Manheim Township Recreation Department presents the Lancaster Native Plant and Wildlife Festival on Saturday, April 25, from 8:30am to 3:30pm at Overlook Park on Granite Run Drive. This year's event will showcase 30 local environmental organizations, native plant nurseries, and artisans. Kids activities include a scavenger hunt and live birds of prey from 12-2pm.

Inside the Manheim Township Public Library, across the street from the vendor area, Raven Ridge Wildlife Center will present at 9:30am.

These activities are provided completely free thanks to the Manheim Township Recreation Department and a volunteer club called Habitat Manheim Township, who seeks to educate the public about the benefits of native plants for the ecosystem and the community, through education and by example. Overlook Park, Landis Woods, and Stauffer Mansion, all part of the Manheim Township parks system, have examples of native plant gardens.

For those new to the concept of using native plants and those interested in learning more about it, there are excellent (free!) speakers presenting inside the library. At 11:30am Elyse Jurgen, Ecological Gardening Consultant, will present “Green Mulch: Using Native Plants as Groundcovers.” Later, at 1:30pm, Linette Mansberger will present “Bats: Our Friends of the Night” a program about bats found around the world, and in Pennsylvania.