1234.

Get my shoes in.

Out the door.

Five.

I'm lost.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Feels great.

I'm gonna shine.

After I do what I'm gonna do.

I do it again.

Yeah.

Look at the sky with the beautiful color.

But never just for me.

You gotta share it with another.

I got to show, to give.

Let I want singing show.

Take a look and say a beautiful morning that turns into a beautiful evening.

And together make beautiful art.

And if you wanna see that, come along with me.

That's right.

Welcome to Experience Michiana.

On this week's show, we're headed to Goshen, where the wedding singer takes the stage.

We're going to find out about plants with the purpose at Wellfield Botanic Gardens.

But first up, wagon in the woods.

A great event for you and your dog.

It's always good to be outdoors in Michiana.

And today I have a special friend with me.

I have my own little puppy, Charlie.

See, I Charlie sometimes you guys have seen him when we've done zooms from home, but today we're getting him out and about for an awesome event that's happening over here at the Elkhart Environmental Center.

And I have my friends with me here, Chris and Annie.

Thank you guys so much for joining us.

And thank you for having Charlie with us today.

Yeah.

Thank you for bringing him out.

You guys have your event.

This is happening for a number of years now.

Is this your sixth annual sixth annual wagon in the woods?

All right.

I know that you guys can always bring pets out here, so we'll talk about that, too.

But let's talk about this event and how it's grown over the years.

Tell us more about how we can bring our special friends here.

Yeah.

So September 27th, last Sunday of September from 11 to 3, we have the wagon event wagon of the woods event here.

And that's to help bring attention to the Elkhart Environmental Center, all the great trails and events that the Environmental Environmental Center has, as well as supporting Tracking the Shadows, which is a nonprofit dog tracking and rescue organization that all the donations and proceeds go to support.

Is that a national organization?

It's not.

That's local here, here.

Okay.

That's awesome.

And how do they work within within the county, I guess.

So Kira is the the founder of Tracking the Shadows.

And what they do is they find stray dogs and they set up live trap safety traps form.

They they bring the dogs in.

Once they capture the stray dogs, they rehab them, get them all their medical needs and adopt them out.

Oh that's fantastic.

I've never even heard of that before, so that's great.

That's really wonderful.

Okay, so wagon in the woods.

It's coming up.

You can bring your friends.

I'm assuming we need to maybe register them ahead of time.

Not at all.

No.

Okay, so what do I need to know before I bring my friend show up here?

You're ready to have a lot of fun.

We have two pooch parades, and it's one of the biggest events that we have.

Two pooch parades where if you want to address your dog up and in your favorite costume, and a lot of people take the opportunity to dress themselves up in costume as well.

We have a lot of prizes for the best dressed dog, best upcycled costumes, best lookalike costumes, superheroes, and a lot of other things.

So feel free to bring your dogs out, celebrate all the great things Environmental Center has and show your dogs off from the Pooch Parade.

I know one of the things that you guys focus on to is sustainability, and that kind of goes in with the costume contest to.

Right?

Yeah.

Do you want to talk about that?

Yeah.

I mean, it's a it's a fun way to tie the two things together.

But I mean, really the highlight is all of our local vendors because there's a lot of really cool things happening out here.

So it's just a way to kind of bring like our site, which is a fun place for dogs to be like every day, but it really comes to life the day of the event because they've got like microchipping, nail trims, and then they've got all kinds of dog vendors for like puzzles and toys.

And then we have the off leash agility area.

So it just takes it to a whole new level.

That's fantastic.

Where can people get more information about what's going to be here?

Day of.

So everything's up on like the Facebook page.

I think they're highlighting all the different vendors that are coming right now, but there's a whole list of like all the different activities and then the categories for the Pooch Parade.

Yeah, because this is like a time when I need to make sure I'm parading my pooch around.

So on the two, if you want to come in the very first one, come here at 11.

The second parade is at two.

Okay.

We're trying to split up the people coming in so they can enjoy all the food vendors and all the different events that are happening.

And as someone who has a younger puppy too, obviously everybody needs to be leashed.

Yes, yes.

Everybody's leash.

Make sure you least make sure you're trained.

Make sure you're able to be around other animals too.

But you know, this is a great space for those dogs, especially who maybe are learning it on the go.

Being outside in nature is a great way to kind of explore.

So let's talk about what you guys have to offer and maybe go for a walk.

Sure.

Can we do that?

All right, let's go.

Come on.

Charlie.

So with all the trails that you guys have here about how much walking space is accessible to, I guess, walking with your pets, I mean, all of it.

We've got some off trail explorers that happen all the time.

Okay.

But, yeah, we've got a lot of different paths that we can take.

So we've got wetlands, prairies, woodlands, we've got the river.

And then we have that paved river greenway trail that goes from here to Suda Baker.

And it also connects to the Maple Heart Trail, so you can get all the way to Oxbow if you want.

And so for the short walkers, we've got like little, little trails like this that just kind of loop off of each other.

So it's really easy to just kind of do a short walk or just kind of keep expanding for however long you're comfortable.

Sure.

And then we've got the longer ones this year as well as other years.

We will have the Elkhart Police K9 doing demonstrations so you can come out and watch the canine units do different sniffing exercises and agility courses.

And then this year, the fire department is bringing out their fire dog.

Oh, really?

Which is fantastic.

Is that like a real fire dog or is that, like the one in the fire?

Oh, the real fire dog.

Yep.

Sadie will be here.

Last year, Mayor Rod brought his pub.

Yep.

Simba.

Simba will be here.

Simba I love the names of dog.

Is there like a naming competition?

I feel like there has to be.

There should be, should be.

Our dogs are all there.

Named after.

Well, we have Charlie, but his middle name is a trio.

So we are we are fans of of that.

And then we have Benny Faulkner.

So never any stories of big hit when the guy's got to find something funny so they can wear their costumes, but they can also explore here too.

There's obviously plenty of areas to do, kind of on roading and off roading, if you will.

What else do you guys want to tell us about the environmental Center?

Because this is a great little space that you guys have here, but I shouldn't even say little.

This is actually pretty mass.

Yeah, we have about 80 acres that we take care of out here, so there's plenty of space for people to walk around or for the pups to explore.

It's it's just it's a perfect place for dogs.

I mean, big or small, and it's open year round.

So our trails are open to dogs every day.

And not a lot of people know about us, so we're kind of a quiet spot at the moment.

Hopefully, you know, we get busier when more people know about us.

And this is a great way for people to come out and explore, too, because you get to bring your special friend with you as well and kind of get to know the area a little bit better.

Yeah, I love that.

Now, I know you said that you guys do stuff here around.

You have other activities that are coming up to.

Do you want to touch on any of those?

Yeah.

So we do programs and events throughout the year.

This is my favorite.

Obviously dogs everywhere.

You can't beat that.

But our next big event is a big Halloween event.

So if you like exploring the trails, this is a great way to see them in a new light because we'll be decorating them for Halloween.

Really have a bunch of kid friendly trails, and then we'll have a scary trail.

Or volunteers dress up and like, jump out and scare you.

It's really fun.

Oh my gosh.

Okay, I need like a ticket for that.

Or I can just know it's completely free.

We've got like food vendors, live music.

It's it's a fun three day festival that we have out here.

Okay, so now you know my dog is a little bit on the side.

So he does not he does not get wet or or anything like that.

But I know there's a lot of other dogs, probably labs especially, who like to kind of get in the water.

Now, maybe not this pond right here like pools at the event.

And it was like a hot day.

Like we'll have water dishes, but we had, like a bunch of puppy pools and stuff last year.

Oh, okay.

Great.

But is there actually water here that they can get into as well?

Yeah.

So let's go check out the boat launch is like very.

We have a couple of dogs that come out almost every day and walk.

And the river is definitely a spot that they gravitate to.

Okay.

I mean, this is all just part of the walk.

How many miles of trail do you guys have here?

That's a great question.

And I don't know that we haven't measured.

I just know that from here to see the baker is a mile.

So that's the one I hold on to.

That is the one I have.

Okay.

But we can get in this water here.

Yep.

This is the Elkhart River.

Actually, at a lot of our events, the aquatic biology team from the cities here.

And they pull like fish out and they kind of show people what's living in here.

And they talk about like the water quality.

So yeah, it is it is safe for people and dogs to hang out in.

And we have a lot of dogs that take advantage.

And I remember I know we talked about it.

One other time where you guys actually have an event where people can come out and help clean up the water, too.

Yeah, our annual river cleanup.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

So another great thing for you guys that are that you're doing here too.

He's very sniffy here, but he could get in the water.

I'm not going to let him get in the water, that's for sure.

But if they wanted to come out and bring the house shallow.

Is this here?

Well, it looks like the river is down right now, so it's it's pretty decent.

I brought my dog out.

She likes to splash around in here, and you can kind of see it.

Actually, right now, most of this is like a little sandbar.

And there are a couple of, like, drop offs where it gets a little bit deeper and they'd have to maybe swim.

Okay.

Because I've seen the panic looking around when she goes a little bit too far, I can't touch it anymore.

But yeah, that's where a life jacket when he goes in the water.

So most of the area here, like there's a good shelf where you can kind of run around and we see deer, like, run across the river all the time.

So we know there's definitely like shallow parts.

Well, now the sun's not shining, but we're still going to be tracking the shadows.

And that is the organization that you guys are supporting throughout the wagon in the woods event too.

So can people find out more about how you're supporting that organization and how they can help to?

Absolutely.

So on the Facebook page, there's a lot of great resources on ways you can help support.

Some people like to bring donations and food or collars, those types of things.

It's a free event.

You can come out and enjoy the time, and one of the best ways you can help support is just share the Facebook page so other people are aware of it.

All right.

Are you ready to go, Charlie?

Let's go.

Okay, we're doing this the old school way, but, hey, we're taking it back to the 80s.

The wedding singer is coming to Phoenix performing arts.

Ashley, I'm giving you a virtual hug because I always love hanging out with you.

But this is an exciting show that you guys are putting together.

And, you know, it's kind of a classic.

I know that wedding singer, I feel like in our family is one of those that we are always randomly quoting.

Would you say the same?

Oh my gosh.

Whether it's a song or a lyric, it's just I mean, Adam Sandler, you can't beat him, right?

He's just he's just such a staple.

I feel like in so many of our upbringings, as far as his comedy and his movies.

And so, again, yeah, whether you're those little one liners that you have for movie or some of those songs, you know, it's just yeah, it's I think it's a classic of many households for sure.

It is now, this is the first time you guys are doing this one right?

Yes.

Yeah.

This is new to all of us.

Not from watching the movie, but the musical.

And it's the musical is just what you know and love from the movie.

But they also added some songs, which was really fun because the movie itself has many songs.

And so you would think that stick with it.

But they added some and then changed some as well, which was really cool, which is what I was going to ask you to like.

How similar is it to the movie?

You know, comparatively, I would say for the most part to the T, it's it's pretty dang close.

They did okay.

They did add some twists and turns, but honestly, I don't think it took away from the show at all or from the storyline.

I think it just adds to it.

You know, I was growing up, my family, my dad was a huge Adam Sandler fan, so we always had the movies on going into it.

Looking at the musical, I'm like, when I found out that they changed the things, I got a little like, you know, but then I started watching it and started putting the show together, and I was like, okay, I actually love the changes.

Like it didn't take away from the story at all.

So I feel like that's a good thing for those that are like diehard wedding singer fans.

I love that, so we'll see or hear some of the classics that we love in there too.

All right.

Tell me about the cast, because this is more like an ensemble cast for you guys, right?

Yeah.

And so, you know, when you're talking about something that's cinematic, you know, and it turns into a show, sometimes there's some things that aren't as easily translated because you don't have the ability to be in a movie setting where you could be like, cut, switch things over.

Now change this.

So these people are running their took us off playing all these parts.

And I told them the other day we were rehearsal, I was like, I don't know if I've ever seen an ensemble as a whole just be so meshed so beautifully together.

They're just helping each other out.

They're playing so many characters and so well that it just it totally transports you to what happened in that moment.

And they all are just, I don't know, there's just a sense of lightness.

There's a sense of joy about them working together.

And it could be that it's a comedy.

It could be just they're awesome people.

I was going to say, too, like, there's a lot of comedic elements into the this show is.

So I mean, there are a couple of moments you have like your 80s power ballad and you have all these things, but there's there's just not one time in the show where a cast member doesn't get to be funny.

Like, I think every single cast member in this show in particular gets to have their funny moment.

And I love to laugh.

So for me, it's just been so much joy.

It's so enjoying.

I have so enjoyed watching what they're putting together, I love it.

Now I know you guys are bringing the 80s back out with the show.

So what is that transition been like?

You know, bringing those 80s?

What are you pulling from your own experiences and from those are the cast members to really make this feel authentic?

We joke because there's been a lot of references.

A lot of people have done the research.

I think every cast member has gone home and research, you know, what was popular in that time, because this is like 1984 into 1985.

So finding out, you know, what music was popular, what movies were popular, all that stuff.

I'm in charge of hair, so, you know.

Oh, so you're going, are you going big hair girl?

I've got the hot rollers, I've got the Aqua Net.

I've got, you know, wigs galore.

But it's also been funny because our cast kind of ranges in age from about 15 up into this.

There's people that are in their 60s.

And so it's funny for the younger ones to kind of tease, you know, like, well, I wasn't born yet.

My parents weren't born yet.

And so, you know, it's been fun to kind of just have those moments of whether you relate to that 198485 reference or whether you weren't even thought of yet.

So it's caused a little camaraderie and a little poking fun.

I think back and forth between the cast members, and I think that'll be a really good connection point for the audience, too, right?

Oh my gosh.

I have encouraged everyone that I know and I'm going to encourage everybody here now, if you show up, if you don't have your hair tease and your lace gloves and your big earrings, like, I'm going to have to ask you to go change and come back because I'm like, we just want the audience to have as much fun as they're going to have on stage.

We already talked the people that are in the back of the booth.

We've got costumes planned and their costumes from home, but, you know, I've got my hair is going to be teased up, ready to go.

And I'm like, it's just one of those shows that, you know, it just makes sense.

Why not dive in and play that part, play that character and just, you know, if you were thriving in the 80s, why not just bring it back and have a moment to kind of flash back to the good old days?

I love it, I love it, I love the 80s.

I probably still have some stuff from the 80s in my closet, so there's always that too.

And I'm sure, you know, that's been a really fun thing that you guys have been doing in regards to hair, makeup and clothing and everything that you're doing.

Tell us about the set, because I know Zach always does a phenomenal set.

Oh my gosh, I wish you guys I wish we could be in person so you could see it.

There is one thing that he built I won't tell you exactly because I don't want to ruin it.

But there is a moment that happens from a classic 80s movie, and it does have to do with a bucket and some water.

So there's like some surprises in there.

There's so many pieces.

There's like LED lights and there's clubbing like affects and there's I don't even know how to explain it.

It's it's just bright.

It's bold, it's enticing.

And it's I think if you are familiar with the movie The Wedding Singer, I think that you'll be surprised when you see the set, because the.

That's one of the things that the movie or the musical, excuse me, kind of changed.

And again, because it's you're on a live action, something that's happening right now versus a movie set where you can change from room to room.

And so you have those moments on or pieces on the stage that stay on the stage the whole time.

And so it just kind of throws you as soon as you walk in and just throws you right into the 80s with the colors and the shapes and the effects.

And so, yeah, he once again, he knocks it out of the park.

So I'm really excited.

I'm excited for people to see it and to see some, maybe some things on the walls or some shapes or some colors that there will take them back to the time of the 80s that they grew up in.

I love it, I love it.

Okay, so the rehearsals, I'm sure the entire show is very high and exciting.

What does the rehearsal process been like for you guys?

Oh my gosh.

It's been it's it's a fast moving show.

There is really no downtime as far as you know.

Sometimes shows have like a moment where it kind of slows down or comes to a stop so you can process.

This is not that way.

There's I think 3 or 4 different instruments that get played in the show, which is so cool, including a key tar.

So it's like, yeah, there's a trumpet.

So I think it's just been a again, it's been high energy that everybody that's become to rehearsal, they've come in even when they're not on stage, they're in a different part of our place, rehearsing and working with each other and just making sure everybody feels like up to speed and ready to go.

We've got some brand new cast members to our stage.

Oh, that's always exciting.

Yeah.

You know, we just love welcoming people in.

And so it's been cool to watch them kind of get integrated into a show that's, you know, you always take it seriously.

But when you have these moments of funny, it's fun to kind of be like, you know, it feels like low stakes because you're you're having fun and you know, you're just playing but making a great product at the same time.

So and that's the great thing about theater is the opportunity to play.

And I and I love that.

So I always encourage people, if you haven't been on the stage in quite some time, maybe fifth grade was the last time you did it and go out to community theater.

Give it a try.

In such a cool experience.

It's such a good confidence booster as well too.

But this particular show, is it age appropriate for everyone?

So we've been saying PG 13, okay, language and none.

It's for the most part it's nothing more than you would see on cable television.

But it's definitely not like frozen was this summer.

Or, you know, we've got a request for the family friendly in the beginning of November.

So this one would be a perfect evening for some grownups to have a night out, get some drinks, some dinner downtown, and then come laugh your butt off and continue the fun into the night.

I love that now you guys are opening up this weekend, right?

We are just Friday, Saturday and Sunday three times to see it.

And where can people get their tickets and find out any more information that they might need?

Yeah.

You can head to our website.

It's the Phoenix Arts dot, or you can call our our phone number.

It's not a full box office, so we don't have people sitting by waiting to answer.

So we just encourage people to go to the website because then you can see the stage, the seat mapping for you to pick things out, and then you can see what's coming up next or how, like you said, you can get involved on stage or behind the scenes as well.

I love that, and I want to make sure because there's something exciting that's going to be happening this weekend.

This weekend only you got to come to the show to get this.

Yes, this weekend only.

It's our this time slot every year is when we announce our upcoming season.

So it'll be our fourth season, 2027 and amazing.

Can we pause on that?

Because like I'm so proud of you Ashley.

Like, seriously so proud of you.

This has been your baby.

And you guys I just love watching you guys grow and do such amazing things.

Okay, continue.

Sorry.

No, I didn't mean to lie.

You were there with us for our first.

Our first.

So.

Thank you.

But.

Yeah.

So on Friday night, everyone that's in the audience for that night will get first.

The first here at what our 2027 season is.

Because that's when we will announce it.

And it's a pretty cool one if I do say so myself.

Okay, I love it.

All right, well, make sure you guys check it out.

The Wedding singer coming up this weekend at Phoenix Performing Arts.

Thank you so much, Ashley.

Next time, hopefully in person so we can get in bunches too much.

All right, two frozen hugs.

Thanks.

Thank you.

We are still outside.

Enjoying nature is still a great time to do that before we get into the fall season, which is also a great time to be outside too.

I'm here at the Field Botanic Gardens.

I still have Charlie with me because this is another fantastic place that you can bring your pets, which I love.

Well, dogs at least.

Maybe not your donkey or anything like that, but can still bring Charlie here.

So he's been out enjoying all the past and everything.

I have my friends with me and Kyle.

Thank you guys for joining me.

You guys have a really unique event that's coming up.

And and it's all focused on the plans that we can actually have here that are good for major in Michiana.

Right?

Yeah, exactly.

We're it's a it's a discussion on native species.

These are species that have evolved here for thousands of years in this region specifically.

And we'll we'll be talking we have various topics and various presenters, all related to native plants and also relating to a book that was recently published.

And this is all plants with purpose.

Everything is purposeful.

Right?

That's the title of the program, plants with purpose.

And we're actually having a lunch and learn.

So it's October 10th, I guess we should say that.

Perfect over ten and it's 1230 to 2 right here at Wellfield Gardens, which you know, is a beautiful place to have it.

It is.

Is it going to be indoors or outside?

Mostly indoors.

Okay.

So we can have lunch and perfect.

And the presenters all to help people learn a little bit more about the best native plants that they can incorporate in their yards.

But also beyond that, a little bit more about native plants that might be of interest to gardeners or just plant enthusiasts in general.

And talk about why it's important to focus on plants that are sustainable within the environment that they were originally created and formed within.

Yeah.

So the plants that have evolved here have co-evolved alongside this area's wildlife.

So for instance, when we bring plants from other parts of the world like Asia or Europe, we they may grow here and they may do fine here.

However, our wildlife that's that's adapted to this region may not recognize them as a food source or shelter source or anything that's useful.

Okay.

So so incorporating more of these, these species, native species into your home gardens can really benefit local wildlife and ecosystem.

And that's important.

Yeah, definitely.

It is.

I know that that's one of the things that we try to do in our own home too.

So and a lot of this information that you're going to be sharing, people can take back with them into their own landscapes.

Right, exactly.

Many of the plants that are native are perfectly suited to our gardens if they're native to our counties right here in Michiana.

And so that's what we'll be focusing on a lot during the workshop.

So let's talk about this book okay?

Okay.

Because this is something people can buy.

And you're going to talk about it during the event to.

Right.

Yes okay.

Perfect.

Yeah.

This is kind of this I mean this is a little bit of a book launch for this, this book Native Plants for Michiana.

Okay.

That was done through Wild One South Bend chapter.

So the photographer is is wonderful.

And everybody that participated donated their photographs, which was boring and they're beautiful community effort then.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

The there are many hands that that helped write this book and contribute to this book.

And so.

Well, field was a sponsor and so was Elkhart County Parks and several other Shirley Hines land trusts and several other community organizations.

Wonderful.

So we're going to talk a little bit about this book, and I'll there'll be three presenters, and we all have different topics, but they're all going to relate to the book and native plants in general.

Okay.

I'm going to talk a little bit about you're one of the presenters.

Yes I am.

Yes I am.

Okay, I guess I should mention that.

Yes okay.

But yes, I will present.

Each person will present for roughly 20 minutes and people can enjoy their food and walk the gardens afterwards.

They're welcome.

But I'm going to talk a little bit about how why native plants are important in public gardens and why.

Because you have a lot of native plants here, too.

We do.

Is everything native here are not necessarily okay.

So we're a botanic garden.

So we do try to incorporate lots of different species from all parts of the world.

We try very hard not to incorporate any, any invasive species, of course, harmful species.

But we have lots of native species throughout the gardens and in fact, even in our Japanese gardens.

So they're kind of woven throughout each garden space.

I think one of the things that will highlight is what role the gardens can play in helping to maintain biodiversity and maintain native plants in a, you know, kind of a controlled landscape.

Absolutely.

The other two presenters really quickly, Doctor Denmark from I, South Bend, we'll be talking about choosing the right native plants for the gardens and especially how, as Kyle was referring to how to target and get maximum benefit for things that eat native plants, primarily insects.

And that's what we're trying to do, is we're trying to support the native insect population because they feed birds and reptiles.

And.

Yeah, and then also Vince, he is the natural resources coordinator from Elkhart County Parks.

He's going to be talking about orchids and more.

And many people don't.

Many people don't even realize are native.

We have native orchids.

Not that big, showy, you know, that's the one that's on my kitchen counter that I can't keep alive.

Right?

It's not okay.

Okay.

So tropical, but there are native plants.

So he's going to be talking about those and other rare plants that we can find right here in our region.

So that's even a little beyond the Garden City.

So those of you that are three presentations during that ten lunch, I love I love that.

And it is a free event, right?

It is free with the cost of admission.

So our admission is $10 per person.

And and that gets you into the gardens as well.

I mean, the event and the gardens is okay.

Perfect.

And we are encouraging folks to pre-register if they can.

And that way you can just, you know, check in and come in to the workshop.

Yeah.

So we do want you to register at a time if you're a walk in bass.

Absolutely fine.

Just live a couple of minutes early on October 10th for the lunch and learn, and then we'll, you know, we'll get you the admission, which covers the cost of the workshop.

And I saw even while I was here, we saw groups of people coming in.

This is a great way to bring your birdwatching group or your book club or just walk.

Yeah.

You know, just people who just walk and want to learn more about native plants.

And we have some behind us.

Right.

Do.

Yeah.

Want to talk about this?

Yeah.

We're kind of surrounded by right now.

We're late summer moving into fall.

We have a lot of of our goldenrod blooming.

And then this one here is snake root.

That's pretty white one here.

Now this one I feel like is it not invasive.

No, it is not.

I feel like this is what I always have to pull out of my yard.

Well, so you you may it depends on what kind of space.

Depends on where it's at exactly.

Yeah.

So like, snake root and goldenrod can be slightly aggressive in certain areas.

And so you, you may not want them up by the house in a tidy or.

Yeah, exactly necessarily.

But here and in our prairie we like that.

So when they pop up again in my yard I'm going to bring them over to you.

Oh all right.

Do you think ever do like guided walks through the gardens.

Yes.

Yeah.

We do guided tours occasionally and guided walks.

Yes.

Okay.

I love to show people around, so I know it's a fun time.

One other thing about the book is not only is it available here at Wellfield, but it's available at many places throughout the eight counties that this book was designed for.

Surprise.

Not just not just know there's a county in which these plants are relevant.

And to find out where if you can't come on 10th or stop in at Wellfield Gardens to get the book, you can go to South Bend Dot Wild ones.org and find their.

All of the locations and events for the book is and The Wild Ones.

That's one of the partnerships that you guys are working with to, and that's part of the organization that you're with.

Yes.

Do you want to touch on what you guys do?

Wow.

This is an actual organization with localized chapters, wild one, South Bend being one.

Okay.

And they are very active in promoting the use of native plants and landscaping, essentially to boost biodiversity.

And so there are monthly workshops and hikes and site visits to your yard, all kinds of things to help gardeners.

I love learning about this kind of stuff, and I hope you guys do see they're watching at home because this is these are incredible resources that we have right here in our community that just help us grow and beautify and just be a part of the community.

So thank you guys so much for putting this on.

Make sure you get rid of ahead of time if you can.

If not, feel free to just show on I feel.

See you then.

Thanks thanks.

Thank you.

This WNIT local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.