Several dozen people turned out Saturday morning for a talk on the native plants of Louisiana and how to use them in local gardens. Speakers were Tammany Baumgarten, president of the Louisiana Native Plant Society, and Tracey and Dave Banowetz.
Tracey Banowetz is the former executive director of the LSU Hilltop Arboretum, a former president of the Louisiana Native Plant Society, and a member of the Master Gardeners of East Baton Rouge Parish and the Feliciana Nature Society. Dave Banowetz served on the advisory committee of the Louisiana chapter of the Nature Conservancy for the Baton Rouge area.
The event took place in Bogue Falaya Hall in the rear of Covington City Hall. It was sponsored by the Keep Covington Beautiful group.
The speakers Tammany Baumgarten, Tracey and Dave Banowetz
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A poster was on display at the event to show the many activities of the Keep Covington Beautiful organization.
Keep Covington Beautiful is a resident-led organization formed in October 2008 to improve the quality of life in Covington, increase property values, improve aesthetics, reduce clean up costs, and increase civic involvement. Its mission includes efforts in beautification, education, and prevention of litter. It is an Affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.
The group was derived from a group called the Covington Gardens Partnership, which was a non-profit organization formed in the early 1990's.
The group seeks to continue the tradition of building garden partnerships to beautify the city as well as sponsor volunteer-based beautification, litter prevention, recycling and educational activities and events, such as the native plants presentation.
It hopes to engage all citizens in every aspect of keeping Covington clean and beautiful, encouraging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community. A number of projects have been initiated to support those goals. They include Arbor Day Celebrations; Tree Planting and Tree Care; Tree City USA designations, the Blue Swamp Creek Nature Trail, the Bogue Falaya River Sweep, the care and maintenance of the downtown planters and Garden Partnerships.
Other endeavors include event recycling, education and Conservation Programs and educational Meetings and Special Events.
While the nature trail has been a favorite walking path, it is currently in the "restoration phase" from the damage caused by Hurricane Ida, she said.
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