[PCA] Maryland Native Plant Society conference

[Louisa Rogoff Thompson]

The MARYLAND NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY will hold its Annual Conference on 
Saturday, October 1st, 2005, with additional field trips on Sunday, Oct. 2.

The conference theme is “BALTIMORE'S URBAN AND SUBURBAN FORESTS: PEOPLE 
AND PLANTS IN PARTNERSHIP.”

The conference will be of interest to anyone involved in planning, 
designing, or managing natural or planted landscapes, as well as those 
who love native plants or simply enjoy nature.

Talks will describe the role of native plant communities in ecosystem 
functioning, urban environmental effects on forest ecosystems, Baltimore 
County’s strategy for forest sustainability, and how development can be 
planned to minimize disruption of ecosystem services – without 
sacrificing profits.

After these talks, guided tours and field trips to natural areas and 
designed or managed landscapes will show you how a healthy ecosystem 
works and how gardeners, landscape architects, and other designers have 
applied these models to create wildlife habitat, manage stormwater, and 
provide other ecosystem services.

Talks will be held at the Lodge at Oregon Ridge Park, 13555 Beaver Dam 
Rd., Cockeysville, MD from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. Registration opens at 
8:30. Guided tours and field trips to natural areas, native plant 
gardens, and restoration sites (riparian buffer plantings, wetland 
mitigation, invasive plant management projects, etc.) will be held 
throughout the Baltimore region on Saturday afternoon, with additional 
field trips on Sunday.

A buffet dinner, social, and silent auction will be held at the Benjamin 
Banneker Historical Park and Museum, 300 Oella Ave., Catonsville, MD, 
from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm on Saturday, October 1. To donate items to the 
silent auction, contact joyceholmz at juno.com.

The conference is open to the public. Registration is $65, which 
includes lunch for those who pre-register. Registration at the door does 
not include lunch. Dinner is an additional $25, available by 
pre-registration. For scholarship information, contact 
louisagardener at verizon.net.

For additional information and directions, see the conference website at 
www.MDFlora.org .