Elyse Jurgen has a philosophy when it comes to gardening: If you build it, they will come. The owner of Waxwing EcoWorks Company in Lancaster focuses on ecological gardening, creating spaces that rebuild and encourage ecosystem diversity, while bringing insects, birds and other creatures to the garden. She'll lead a new program on ecological gardening at the Horn Farm Center, 4945 Horn Road, York, from Monday, Feb. 28, through Tuesday, June 21.

"Whether you are exploring a career in ecological gardening, seeking to enhance pollination services in your community garden or itching to rebuild biodiversity at your home, ecological gardeners will gain valuable hands-on design, build and stewardship skills to build confidence in taking action in this buzzing field," Jurgen noted. "The core concept of the program is to guide the participants through the whole process of observation through implementation of the habitat."

The program will focus on student participation, something Jurgen emphasizes in her landscaping business. "My business encourages the landowner to participate in the whole process, rather than just coming in and landscaping a place," she explained, adding the Ecological Gardener Training Program is ideal for do-it-yourself homeowners and landscapers alike. "This course will be about building confidence and helping people put ideas into action. People are often energized about making a difference, but they have no clue what next steps to take."

Participants will take field trips to local parks and other areas where ecological gardening is already in place to take inspiration for designs that will be created at the Horn Farm. "We'll be building places at the farm that we can observe in future years, outdoor classrooms to use as living laboratories," Jurgen stated.

Ecological gardening is about observing and respecting what nature is already doing in an area, rather than imposing one's own ideas onto the landscape, she said. "Traditionally, a lot of gardeners focus on the aesthetic end. They're only putting in their yard what they found at the nursery and thought was pretty," she remarked. "A lot of people lose plants this way and the plants end up dying because they aren't meant to thrive in this area." By focusing on native plants, ecological gardening has a ripple effect on the entire ecosystem, she said, from restoring lost wildlife habitat to conserving water.

The Ecological Gardener Training Program will be offered in tandem with the Horn Farm Center's Land Steward Training Program, run by Wilson Alvarez and Andrew Horn. The first four weeks of core classroom curriculum will be taught collaboratively between the two programs, on Mondays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then the Land Steward Training will be held on Mondays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Ecological Gardener Training will be held on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Applications will be accepted for both programs through Monday, Jan. 31, and scholarships are available. For more information and to apply, visit http://www.hornfarmcenter.org/training-programs.