Our 2026 Spring Native Plant Sale launched online, and orders are already coming in for April pickup. Online ordering closes Thursday morning, April 30th.

Join us for the 2026 In-Person Sale & Open House on Saturday, May 2, 2026, from 9am–2pm. Enjoy plant shopping, delicious food, nursery tours, and more!

• Tabling organizations: Mount Pisgah Arboretum, UO, and Habitat Haven (Alan Butler will showcase the Pollinator Garden near the parking area).
• Tours:
• • Nursery tour with Gail Baker at 11am
  • Pollinator tour with August Jackson at 1pm.
• Food: Happy Go Lucky Crepes
• Live Music: Meadow Rue
• Location: 34639 Frank Parrish Rd, Eugene, OR 97405

Thank you! Your generosity helped us fully meet the $10,000 donation match. This support is making a real difference for trails, habitat restoration, and stewardship at Howard Buford Recreation Area (Mt. Pisgah).

A big shout-out to the two generous Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah members who offered this challenge — it truly takes a community to care for this special place. We appreciate every one of you!

Please continue to support our work and invite friends, family, and neighbors to get involved.

Submitted by Jacob Swanson, University of Oregon graduate student

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples across the Willamette Valley used careful, intentional burning to care for the land. These cultural fires kept prairies and oak savannas healthy, supported vital plants and wildlife, and created the open landscapes we cherish today.

When traditional practices were disrupted, fire was removed from the landscape. Prairies grew denser, and many native species declined. Today, Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah and Willamalane are thoughtfully reintroducing fire through prescribed burns in the Howard Buford Recreation Area.

These controlled, low-intensity burns clear old material, recycle nutrients, reduce invasive species and encroaching Douglas-fir, and create a clean slate for seeding diverse native wildflowers and grasses. The result is healthier habitats that support birds, bees, and pollinators.

By supporting this work — and the research that guides it — we are not only restoring the land today but also helping train the next generation of land stewards and scientists.

In spring 2025, University of Oregon researchers from the Ponisio Lab were out in bright yellow vests, netting pollinators and recording plant-pollinator interactions after recent burns. Their new 2026 study will explore how different wildflower “neighborhoods” influence each other when sharing pollinators — helping guide even more effective, science-based stewardship of our prairies and oak savannas.

Thank you to Jacob Swanson and the Ponisio Lab for this submission and for the important research that informs our work!

Earth Day Work Party!

Wednesday, April 22 • 9:00AM–11:00AM

Join us for Earth Day as we hike on the East side of Howard Buford Recreation Area through wetland prairies and oak woodlands to a transition zone that leads to oak savanna. Help us restore native habitat by clearing invasive species to give native plants space to thrive. It will be a 20-25 minute hike on flat terrain to the work site. Experience spring in full bloom, including nesting migratory birds and flowering trees along the way.

Experience Spring at the Native Plant Nursery

Every Tuesday 9:00AM–12:00PM

Thursday 9:00–12:00PM & 1:00–4:00PM

Saturday 9:00AM–12:00PM

Spring is a time of transition for the nursery. Early spring (March–April) consists of planting container pots for the plant sale, and lots of weeding! Weed management includes hand-weeding beds, hula-hoeing paths, propane flaming (when weather permits), push-mowing, and weed whacking fence borders. We also infill the last of our beds — a task that involves crouching for a couple of hours at a time.

Trails Stewardship

Every Thursday • 9:00AM–12:00PM

Become a trail blazer by helping build, maintain, and restore trails within the park’s 30-mile trail system.

Habitat Restoration

Every Monday • 9:00AM–12:00PM

Help us restore native habitats such as oak savannas, oak woodlands, and floodplains. Tasks include removing invasive species, mulching, applying biochar, and managing brush piles.

This planting season, Friends has planted 6,725 native woody trees and shrubs throughout the Greater Mt. Pisgah Area!

• The Stewardship Crew is working in southeast corner of the park to restore oak savanna north of the new Trail 3 E.
• Camas are blooming beautifully right now, along with many other native wildflowers. Camas bulbs were a historically important Indigenous food source, and prescribed fire helps maintain the open areas where they thrive.
• The crew continues maintaining bare-root plantings in the north bottomlands. Volunteers and crew have been weeding and mulching to prepare for warmer weather. Volunteer on Mondays!

Friends at the Wildflower Festival

We’ll have a presence at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower Festival on Sunday, May 17, 2026 (10am–5pm). Stop by to chat about our work and shop native plants!

Habitat Haven’s Backyard Habitat Garden Tour

May 3 — Celebrating naturescaping in the greater Eugene area. Our regular Saturday volunteer, Jan, will have her yard featured!

Coast to Cascades Bird Alliance is hiring for a part-time Program Assistant.

Your support keeps native plants blooming, trails open, and prescribed fire work moving forward at Howard Buford Park and the greater Mt. Pisgah area. Every gift — big or small — makes a real difference for this special place we all love.

If you’re able, please consider a donation today to help us continue this important stewardship work.

We’d love to hear from you — what topics would you like more of? Just reply!