change this year is a workshop surrounding native plants. “The idea is to talk a little bit about what native plants are, covering a little bit of why someone might want to consider having a native plant garden or incorporating native plants in their own yards,” Matt Dykstra, managing director at Calvin’s Ecological Preserve, said. “It’s not always as simple as ‘this plant grew here in Michigan 200 years ago, I can just stick it in the ground.’ That doesn’t always work.”
After the class, people may shop and ask more questions. The goal of the class is to “lower that barrier so they feel comfortable asking questions” and make native plants more accessible, according to Dykstra. The class will continue to be offered in conjunction with every plant sale moving forward.
“There are significant challenges for many of the wild creatures that live in this world particularly here in the U.S.; those challenges are often functionally around habitat availability,” Dykstra said. This is particularly the case when it comes to insects, according to Dykstra. Many insects depend on particular species for food or as part of their life cycle, and if they can’t find these plants, they cannot survive. The biodiversity of insects has an impact on the biodiversity of other species, particularly in songbirds. “What we can do is help protect this biodiversity. We can plant these gardens in a traditional lawn, where you might see a few things, but if you plant a number of these different flowers, you will see a lot more of that larger biodiversity,” Dykstra said.
Dykstra explained that to him, part of this work is rooted in honoring God through “providing resources for these less valued creatures” and helping people appreciate the diversity around them. “The process of doing this is not just about buying something. The process is about relationship building,” Dykstra said. “That’s an outcome that I want, building a relationship with these elements of creation that also can provide a relationship with the creator.”
