MDC hosting a free Go Native event April 27 in Kansas City

Kansas City, Mo. - Wildflowers and trees will be budding, blooming, and leafing out as spring advances. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is celebrating with a free Go Nativeevent from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center in Kansas City. Visitors can learn about using native plants in home landscaping, and MDC will also provide free wildflower and tree seedlings that visitors can take home.

Go Nativewill have activities for all ages and abilities. Families are welcome. Visitors will have a chance to see exhibits and talk with experts about incorporating native trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers into home flower gardens and landscaping. Natives are adapted to western Missouri's soils and climate. Once established, they can require less maintenance than non-natives. Natives also provide more benefits to pollinators, songbirds, and other wildlife than non-native varieties.

Free native plant and tree seedlings will be available while supplies last. Visitors can also take a guided tour of the Gorman Discovery Center's native plant garden. The large garden with walking trails has plants from prairie, forest, and wetland ecological settings. Some plots demonstrate the use of natives in backyard flower gardens.

This event is open to all ages. Registration is not required. The Gorman Discovery Center is located at 4750 Troost Ave. in the heart of Kansas City, east of the Country Club Plaza. For more information about the Gorman Discovery Center, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/discoverycenter.