(upbeat music) - Plant Fest is a two-day celebration of Utah's remarkable flora and the people who love it.

You can get free seeds, classes, and even tips from experts.

Zach Earl from the Utah Native Plant Society is here now with more.

Thank you so much for being here.

- Yeah, thanks for having me on.

- So tell me about this event.

I hear that a lot of times it can be kind of costly to keep up this, (laughs) if you're a plant lover, to go to different events, but you guys decided to do something that's affordable for people.

- Yeah, so like, I found that a lot of, like, plant events are all about selling, about money, and I wanted to make something that's about like accessibility and community.

So the whole event is completely free.

All the classes are free.

The seeds are free.

We just wanna have people getting free native plant stuff 'cause I think it's really important both like for the Great Salt Lake drying up, for saving water in your own garden, for supporting local ecosystems.

So, to me, those were some of the things that I wanted to make easy to get for everyone.

- Yeah, and who knows how many people might have a green thumb but are prohibited because of cost and think it would be too expensive to get into it.

What can people expect at this event?

- Yeah, so like, it's a two-day event.

Both days we're starting with a keynote speaker.

On the first day we're having Jackie Grant, who is the executive director of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, talking about that awesome national monument, or what's left of it.

And then on the second day we're gonna have Justin Davies, who's a local woodworker and advocate for native plants.

Then throughout the day there's sessions, classes, workshops.

We'll have a research symposium of local students presenting research on native plants.

On the second day is our free native seed swap that's gonna go pretty much the whole day from like nine to four.

- My jaw is dropping 'cause I'm like, "How are you doing all this for free?"

- We have amazing people who gave us money.

So we've had some great support from the Utah Pollinator Habitat Program, from some local designers.

It has been tons and tons of support from the community.

- I love to hear that.

Well, thank you so much for stopping by.

If you would like to learn more about Utah Plant Fest, it's happening October 9th and 10th at Conservation Garden Park.

Just head to unps.org for more information.

I'm Liz Adeola, and thank you for watching "Contact."

(upbeat music) Philanthropy, Arts, culture.

It's what brings us together.

Hi, I'm Liz Adeola, the host of Contact, a show that connects you with local events and organizations that serve your community.

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