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Now that you have a general idea how to start a Wild Ones chapter, read through the information below and then feel free to get started on a new adventure!

• Official chapter name.
• Names of your chapter officers.
• Name and phone number of your chapter contact person (to be published in the Wild Ones Journal).
• Names of ten paid members from your locality.
• Calendar of planned events/educational programs for at least four months

All officers and the chapter contact must be paid members. The goal is to have at least twenty paid members within twelve months of being chartered, and to maintain at least that number of members in order to maintain chapter status.

Officers Your chapter should have a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and someone who will be responsible for membership. (One person may hold more than office.) These officers, along with your board members, will make up the core group which will be the backbone of your organization as it gets started. Minutes of your business meetings should be submitted to the National Secretary.

Finance Membership dues are to be sent to Wild Ones at the mailing address shown on the attached Chapter Information Sheet. To give new chapters a head start, only 40% of the regular household dues is retained by National; 60% is returned to the new chapter. After the new chapter's membership reaches seventy-five, the dues split reverses to 60% National; 40% chapter. There are several levels of membership (Wild $30, Wilder $50 and Wildest $75+) so members joining at higher levels will help to build chapter treasuries faster.

Dues for full-time student, senior 65+ or disabled households is split differently. Because National needs to cover the cost of the Wild Ones Journal and its distribution, chapters subsidize these lower income categories. Currently, $18 is retained by National and the balance is distributed to the chapters (usually $2.00). In the case of the business category, 25% of the dues are distributed to the chapter gaining the membership.

We have received federal tax exempt status 501(c)(3) status, which means all dues are 100% tax-deductible. Donations to the chapters and funds raised by the chapters are also 100% tax-deductible, and are retained wholly by the chapter. Funds retained by National are used to defray costs for printing the Wild Ones Journal and for National administrative expenses.

A chapter checking account must be established using the name "Wild Ones Natural Landscapers Ltd. Inc." and our EIN number. Be sure to include the name of your chapter on the checks also. Details regarding this will be sent to you once your chapter has been chartered. An accounting of chapter finances must be submitted to the National Treasurer annually.

Our non-profit status allows us to buy supplies and services without paying local state sales taxes, where applicable. You will need to apply for this exemption once your chapter has been sanctioned.

On a monthly basis, the Executive Director will send a dues reimbursement recap to the Treasurer along with a check equal to the reimbursement total.

Program Your chapter should plan to conduct regular monthly meetings based on your calendar of events which will be published in the Wild Ones Journal. In planning events, chapters are encouraged to be activity-oriented. Chapters may choose to pattern meetings after such events as a spring dig, fall seed gathering, winter seed exchange, an early summer "Show Me/Help Me Day," and summer tours of native plant gardens - both private and public, as well as formal speaker presentations. Meetings should focus on what can be done to naturalize residential, commercial, and public places. Back issues of the Wild Ones Journal have lots of valuable information and activity ideas from other chapters, and are available from National.

Newsletter National's bimonthly publication is the Wild Ones Journal. We encourage you to contact your local landscapers and nurseries who offer native plants, seeds and/or services about advertising in the Journal. This will be the best way to make your members aware of the various natural landscaping vendors in your area. Ad solicitation and rate sheets will be sent to you once you have officially formed your chapter.

As a Wild Ones chapter you are expected to contribute occasional articles to the Wild Ones Journal These articles should be specific to your area and/or your chapter activities.

You will also be expected to submit your planned schedule of events for publication in "The Meeting Place" section of the Journal. All information must be sent to the National Calendar Coordinator at least four months ahead of the scheduled monthly meetings.

E-Mail Networks The Wild Ones e-mail network, called E-Net, is available to all members who maintain e-mail addresses. See guidelines for its use at www.for-wild.org. It is an information source for members only, although members do not have to participate. There is also a local e-net available for chapters to use to distribute timely information to their members and/or as a local source of networking for their members. Contact the Executive Director to get a local e-net set up for your chapter. No e-mail addresses are actually used in the transmission of information via the e-nets.

Chapter Guidebook The Wild Ones Chapter Guidebook contains policies, bylaws, letterhead, program ideas, and a variety of other information that will help your chapter grow. Also included is a copy of our federal non-profit certification indicating our EIN as mentioned above in the "finance" section. You will need this information for your bank. If your state allows exemptions from sales tax, you will also need to present this number when making application for the exemption. Copies of most materials contained in the Chapter Guidebook are available on the Wild Ones web site. The Executive Director will provide you with materials which are not available via the web site following notification of your chapter's charter.

Membership The Executive Director maintains the overall membership database for Wild Ones. However, it is each chapter's responsibility to maintain a copy of their chapter membership for their own mailings and other needs. The membership data is available on the web site to authorized chapter board members, but is password-protected.

Stationery National will provide you with a limited supply of National stationery. You may purchase more stationery for a small fee. Your chapter may wish to have its own stationery printed to help establish it as a professional organization and to begin to create a recognizable image throughout your community. Feel free to use the Wild Ones logo as it best suits your chapter. Just make sure the word "Wild Ones" has the registered service mark with it.

Miscellaneous Wild Ones Natural Landscapers Ltd. is incorporated in the state of Wisconsin. The words "Wild Ones" are a registered service mark.

HOW TO GET STARTED

At this point you may be asking yourself, "OK, so where do I start?" Here are some suggestions we think will be helpful:

Step 1

Contact other people within your area who are like-minded in their enthusiasm for natural landscaping to see if they would be interested in helping you organize a Wild Ones chapter. If you are not aware of any in your community, you might check with the Wild Ones Executive Director to see if there is a listing of members in your area. Upon your request, the Executive Director will send them a notice about your organizational efforts.

Is there a nature/environmental center in the area? You could ask for time at one of their meetings to generate interest in a chapter. Even a local garden club might have some members looking for something other than the traditional.

Then set a meeting date to get together to discuss the details. Ask the invitees to bring other acquaintances. Make it a fun meeting. Look at it as an opportunity to do some first-contact networking. From this meeting you should get a feel for a few dependable, enthusiastic people to assist in the start-up efforts.

Step 2

At this meeting, decide on a date and place for a public organizational meeting and who to specifically invite to this meeting. You might decide to invite representatives of chapters of organizations such as the Audubon Society, Master Gardeners, Woodland Owners, Prairie Enthusiasts, municipal tree/park board members, teachers who mentor school botanic clubs, and members of the local garden club, nature center and botanical garden. This will provide a way to "cross-fertilize" all of the groups in the area who are interested in the environment and biodiversity.

Step 3

Once you have confirmed the meeting place and time, publicity is the next (and very important) step in the process. Besides sending a press release to the local newspapers and radio/TV stations, you may wish to put up posters. The Wild Ones Executive Director has posters which you may wish to use. Places to publicize your meeting include the local nature center and botanical garden as well as the local university extension office, DNR office, technical college, library, park department, and retail shops such as nurseries, grocery and hardware stores, copy shops, and banks.

Flyers are also important. Make up an invitation pamphlet that you can drop off at these same locations. Wild Ones has two sizes of posters available for this purpose. Contact the Executive Director for copies.

Talk to your local newspaper about doing a feature article on natural landscaping and Wild Ones. A newspaper article with photos prior to the meeting would be ideal.

Step 4: Planning the agenda is the next step.

Program Besides a presentation on what it means to be a Wild Ones chapter, you might include some discussion around the need for such a chapter. By having representatives of like-minded organizations at the meeting, you'll be able to rule out any duplication of efforts. Once you have an idea of how many people might attend your meeting, request additional handouts from the Wild Ones Executive Director. If you feel it would be helpful to your organizational efforts, a member of the National Wild Ones Board or the Executive Director will be happy to participate in a conference-call discussion with your interested members. Depending upon the location of your chapter, we may even be able to have someone from National attend your meeting.

Member Commitment Once attendees have agreed to organize a Wild Ones chapter, the next step is to collect dues and elect officers. Designate someone as interim membership chair and treasurer, so while people are getting refreshments, you can offer them the opportunity to join Wild Ones. If they didn't bring money to pay the dues, send a membership application along with them - filled in with your chapter name. They can mail the application either to your new membership chair or treasurer or directly to Wild Ones National. Note: The Wild Ones Executive Director has a listing of "Frequently Asked Questions and Answers" availaable for organizing chapters. Contact the Executive Director for a copy.

Election of Officers Once you have ten or more members, the next step is to elect officers. You will need to fill the president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer positions, as well as having someone take on the responsibility of membership and Journal contact. Other chairs and officers which you might wish to add to your board include dig chair, publicity chair, newsletter editor, and program chair. In the beginning it's common that some officers handle multiple duties.

Program Schedule During the meeting, you should ask for ideas for the monthly educational programs. Your board and/or your program chair can use this list to set up the schedule of planned programs for the year. If possible, decide on the first four programs that night, so the program chair can get started right away with setting these up. Regardless of the number of members you may have, Wild Ones cannot charter your chapter without knowing your scheduled monthly educational programs. See list of ideas below.

Step 5

Following the meeting, submit the Chapter Information Sheet to National along with the membership applications and full payment of the dues. All dues will be kept in escrow until such time as all charter requirements are met. Once the National Secretary charters your chapter, 60% of your member dues will be returned to you to be used for chapter expenses. Additionally, your chapter should plan to prepare at least two copies of the Chapter Guidebook; one for your president and one for the rest of the officers and chairs to use for reference.

Step 6

The last step is to "carry on." From the Chapter Guidebook materials, you will be able to get specific information about time frames and responsibilities. For example, a monthly mailing goes out from National with membership updates and dues reimbursement checks. There are quarterly meetings and an annual meeting in which chapter presidents are encouraged, but are not required, to participate. We make conference calling available to make this a little easier.

The calendar coordinator will contact your program chair for bimonthly updates on your scheduled programs. Once a year requirements are the year-end financial report and an article for the Journal. Other projects may include Seeds for Education project assistance and/or sponsorship of national meetings.

Conclusion

Spread the word. As your chapter matures, and you take on more prominence in the community, you will want to participate in home and garden shows, community plantings, and maybe even a conference. Remember that all funds and donations you collect (except dues) are wholly yours to keep for your chapter's use.

Starting a chapter takes time, dedication and persistence. It also brings satisfaction, new friends, and balance back to the environment. So have fun and enjoy the rewards. Work at spreading the word, but have a good time while you're doing it!

SUGGESTIONS FOR PROGRAMS

The following ideas have proven helpful for a number of established chapters. Please share ideas that are successful for your chapter with Wild Ones National.

• It is helpful to hold your meetings on the same day every month. Members will know when to anticipate a meeting and get into a routine of attending. Unfortunately, whichever day you select, some people will not be able to attend.
• Meeting locations vary. Some chapters have a loose association with nature centers in their area and use their facilities for meetings. The nature centers benefit by the exposure to a larger populace and meetings can be published in the nature center's bulletins. Other chapters use meeting rooms at local universities or colleges, libraries, arboretums, or botanical gardens, or community buildings such as senior centers or municipal meeting rooms.
• Publicity for meetings, activities, and projects is most important – and local newspapers and media should be contacted. Be sure to download and use the available press releases (see below).
• Opening some of your meetings to the general public for a small donation can increase your membership quickly as those people often join the group. Keep some of your programs for "members only" to encourage membership rather than occasional attendance.
• Because many new (and longtime) members come to the programs for "how to" information, it is helpful to keep any business activities before the programs short and concise. For this reason you may find it helpful for your officers and committees to have the business meeting separate from the regular meeting. These meetings may be held directly prior to the general membership meetings, or they could take place on a different day entirely. This gives the officers a chance to discuss such things as news from National, future programs and field trip logistics, plant rescues, sale of promotional items such as yard signs and t-shirts, ideas for chapter fund raisers, reports on chapter natural landscaping projects, etc. The business meeting helps set the agenda and announcements for the general meetings, so information is disseminated efficiently to the members. To keep the business portion of the regular meetings short, you may wish to use a chapter newsletter to communicate more in-depth information to your members.
• Enlist help from members by asking for door greeters, hospitality (refreshments, if appropriate), etc. Not everyone wants a position for a full year, but small bits of help may encourage more participation in the chapter functions.
• Name tags are a great social booster. You may wish to use paper name tags or more durable forms.

PURPOSE OF PROGRAMS

• Help promote Wild Ones philosophy.
• Help members design natural areas.
• Help members learn to identify native plants and their companion plants.
• Help members learn identification of alien species and the problems they create.
• Help teach methods of planting, propagation of native plants, and maintenance of naturalized areas.
• Help promote camaraderie and helpfulness between natural landscaping enthusiasts.

PROGRAMMING IDEAS BY SEASON

WINTER You will find the cold weather monthly meetings are well attended when there are speakers and visual presentations. Membership increases dramatically.

• November is the beginning of a long winter, and a colorful slide presentation is welcome.
• December is a good month for a holiday party and sharing of collected seeds. It is also a good time for a photo contest.
• The months of January through April are opportunities for visual presentations to learn plant identification and methods of propagation and maintenance. Encourage questions. Remind the presenter that some people are just beginning to learn about natural landscaping.

You can avoid winter doldrums by attending a natural landscaping seminar. If there is not one planned in your community, suggest that a nature center, university extension office, state DNR office, or local nursery plan such an event. Attendance at this seminar could take the place of one of your regular meetings. You could set up a display at such an event to promote your chapter. Some larger chapters sponsor their own seminars. This can be a tremendous opportunity to spread the word to many people and at the same time boost your membership.

SPRING Warm weather monthly meetings are the time for hands-on activities.

• May reveals the woodland/shade-loving flowers, so it is a good time for a field trip to a woody natural area or shady garden spot. Consider sponsoring a sale of native plants with a local owner.
• June is a good month for a "Show Me/Help Me Day." Members visit other members' projects, sharing ideas and solutions for problem spots. If a professional landscaper or designer is available and willing to help, that's great! But many times members have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. The program chair should visit these locations first to make sure the visit will be educational. (For example, a newly seeded prairie that has not developed enough to identify the plants would not be a good location). Path ideas, plant identification, weed identification, and other helpful ideas evolve from this meeting.

SUMMER

• July may be a good time to visit a native plant nursery, private yards, or other restorations.
• August is a great month when prairie flowers are in full bloom. Consider a car caravan or a bus field trip to several homes that have been successfully landscaped with native species. The program chair should visit these locations first to make sure each site is appropriate, scout the route, and plan time for each creative homeowner to speak with the group. A knowledgeable group leader is helpful. Avoid locations that have too many exotics mixed in with the native species. Any exotics should be pointed out to participants.

FALL

• September is for another field trip, or have a "Share the Plants In My Paths Day" when we are "too successful" with our plants. Other possibilities are aster and goldenrod (Asteraceae family) digs on lots that are scheduled for sale or development. These species are easily transplanted throughout the season. Encourage members to bring extra plants to meetings to give to other members, especially new members. The best way to learn plant identification is to grow them!
• October is a good time for seed and plant collection, another opportunity to see landscape projects, or just to learn plant identification. Places to gather could be public sites such as schools, nature centers, or yard projects that are well established. This is a good time to provide information to new members about storage and propagation of the seeds they collect.

PRE-CHARTER PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

• Wild Ones members panel discussions of "How I Got Started" or "Things I've Learned" are great icebreakers. You can even team this up with a video borrowed from the Wild Ones library. Remember that networking is the key to making the chapter work.

PROGRAM TOPICS

• Don't forget! Many of our members do not know plant identification. At least one program per year should include a slide presentation that facilitates identification.
• Why use native plants? Ecological, functional, aesthetic, historical perspectives.
• Overview of native landscapes, public and private (schools, corporate, restorations, etc.).
• Personal success stories; how and why I developed a native landscape.
• How to attract butterflies and other insects that appreciate native plantings.
• Creating a bird and wildlife habitat with native plants and shrubs.
• Dealing with wet and soggy areas - the wetland plants.
• Building a pond or water feature into your landscape.
• Planning and planting a woodland garden.
• Sunny and dry? Try a prairie!
• Design tips; where to start.
• Maintenance of natural areas.
• Alien species and what is wrong with using them. How to identify them. How to eradicate them. Invasive plants. What to avoid.
• How to collect, store and propagate seeds; transplanting techniques.
• Native grasses and their use in the landscape.
• Companion plants, ecosystems.
• Native trees and shrubs, identification and qualities.
• Coping with critics. What about my neighbors? Predicting and preventing problems.
• "Weed" ordinances, prejudices against naturalized areas, obstacles and solutions.
• Environmental landscape practices; saving water, wind breaks, "organic" gardening ideas.
• Composting; using leaves and yard waste.
• Art in and from your landscape.
• Edible and medicinal native plants; ethnobotany.
• Nature photography - sponsor a photo contest.
• Burning a prairie - do's and don'ts.
• Endangered species; biodiversity.
• "Natural" lawn care tips.
• "Things I Wish I Hadn't Done." Question and Answer discussion with an expert.

Speakers:

Some of your members may be experts. Seem them out. Consider plant propagators, nurserymen, educators (university, nature centers, etc), authors, landscape designers, DNR personnel, school project designers, artists, photographers, environmental activists, and county extension agents. Discuss programming, and make it clear that you want the program to concentrate on the use of native plant materials. We encourage you to offer an honorarium to all your speakers, even your members who give presentations. It is best to establish a standard guideline for this, and don't hesitate to accept if the speaker wants to return the honorarium.

PRESS RELEASES

It's important to get out the word about your new chapter, and one of the best ways to do that is through properly formatted and interesting press releases. It will take some time to put together, but getting your message into the newspaper through a press release won't cost you anything. The main points to remember are:
1. Follow proper format.
2. Address it to the editor of the newspaper, magazine, or other publication you're sending to.
3. Write an interesting headline. A headline like "Wild Ones Organizational Meeting" won't get an editor's attention.
4. Include all the information an editor will want to have before he puts an article into the newspaper – including your contact information.
5. Wild Ones National makes it easy for you to get a great press release by just downloading our two sample press releases, and then add your own information into the "contact" area and the "time and location" areas. You can't miss.
Sample Press Release for Organizational Meeting.
Sample Press Release for First Meeting.

CHAPTER INFORMATION SHEET

BUSINESS CARDS and NAME TAGS