Join us at the Cashiers library meeting room to discover that creating a pollinator garden is an attainable goal for homeowners! Brett Hopkins of Asheville will discuss how he and his wife Julie transformed their sloped residential property into a thriving pollinator meadow and native habitat by replacing lawn with native plants. Initiated during the pandemic, their garden is a "pollinator magnet" designed with native species to support bees, butterflies, and birds, showcasing a successful residential ecological restoration. Brett Hopkins has had a lifelong passion for nature. He grew up on a small family farm in Northeast Ohio in the foothills of the Appalachians, arriving in Asheville, NC 20 years ago, where his love of nature and his curiosity of how ecosystems work really blossomed. Presenter: Brett Hopkins, NCNPS Education Committee Chair Day and time: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 | 5:00 – 6:30 PM Location: Picnic Shelter at the pond behind the Cashiers Rec Center and library, 249 Frank Allen Rd, Cashiers, NC 28717 As a separate event, we will join Land of the Sky chapter members to visit Brett Hopkin's house in Asheville where we will get a tutorial on using the FloraQuest app from Ruth Cumberland, followed by a tour of Brett's native plant garden, which should be simply humming with butterflies and pollinators. Brett's house is on a ridge top overlooking Asheville, and on August 1st this event will start at 1PM. Creating a pollinator garden is easier than you think!
Join us at the Cashiers library meeting room to discover that creating a pollinator garden is an attainable goal for homeowners!
Brett Hopkins of Asheville will discuss how he and his wife Julie transformed their sloped residential property into a thriving pollinator meadow and native habitat by replacing lawn with native plants. Initiated during the pandemic, their garden is a "pollinator magnet" designed with native species to support bees, butterflies, and birds, showcasing a successful residential ecological restoration.
Brett Hopkins has had a lifelong passion for nature. He grew up on a small family farm in Northeast Ohio in the foothills of the Appalachians, arriving in Asheville, NC 20 years ago, where his love of nature and his curiosity of how ecosystems work really blossomed.
Presenter: Brett Hopkins, NCNPS Education Committee Chair
Day and time: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 | 5:00 – 6:30 PM
Location: Picnic Shelter at the pond behind the Cashiers Rec Center and library, 249 Frank Allen Rd, Cashiers, NC 28717
As a separate event, we will join Land of the Sky chapter members to visit Brett Hopkin's house in Asheville where we will get a tutorial on using the FloraQuest app from Ruth Cumberland, followed by a tour of Brett's native plant garden, which should be simply humming with butterflies and pollinators. Brett's house is on a ridge top overlooking Asheville, and on August 1st this event will start at 1PM.
Creating a pollinator garden is easier than you think!