Welcome to Swiftwater
Swiftwater is a veteran-owned farm and native plant nursery, rooted in the towns of Lockport and Amherst, growers of organic foods and healthy ecosystems. We are passionate stewards and cultivators of true native species to the WNY region, ethically sourced from local, wild genetics, supporting the diversity and health of both the ecosystem and human communities.
Our mission is to protect and restore our wild spaces by strengthening the ecological integrity and canopy across the Buffalo-Niagara landscape - by nurturing plants indigenous to these lands through cultivation, education, and restoration. From front yards to forests, we are dedicated to ethical land stewardship, honoring traditional and indigenous ecological knowledge - while building a resilient, regenerative future through community, conservation, and care.
Swiftwater is situated along historic Tonawanda Creek - a once fast-flowing creek that was the indigenous Erie people's lifeblood, on which they depended for fishing, transportation, and cultivation. For which, it was
named ‘Tä-na-wan-da’ or ‘Swift Waters’. As such, we continue to carry the name to respect and honor the land
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Native Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Grasses, Ferns, and more!
We offer ethically and appropriately sourced Native Plant genotypes from the surrounding areas of Western New York. Many coming from wild collections found at Swiftwater! Adapted to our area, these plants increase habitat biodiversity, strengthen our ecosystem, while providing elegance and synergy to your home garden or restoration project
We believe in the power of connecting people with nature and connecting their gardens to the natural landscape around them, by creating interwoven, community-grown ecosystems, region-wide. We strive to improve those connections with intelligently selected species and education founded on a strong moral commitment to the environment.
- Veteran Owned Business -
Contact
Inquiries, education, orders, wholesale, and pickup
Farm Manager: 716-406-7374 Horticulturist: 716-406-7535
Townsend and Gunther said they also see growing pawpaws as a hedge against climate change. Several years after they first sketched out the idea of an orchard on a coffee-stained piece of graph paper, it has become real
- Anna Phillips, Washington Post
“We’re trying to build a little refuge here,” Gunther said. “We have every intention of preserving as much of the ecology of western New York here as possible.”
- Mitchell Gunther, Swiftwater
