Participation wavier for all Activities, Activities refers to “Events”, “Programs”, “Field Trips”, “Birdathon”, “Lectures & Presentations”, “Christmas Bird Count [CBC]”, “Fundraisers”, but not exclusive to, conducted, hosted, or sponsored by, the Charleston Natural History Society (CNHS) and may be found here: Participation Waiver. By participating in any CNHS activity it is assumed that you have read and agreed to the wavier.
Participants shall also agree that the Charleston Natural History Society, Audubon, may use photographs, recordings, or videos taken during such activities with or without your name and for any lawful purpose, including for example such purposes as publicity, illustration, advertising, and Web content.
Fall 2026
Venue & days – please refer to the specific month’s listing immediately prior to event for any changes.
Pollinators & Native Plants with Sharleen Johnson
Monday October 5th
6-8pm
James Island City Hall
1122 Dills Bluff Rd,
James Island, SC, 29412
What’s good for pollinators is good for birds:
Native plants and practices to support wildlife in your home landscape
It takes more to support pollinators than a garden full of flowers, and it takes more to support songbirds than hanging bird feeders and bird houses.
In this talk Sharleen will share specific native plant species and practices that you can incorporate into your home landscape to help support the full life cycles and year-round needs of bees, butterflies, other beneficial insects, hummingbirds, songbirds, and woodpeckers. We’ll dive into the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program and how to apply its guidelines here in Charleston.
Sharleen will share a set of native plants to provide almost year-round pollen and nectar resources for pollinators and leaves for caterpillars and fruits and shelter for birds.
We’ll discuss the value of “soft landings” habitats under keystone trees to support ground-nesting bees, moth pupae, spiders, and ground-foraging birds and how to establish them. And explore ways to keep your yard looking reasonably “tidy” while retaining snags, stumps, brush piles, seedheads, stems, and other biomass on site to support all sorts of wildlife.
Finally, we’ll touch on sustainable practices to reduce the impacts of invasive species, disruptive light pollution, and insecticide use.
Bio:
Formally trained as an ecologist and science educator, Sharleen is passionate about helping people learn about and actively engage with the natural world through presentations about native plants and wildlife, pollinator ecology, and sustainable landscaping. One of her primary missions through her business, Native Plants to the People (NPTTP), is to increase the local availability of diverse native plants, with an emphasis on cost-effective plugs and smaller pot sizes. Prior to launching NPTTP, Sharleen worked as a marine ecologist for the SC Dept of Natural Resources, in non-profit medical research, and as a high school science teacher.
