http://www.restorativenatureexperiences.com/home daily 1.0 2026-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/a88c75ff-d8d7-430b-a369-3889d7b03cd3/20181011_114641.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/ef0a45dd-ae05-4cb7-8a21-0773b1dc591f/Ben+at+Home+Pond.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/7aeac438-90e9-4ab3-9940-83b4af9f78ec/BenTulipTreeFlower.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://www.restorativenatureexperiences.com/consulting-services daily 0.75 2026-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/ce2b7661-559a-44ba-8e13-5144bd6a1240/Screenshot_20260628_000305_Docs.jpg Landscaping & Consulting Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/d7b5c0ac-604c-4d77-89fe-2a554a4566df/Grushka+Pond+B+Porchuk.jpg Landscaping & Consulting Services - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/8dcad50e-a111-434a-b86e-264b9a8dc88c/Mhairi+Main+Pond+%26+Waterfall+Complete.jpg Landscaping & Consulting Services - Make it stand out Above, Main: AI rendered image of a patio about to be installed in London, ON. I’ll be sure to put the ‘after’ here soon. At side, two ponds that I have built. Bottom image, a complete backyard ecosystem, featuring the first of three cells, with mossy limestone rock in sand. Top, a pond featuring flagstones. http://www.restorativenatureexperiences.com/naturesensegrounds daily 0.75 2026-06-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/0bcf5544-b3ab-4ce0-b88f-07a858dc0ae0/Bronwen+in+Big+Gs+NP+Garden.png Nature Sense Grounds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/3115802d-fe35-43ab-8684-a1b6155395b0/Business+NSG.png Nature Sense Grounds - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/c318f000-6822-48c6-a3fd-d0047d12085b/Urban+NSG.png Nature Sense Grounds - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/dbee3964-f67e-433f-b0f3-01bd5108c34c/NSG+School+P1.jpg Nature Sense Grounds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1467835103293-B0ZPSU85Q2O7QHL5Q9VP/image-asset.jpeg Nature Sense Grounds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/e40b8c17-3cc4-4832-b11d-0930dc706f41/NSG+School+P2.jpg Nature Sense Grounds - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/baec32eb-76b1-4568-829c-1fa90ad5cbdb/NSG+School+P3.jpg Nature Sense Grounds - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://www.restorativenatureexperiences.com/landscapenative daily 0.75 2024-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481747551032-9M118X2AZ4ZLQB9ZBG8X/3129.jpg At Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481906832057-MZ6VP39QHI267DG4PM2Z/ITZ+G.png At Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481906833115-AOF53BZB655H10T85A1U/Landowner-Leaders-2014.png At Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481906909673-K2JCLY91AUHPNHW7MA6R/CCC+logo.png At Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481746100332-9YW1X649QY2N63Z3FQO6/Mhairi+Wetland.jpg At Home Stage one of an urban wetland system. The final creation included two ponds, a 1.5m waterfall, a spillway, and a marsh filter (native wetland, meadow plants). The size required is about two to three car parking spaces. London, ON, Canada. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481746056437-H7I6RG5GJ2W11ZF88UUP/Red+Trillium+%26+Limestone.jpg At Home Ah, yes, the Red Trillium. Some call it the Wake Robin as it's blooming coincides with the return of Robins in great numbers. This plant often takes nearly ten year to mature before it flowers. Occasionally living in excess of 30 years, spending time with a clump of these plants growing in the city gives me so much hope for the return of woodlands back into our urban areas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481747721881-WCG5C3S4EHDPH6BTL4ET/Ben+Porchuk+Giant+Swallowtail+Butterfly.jpg At Home Giant Swallowtail on a Wild Bergamot Flower with Orange Coneflower in the background. Prairies and meadows are magical places, painting nature's palette with all the colours of the rainbow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481747973200-MZTGCZWRUDJ2234GOY2W/image-asset.jpeg At Home An ecologist and landscape designer (by hobby), I have designed many prairie, woodland and wetland landscapes. My own property in Wortley Village, The Forest City, Ontario, Canada has elements of all ecosystems, including an elaborate wetland (also featured in photos below). Yes, at times, I eat, sleep and speak native plants. Photo courtesy Mike Lynch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481748574134-0RSKHB2GHV5VN2LJKVLJ/image-asset.jpeg At Home Native Plants are featured front and centre at our home in Wortley Village, The Forest City, Ontario, Canada. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481748728584-GD91QNNKZ2FZIDG78WVE/image-asset.jpeg At Home Still leaving enough grass and open areas in which to play and entertain, our backyard is lined on the edges and in the far back with native plant gardens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481749050716-VVY3NUQZST22DSR9SQ3O/image-asset.jpeg At Home A backyard wetland system (this photo shows final stages before completion) was created in our yard, featuring two ponds (one deep with fish, the other shallow for dragonflies), a main waterfall, a spillway and 'marsh filter' were installed. The wildlife stampeded back filling our lives with lots to watch and many amazing stories to retell. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481748939760-X4FN3JSYQ8UMMUC2H2NJ/image-asset.jpeg At Home Later when the backyard pond matured...the native plants at the edges brought in a much more natural appearance and of course many more insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481747919211-GLSHTIFGIDMLOFSKGX6K/image-asset.jpeg At Home The show stopper: Large Yellow Ladyslipper. Quite a rare species in the urban garden but I have found they hold their own, even growing close to a busy road. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481755286926-NAVPL2NZG3B0SNT80GX0/image-asset.jpeg At Home With a little sun, water and adjacent habitat, a number of skimmer (dragonflies) species will frequent your yard (this one is a southern species). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481752071534-DBG2E950N623WBITNYEP/image-asset.jpeg At Home The mighty acorn. Oaks are crucial for maintaining and growing biodiversity in our ecosystems. Not grown very well in nurseries, sometimes they are hard to find. They grow really well from acorns. Why not grow some of your own? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481747807831-VPRF95R9FH5FP31AD7F8/image-asset.jpeg At Home Wild Leek: a great forest plant of early spring and later it flowers once the leaves disappear. Over harvested for its flavour, this species taken seven years to mature and should be respected for its place in wild forests (don't pick it!). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481749415694-MC1NFEZLHM1BBDL1L2I4/image-asset.png At Home The canopy under the canopy! Native Mayapple plants (about 25cm or 1 foot tall) grow under the canopy of a Honey Locust in our yard. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481754701544-Q5K0LVZ7FK9SWGDHE8JK/image-asset.png At Home Asters in the fall in our front garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481754779712-ST2IQXF36PJD1LT9F7OQ/image-asset.jpeg At Home A small native fruit bearing tree, the Paw Paw in our backyard. The flower is featured here. The fruit is pear-shaped and tastes like a mixture of mango, pear and custard. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481754916987-YV9F34T8MGVETY6EXGXO/image-asset.jpeg At Home A forest edge/meadow species, the Michigan Lily will tolerate a fair amount of shade. These two are growing beside the front steps of our home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481755109816-03M03XM078LYZBSR5BQF/image-asset.jpeg At Home Every yard in the city should have a few dozen of these early spring beauties; Blood Root - the staple plant of the shaded eastern woodland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1481749571533-IAYD68WEYALWB4C6I8T2/image-asset.jpeg At Home A phenomenal benefit of having many oak trees around - insects!!! This walking stick is a male who lived in the leaf litter until mid November. http://www.restorativenatureexperiences.com/bringingforestshome daily 0.75 2026-06-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1705802652023-W20FLAFJO3V8HT9JPDHN/Ben+at+Home+Pond.jpg Bringing Forests Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/104ceea5-6266-4d19-b734-110f20fafccf/Ben+and+Audience+at+Wolfe+Performance+Hall+2020.jpg Bringing Forests Home - Make it stand out Course Instructor - Ben Porchuk: Looking all so serious and maybe even studious (don’t be fooled), Ben shown speaking about native plants to a sold out (mostly - there are about 6 seats open) crowd in the Forest City (London), Ontario. Talking from personal stories resulting from the 250 species of native plants he invited back ‘home,’ his observations of the returning wildlife makes for an epic journey of the imagination, almost as though one had experienced it themselves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1623464171612-464M17GAM4GAO74E76XO/Bronwen+in+Big+Gs+NP+Garden.png Bringing Forests Home This is a prairie landscape with a surrounding forest. Photo provided by Ben’s old pal and former colleague Graham Buck. We find the right plants. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/1623299382620-E63N4EVM19P0H1V5GWON/Lab+School+Michigan+Lily+Pathway.jpg Bringing Forests Home Michigan Day Lilies. How very inviting. We hope you agree, and plant some at your place too (should your place be found within - or very close to - the natural range of Michigan Lilies). Plants like this defy what many think of natives; ‘They’re boring, not very colourful, and hard to find.” Mostly (very mostly) not true. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/999c5170-3635-4228-8541-cbb3477cab78/Bens+front+Yard+Summer+2021.jpg Bringing Forests Home A woodland front yard…creating captivating beauty and functional significance for local wildlife and climate change mitigation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e77490e4b09f876361deac/2b8733f9-dc45-49a7-bdef-aacaa9663e4f/Ben+at+Annes+in+Middle+of+Project.jpg Bringing Forests Home Hanging out in a garden that is now teaming with native flowers, grasses, shrubs and young trees. http://www.restorativenatureexperiences.com/new-products daily 0.75 2015-10-27