NATIVE SEED COLLECTING WORKSHOP | IN-PERSON
Saturday, September 11 | 2 - 4 PM | $20 | $10 with SAAG Pass
with ALCLA Native Plants
Register below for the program
Join us for an in-person workshop in our SAAG Garden, located behind the gallery in Galt Gardens park, with Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed, co-owner of ALCLA Native Plants. Latifa will share her knowledge of native plants, and together we will collect seeds to plant in your own garden for next season.
Native plants are great as they are climate adapted, most bounce back easily from hail damage, and once established they can thrive without supplemental water, fertilizers or pesticides. They provide habitat and food for pollinators and wildlife, and are also attractive ornamentals that enhance the beauty of yards and landscapes. Many native species are edible and a viable addition to sustainable, low maintenance food gardens.
ALCLA NATIVE PLANTS is a native plant nursery based in Calgary, Treaty 7 Territory, that supplies Alberta-sourced plants and seeds. Founded in 1992, they carry approximately 200 species of wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs native to Alberta. Co-owned by Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed and Ben Hartney since 2019, the pair continue to carry the diverse plant selection and quality that Dr. Al and Pat Fedkenheuer initially developed, remaining a trusted source of native plant expertise in Southern Alberta. ALCLA Native Plants wild collect their seed to develop and preserve plant genetic diversity. This keeps their stock source-identified. It also helps to ensure plant survivability for specific environmental conditions.
LATIFA PELLETIER-AHMED holds a BSc in Botany from the University of Calgary and a MSc in Herbal Medicine from Middlesex University, London, UK. She has been working with native plants for over a decade including herbarium collections, field plant identification (Southern Alberta), forestry data collection, and specimen identification (Northern Alberta). In 2016 she founded Latifa’s Herbs, which primarily serves to educate the public on the edible and medicinal uses of wild plant species in both Alberta and British Columbia. She is a former faculty member at Pacific Rim College in Victoria, BC where she taught Botany and Horticulture in addition to Wild Plant Nutrition.