Boston Flora

Tag: Ecological Landscape Alliance

  • Friday, November 15, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Plant Adaptations

    Have you ever wondered why plants look the way they do? Every feature of the plant is a result of an adaptation designed to afford reproductive, environmental or cultural success. This November 15 class co-sponsored by The Native Plant Trust and the Ecological Landscape Alliance will explore the myriad ways plants have adapted to different habitats, soil types, pollination and dispersal schemes. You will not look at plants the same way again. The session will take place at Garden in the Woods. 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham, and is $30 for sponsor members, $36 for the general public. Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at The Native Plant Trust, will lead the class. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/class-plant-adaptations/

  • Thursday, November 7, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – ELA Season’s End Summit 2019


    The Ecological Landscape Alliance will hold it’s 2019 Season’s End Summit on November 7 from 8:30 – 4:30 at the Community Harvest Project Barn, 37 Wheeler Road in North Grafton. The topic is Taking Landscapes to the Next Level: Stepping Back and Thinking Big. Tickets are $139 and may be purchased at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/conference-ela-seasons-end-summit-2019/

    Regenerative landscapes consider the ecology of a site, draw upon the wisdom of natural systems, and enhance the surrounding environment for the benefit of humans and all other life in the ecosystem.

    With guidance from natural systems, designers can create thriving landscapes that protect our waters and soil, conserve resources, and provide healthy habitat. The resulting landscapes can be resilient, whole, and beautiful.

    As we reflect on the past landscape season and look for inspiration for our next designs, ELA’s Season’s End Summit invites you to take a fresh look at some design fundamentals that may surprise you – and inspire your next designs. Talks include Designing with Plant Communities: The Synergy of Plants in Partnership with Dan Jaffe, Thinking Ahead: Master Plans That Matter with Toby Wolf, Plant Partners: Reliable and Rewarding Plants for Challenging Sites with Heather McCargo, and Sculpting Plant Communities: Designing with Elegant and Edible Elements with Karen Bussolini.

    copyright Thomas Berger

  • Tuesday, October 29, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Climate Change and Its Effects on Trees and Their Relationship to Insects

    After slowly cooling throughout the past millennium, Earth has substantially warmed over the last 40 years, and effects on trees and insects are already apparent. There is a strong scientific consensus that this warming is caused by human emission of greenhouse gases. There also is a substantial discrepancy between this scientific consensus and perceptions of the public regarding climate change.

    In this October 29 Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar at 12:30 pm, Dr. Dan Herms will examine the evidence for anthropogenic climate change, including changes in patterns of precipitation; consider current and future impacts; and look at the implications for trees in urban and natural forests, especially their interactions with insects. He will also address the potential for trees to sequester carbon in urban forests as a climate change mitigation strategy. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-climate-change-and-its-effects-on-trees-and-their-relationship-to-insects/

    Dr. Dan Herms is Vice President of Research and Development at The Davey Tree Expert Company. Prior to joining Davey in January 2018, Dr. Herms was a professor in the Department of Entomology at The Ohio State University, where he served on the faculty for 21 years. His research has focused on interactions between trees and insects, including effects of climate change, and he was a member of The Ohio State University Climate Change Outreach Team. Dr. Herms received his BS in landscape horticulture from The Ohio State University, his MS in horticulture and entomology from The Ohio State University, and his PhD in forest entomology from Michigan State University. In 2014, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  • Friday, November 1, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm – Navigating Public Design

    Community spaces are exciting projects to envision and realize. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance half-day workshop, learn a process to bring stakeholders together to collaborate in creating outdoor spaces of meaning and beauty. Understand how to use your creative ideas to build partnerships, fundraise, overcome obstacles, and draw visitors to your public landscape. We will emphasize the creation of spaces that are both ecologically and operationally sustainable. The session takes place at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on November 1 from 10:30 – 2:30. ELA members $60, nonmembers $71. Landscape designer Staci Jasin will lead the class. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

  • Wednesday, October 23, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Plants with True Grit Webinar

    Both in the designed landscape and in the wild, plants thrive or die within a wide variety of conditions, often surprising us with either outcome. Our observations and experiments can help us choose which plants have a greater chance of tolerating the conditions we want to place on them. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance online class on October 23 from 12:30 – 1:30, we’ll talk about some of the plants that have shown themselves to be especially tough in a variety of conditions. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-plants-with-true-grit/

    Amy Nyman is landscape designer and owner of Ruby Leaf Design, providing ecological solutions that include site analysis, landscape restoration, water management, hardscaping, master plans, planting plans, and edible landscapes. Her design philosophy is founded on the belief that landscapes should blend beauty, function, and health. Her professional goal is to help people find that balance within their living spaces. She enjoys integrating native plants into the formal garden, offering both recognized structure and a sense of place by reconnecting the space with regionally-native plants, while also increasing the biodiversity and resilience of the landscape.

  • Tuesday, September 24, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Eco Tour: Effective Invasive Plant Management, Chemical-Free and So Damn Cute

    Meadows are an important ecosystem for biodiversity. They host numerous native plant and wildlife species, but without natural occurrences, such as fire, these open spaces would revert to forest. Mechanical mowing creates disturbance that promotes invasive plants, one of the greatest threats to the nature of Massachusetts because they out-compete, displace, or kill native species. Non-native species—many introduced to Massachusetts accidentally or on purpose for garden or landscape use—thrive and proliferate in disturbance.

    To manage meadows and control invasive plant species, Habitat has incorporated a small herd of resident Nigerian Dwarf goats. The goats happily graze on invasive plants such as bittersweet, buckthorn, and multiflora rose, as well as successional saplings. The hungry herd clears several acres of meadowland each year. By using goats as lawn mowers Habitat reduces the use of fossil fuels, eliminating carbon emissions. Using this strategy, Habitat preserves the current native plant communities by removing invasive plants and encouraging natural propagation.

    Join Ecological Landscape Alliance tour guide, Sandy Vorce, on September 24 at 1 pm at the Habitat Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper road in Belmont, to learn more about meadow management including control of invasive species using the ecological alternative of goats. $22 for ELA members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org.

    Sandy Vorce is a nature enthusiast currently employed at Mass Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Sandy tends everything from gardens to goats and enjoys working with volunteers of all ages and backgrounds in caring for the property and its inhabitants. She is a former ELA board member and now participates with local Land Trusts and Friends groups.

  • Wednesday, September 11, 7:00 pm – The Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening: Why Native Plants Matter to Songbirds and the Food They Eat Webinar

    Residential landscapes and gardening practices can have a positive (or negative) impact on wildlife. In this September 11 Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar, Dr. Desiree Narango will speak about her research studying plant and wildlife interactions. The talk will focus on her recent work comparing the contributions of native and non-native plants to food webs by studying breeding birds in Washington, D.C. suburban yards. In addition, she will talk about the relationships between plants and insects, why insects matter to birds, and steps you can take in your landscape designs or in your own yards to improve habitat for wildlife. Dr. Narango will also share resources to find more information about nature-friendly gardening and participating in community-driven science.

    Dr. Desiree Narango is a Postdoctoral Researcher at City University of New York and a visiting researcher at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research interests include urban/suburban ecology, plant-animal interactions, and community-driven science (to name a few). Desiree has a PhD in Entomology and Wildlife Ecology from University of Delaware, a M.S. in Natural Resources from The Ohio State University, a B.S. in Environmental Biology from SUNY: ESF and over 15 years’ experience studying wildlife. She’s also an active birder and gardener who really enjoys getting others excited about the natural world in their own yards. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandcaping.org.

  • Sunday, August 18, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Seed Saving

    Seed saving brings tremendous benefits to the willing gardener. Learn from Kate Stafford how seeds develop, stay dormant, and germinate. This hands-on workshop covers harvesting, cleaning, and storing a wide spectrum of native seeds. Spend time in the field observing and collecting seeds, then practice cleaning. Take your seeds home at the end of class. Bring a lunch and dress appropriately for the field.

    Co-sponsored by Native Plant Trust, the class will take place at Nasami Farm on August 18 from 10 – 3, and is $66 for sponsor members, $80 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

  • Friday, August 16, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Eco-Tour: Ecology and Agriculture at Charbrook Farm

    Charbrook Farm is the modern homestead of Lauren and Stephen Stimson and their family at 71 Gates Road in Princeton, Massachusetts. Located down the road from the historic Stimson Farm and Charbrook Nursery, this working farm has become a field station for the STIMSON landscape architecture practice. A Master Plan for Charbrook Farm has been in process since 2008. Seasonal events, lambing, plant walks, nursery digs and studio retreats are all integrated into the culture and life of STIMSON. Long-term goals for the property include an agricultural arboretum, demonstration perennials and working gardens for a future design studio. A guided tour by Lauren and Stephen on August 16 from 3 – 5, sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance, will discuss the concept of integrating ecology, agriculture and landscape architecture. $23 for ELA members, $33 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

    Lauren Stimson, ASLA, holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her B.A. from Bates College in Maine where she studied Theater and Geology. She is a licensed Landscape Architect in the state of Maine. Lauren has a deep love for New England, where she was raised, and an interest in the overlap between the built environment and the rural landscape, especially as it relates to historic villages and farms. She is an avid oil painter and uses the medium to document the familiar character of regional landscapes and agrarian patterns. Painting helps inform her design thinking as a landscape architect and conceptual approach to graphic representation. She learns a great deal about plants from her garden and is passionate about food and cooking. Lauren has been a studio instructor at the University of Massachusetts, and has given talks and lectures at the International Symposium of Landscape Ecology, the Ecological Alliance, the ABX Symposium, Smith College and the Boston Society of Landscape Architects. She currently serves on the Stewardship Council for the Cultural Landscape Foundation.

    Stephen Stimson, FASLA, is Principal and Owner of STIMSON. Born and raised on a dairy farm, Stephen’s agrarian heritage has inspired and shaped the landscapes he has created across New England and the country. He received his education from the University of Massachusetts and the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has been practicing landscape architecture for over thirty years. He founded the firm in 1992 and is licensed in thirteen states.

    Stephen’s work has been widely recognized with numerous awards from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects. He has taught at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the University of Massachusett, and has lectured and served on award and design juries throughout the country. Stephen was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2004 for his outstanding achievements in the field of landscape architecture. For over a decade now, he has been cultivating Charbrook Nursery on his family’s historic dairy farm, for project use and field research related to native plant propagation, collected species, planted form and soil specifications. He remains passionately involved in design and projects at all levels throughout the studio and loves to draw by hand. When he is not in the studio or at a site visit, he can usually be found on a tractor somewhere on the farm, with his daughter and son on his lap.

  • Thursday, August 15, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Eco-Tour: Sustainable Production at Amherst Nurseries

    Since 2001, when John Kinchla began growing nursery stock in addition to providing landscape construction and maintenance services, Amherst Nurseries has focused on sustainable production systems. The nursery now grows thousands of trees and shrubs on over 100 acres of farmland in western MA. The business strives to provide exemplary service while minimizing use of resources and environmental impacts. Sustainable measures include reducing water use; moving away from ball and burlap to grow bags, a process that reduces soil removal, fuel use, and labor costs; utilizing compost made from local resources of leaf litter and manure; and using electric equipment fueled by solar panels.

    Join John on August 15 from 10 – 12 for a guided walk through the growing areas, following the early life of a tree at the nursery. You’ll see equipment and practices in use now and learn about sustainable options the nursery is exploring for the future.

    Bring a bag lunch to enjoy following the tour. The nursery is located at 200 Bay Road in Hadley, Massachusetts, and the event is $23 for Ecological Landscape Alliance members, $33 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

    John Kinchla, owner of Amherst Nurseries, began working in the landscape as a teenager. He opened the nursery in 2001 after earning a BS in Horticulture and an MS in Resource Economics from UMass Amherst. Using fewer resources to increase company profitability has been an overriding principle of his business. Amherst Nurseries grows trees, shrubs, and perennials on over 100 acres in and around Amherst, MA and offers both retail and wholesale sales. The company also offers complete landscaping services from design through construction and maintenance.