[PCA] Native Plants "Connecting Gardens, Nature and People" - March05 - Washington DC

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

This message is being cross-posted.

I'm intrigued by the variety of speakers selected for this year's
symposium...

For full flyer and registration form, see: www.usna.usda.gov/Education/lahr
.pdf
Or, go online at: www.usna.usda.gov/Education/lahr.pdf
Or, call at: 202-245-5898

19th Annual Lahr Symposium
Native Plants: Connecting Gardens, Nature, and People
Saturday, March 19, 2005
U.S. National Arboretum
3501 New York Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Sponsored by the U.S. National Arboretum of the
USDA Agricultural Research Service
and by the Friends of the National Arboretum.

      Gardening has always brought humans intimately in touch with nature’s
      cycles. This symposium presents design professionals and biologists
      who create gardens and landscapes that embrace the benefits of native
      plants and the return of natural ecosystems to our human-dominated
      spaces, and guide us away from gardening practices that seriously
      threaten our natural wealth.

The program:

8:30 Registration and Early-Bird Plant Sale

9:30 Welcome and Introduction - Joan Feely

9:40 The 20th Century Native Plant Movement in America - Cole Burrell

Learn how the origins of today’s national interest in
native plants grew from the 19th Century passion for
the outdoors and the invention of practical field
guides; which was followed in the 20th Century with
the blossoming of an environmental movement
where native plants became integral to horticulture
and design in America. Cole will discuss how the past
suggests solutions for the 21st Century’s problems of
invasive species, habitat destruction, global warming
and xenophobia, continuing a third century of dedication
to North America’s diverse and beautiful flora.

10:50 Refreshment Break

11:05 Can Science Predict the Next Kudzu? - Richard Mack

Richard Mack will share his insights into the biology
of invasive species, and illuminate the factors that
add up to the creation of ecological thugs. He will
explain the essential qualities that combine to allow
one immigrant species to become invasive, while the
majority of immigrant species do not. Learn how the
cultivation of new exotic plants buffers those new
species from the natural forces that would normally
limit their spread. He will also introduce a
comprehensive system he has developed for a
science-based national policy that will help predict
the next kudzu.

12:05 Lunch

1:00 Concurrent Sessions Select one among:

      A. Changing the Paradigm: Ecological Design for Residential
      Landscapes
      The design team of Jenny Reed and Lauren
      Wheeler will provide an overview of ecological
      landscape design basics. See how they integrate good
      design with specific techniques for residential-scale
      storm water management, native plant selection, and
      wildlife habitat creation appropriate for the Washington
      area. Learn how ecological landscapes can be
      successfully incorporated into urban and suburban
      settings.

      B. Creating a Wildlife Garden in a Shrinking Forest
      Environmental educator and wildlife manager Liz
      McDowell will share her experience creating a family
      business that evolved from a naturalist guide service to
      include a nursery specializing in nursery propagated,
      genetically-local native plants. Learn what techniques
      Elk Ridge NatureWorks is using to restore its severely
      degraded land in order to preserve and restore regional
      biodiversity and wildlife habitat.

      C. Special Plants and Special Places: Native Azaleas in the Wild
      Join Donald W. Hyatt for an in depth introduction to
      the many native azalea species and forms, that are
      arguably the most beautiful plants in the eastern forests.
      From his research and insights into their native habitats,
      Don will suggest the best plants to use in the garden
      while exploring the need for increased conservation
      efforts to protect these spectacular gems.

      D. The Elements of Great Botanical Photographs
      Jessie Harris will share her art historian’s eye for
      photo composition and her naturalist’s passion for
      capturing the essential nature of her subjects. See
      where her goal of photographing all the non-woody
      plant species in the Northeast has taken her, and how
      you too can capture the true nature of our wild flora in
      photographs.

2:10 The Creation of Meaningful Spaces - Edgar David

Edgar David’s landscape architecture projects create
unique and memorable spaces while seizing the
opportunity to protect and restore our natural
ecosystems. From flying gutters and green roofs to
native plants and garden sculpture, learn how David
reveals and integrates a site’s inherent and unique
qualities in the design process. Discover how
landscapes can be wonderfully transformed while
incorporating “best management practices” and
innovative “green” approaches.


The speakers:

Cole Burrell is an author, garden designer, teacher, and self described
chlorophyll addict. A lecturer for the College of Architecture and
Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia, he has authored
several popular books, including the award winning A Gardener’s
Encyclopedia of Wildflowers. A charter member of the Virginia Native Plant
Society, his business Native Landscape Design and Restoration specializes
in blending nature and culture through artistic design. Cole lectures
internationally on topics of design, plant selection, and ecology. He
currently gardens on 10 wild acres alive with birds and butterflies in the
Blue Ridge Mountains.

S. Edgar David is a landscape architect and member of the American
Landscape Architects Association. At the forefront of sustainable design,
his projects are unique in their graceful approach to creating memorable
spaces that also function to protect and restore our planet’s natural
ecosystems. His gardens have been featured in Better Homes and Gardens
magazine and are displayed in the Sustainable Wetland Garden at Temple
University, where he was an Associate Professor in the Ambler College
Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture. Over the years he
led his students to win 5 Best of Show awards at the Philadelphia Flower
Show, including their detailed representation of green roof technology and
a sustainable wetland garden.

Jessie Harris studied art history, and worked as a business woman and
lawyer before finding her métier in nature photography. Now an accomplished
photographer, she has pictures published in over 30 books, with 5 covers to
her credit, and in numerous magazines. She has photographed for The Wall
Street Journal and a National Geographic travel brochure. She illustrated a
fundraising cookbook for spouses of the U.S. Senators and Congressmen, who
chose to use her flower photographs instead of food photos!

Donald W. Hyatt’s passion for native azaleas and rhododendrons has led him
on numerous trips to document and study their spectacular floral display in
their natural habitats. For many years Don was computer systems lab
Director and teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology, where his program and students regularly won national acclaim.
He is now devoted to both the study of wild azaleas and their promotion
through his activities with the American Rhododendron Society and the
Azalea Society of America.

Dr. Richard Mack is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at
Washington State University. For 25 years his research has been largely
devoted to the ecology of invasive species. He has investigated plant
invasion in the Intermountain West, Hawaii, and in the southeastern U.S. He
is particularly interested in the population dynamics of plant invaders as
well as their environmental effects. He served as the Chair of the
Department of Botany at WSU for 13 years, as Chair of the National Research
Council’s Committee for “Predicting the Invasive Potential of
Non-indigenous Plants and Plant Pests in the U.S.”, and is currently a
member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and serves
on the Scientific Committee for Problems in the Environment.

Liz McDowell, an environmental educator, co-founded Elk Ridge NatureWorks
in 2002. The company conducts outdoor classes, tours, and nature programs,
and recently branched out to produce native plants grown from seed
collected locally near her Allegheny mountain home. Her previous positions
include naturalist and resource biologist for the Maryland Dept. of Natural
Resources, and high school science teacher.

Jenny Reed has been designing landscapes in Maryland for the past fifteen
years. She is a partner in Natural Resources landscape design and owner of
Gardens by Design. In 2003 she earned her Master of Arts at the Conway
School of Landscape Design and now brings an ecologically- based design
philosophy to her many projects.

Lauren Wheeler is the other partner with Natural Resources, an ecologically
focused landscape design firm specializing in residential and community
settings. For twenty years she has worked as a landscape laborer, garden
designer, company owner, and consultant. An ISA certified arborist, she has
an M. A. from the Conway School of Landscape Design, and is delighted to be
bringing practical and ecological designs to Washington area gardens.