Plant native & preserve nature with our seedling sales

Join the hundreds of Michiganders supporting local conservation through our fall and spring seedling sales. The Michigan native tree species in our sales are featured alongside a variety of grasses and wildflower blends, each carefully selected to match Benzie County's ecology.

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Native grass and wildflower seeds, planting protection, and other yard supplies are available year-round in-store. 

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Why plant native?

By planting native species from our seedling sales, you are not only supporting the Benzie Conservation District but are also:

• offsetting tree die-offs and deforestation
• providing natural erosion control
  
• sheltering songbirds and other wildlife
• filtering nutrients in the soil
• bolstering native biodiversity
• feeding local pollinators
• participating in climate change research with ATREP species

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Plant trees for climate resiliency with the Assisted Tree Range Expansion Project (ATREP)

During our spring sale, you can find a variety of species local to our region, as well as some that are more common in lower parts of Michigan. Those seedlings are part of the Assisted Tree Range Expansion Project (ATREP) line and are strategically chosen to support climate change research in our region.

ATREP is a citizen science initiative developed in response to the ongoing and impending impacts of climate change felt in our region. Simply defined, assisted range expansion is, “the human assisted movement of species to areas just outside their established range in response to climate change, facilitating or mimicking natural range expansion.”

This project involves private landowners and community groups in reforestation using tree species where the native ranges reach their upper limits in southern to middle lower Michigan. By establishing species that are predicted to thrive in our region, you can help to increase ecosystem diversity, offset widespread tree die-offs, and ultimately improve the resilience of our future forests. 

Maddy Baroli, ATREP project manager; and Kama Ross, former BCD forester, explain more about ATREP.

For other ATREP questions, please contact District Forester Ellie Johnson at [email protected]