Appalachian Headwaters, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to environmental education and ecological restoration in Central Appalachia. Headwaters Native Plants is a Program of Appalachian Headwaters to increase the availability of locally native plants for restoration and gardening in Central Appalachia.
Wood Thrush Park
Located just outside of Lewisburg, West Virginia, Wood Thrush Park sits on over 500 acres of diverse habitat. Our staff at Wood Thrush Park use environmental education and community science programs to help people better understand and protect wildlife and native wildlife habitats. Our work is grounded in ecological principles and focused on strengthening the connections among plants, humans, and wildlife.
Wood Thrush Park also holds our retail nursery operation. The nursery is open May 15 through November 1, Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome to speak with one of our experienced growers and receive personalized recommendations for home gardens, land stewardship, or restoration projects.
Contact plants@appheadwaters.org or call/text (681) 418-2120 for more information.
Peter’s Garden
Peter’s Garden is a native botanic garden created at Wood Thrush Park in Lewisburg, West Virginia as an homage to our consultant, Peter Heus, a longtime native nurseryman and plant conservationist. Peter designed the garden and propagated many of the plants within it. The project was completed in 2025 after three years of groundwork and planting. As a completely native garden, it is visited by a wide diversity of insects, birds, small mammals, and other critters. The focus is to use local seed populations to establish our gardens and restoration projects; this provides a higher degree of resiliency as the genetics of the plant are adapted to our conditions here in Appalachia. The garden ebbs and flows as natural gardens do, with species moving, spreading, and rearranging themselves over time.
Contact iwalker@appheadwaters.org to inquire about guided garden tours and programs available.
