Boston Flora

Tag: Ecological Landscaping Alliance

  • Wednesday, November 12 – Ecological Landcaping Alliance Season’s End Summit

    Restoring the Beauty and Function of Residential Landscapes is the title of this year’s Ecological Landscaping Alliance Season’s End Summit, to be held Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at the Crane Estate, 290 Argilla Road, Ipswich, Massachusetts.

    $85.00 ELA Member – $110 Non-Member, including Lunch and Networking with Colleagues

    Space is limited – Register today! – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/11509/#sthash.Gtq3gges.dpuf
    Featuring leading landscape experts who will share their expertise and landscape restoration projects that demonstrate:

    Reestablishing healthy soil and healthy plant communities
    Addressing diminished garden performance
    Restoring ecological function and landscape aesthetics

    The morning presentations will feature case studies representing the beautiful as well as practical aspects of restoration. The afternoon will include a panel discussion on invasive plant control, a tour of the Crane Estate restoration project, and an inspiring wrap-up presentation.

    This educational event will give landscape professionals an opportunity to gather at the end of the season to review and reflect on the season; learn from respected industry leaders; network with other like-minded professionals; and get inspired for the next year – all around the topic of restoration.

  • Friday, October 3, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Native Plants, Native Brews, Native Talent

    Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham, is the 45-acre botanical garden of New England Wild Flower Society, America’s oldest plant conservation organization, and boasts over 1,000 native plant species on display including 150 rare and endangered species.

    Native plants are a riot of color in autumn and there is no better place to see them in a mature garden setting than at Garden in the Woods.

    Join the Ecological Landscaping Alliance on Friday, October 3, from 5:30 – 8 for this unique opportunity to enjoy the fall foliage of native plants while reconnecting with native talent (colleagues) and sharing your favorite native brew. Bring a couple of your favorite native brews to this BYO & S (Bring Your Own and Swap) gathering for a twilight tour that is sure to sell out.  $25 for NEWFS and ELA members, $30 for nonmembers.

    Native brew soft-drinks will be provided.  Image from www.nourishedkitchen.com.

    Mark Richardson is the Horticulture Director at New England Wild Flower Society and oversees the Society’s botanic garden, Garden in the Woods, and its native plant nursery operation, Nasami Farm. Mark studied ornamental horticulture at University of Rhode Island while helping to run a mid-sized ornamental plant nursery before finding his true passion in public horticulture. He led undergraduate programs at Longwood Gardens, where he overhauled the curriculum of the Professional Gardener Program, and oversaw adult education at Brookside Gardens. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Delaware’s Longwood Graduate Program.
    – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/native-plants-native-brews-native-talent/#sthash.hmZp64LC.dpuf.

  • Tuesday, September 23, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Organic Lawns at the Rose Kennedy Greenway

    The Rose Kennedy Greenway is the mile-long ribbon of green that replaced Boston’s elevated Central Artery when Route 93 was moved underground as part of the Big Dig.

    This is Boston’s only organically maintained Public Park and one of a handful of organically maintained urban parks in the United States. Children and pets can play freely and safely on our lawns without the worry of chemicals or pesticides, because the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy manages the parks organically. “Our plants are healthier, more resilient, and better able to withstand the wear of public use.” The Conservancy’s practice of not using herbicides and toxins also ensures that run-off from the parks will not pollute Boston Harbor or harm the delicate marine life.

    Organic turf and weed management practices include carefully planned mowing height to deter weed development, alternating mowing patterns to avoid compaction, and the regular practice of maintaining mowing equipment to ensure blade sharpness which properly cuts turf resulting in less stress and less opportunity for disease issues. The Conservancy uses alternative means of weed control including flaming, hand removal, and products that use clove oil or citric acid. These methods utilize heat and naturally occurring compounds to disrupt plant cell activity in weeds. Annual spring and fall lawn care applications include aeration of lawns to alleviate compaction with the addition of compost top dressing and humates and over seeding to promote dense turf development. We apply organic fertilizer 4 times a year: Spring, summer, early fall and mid-fall.

    Join Ecological Landcape Alliance tour guides Conservancy Superintendent of Horticulture, Stuart Shillaber and Horticulture Foreman, Anthony Ruggiero for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Greenway focused on the organic lawn care program.

    Anthony Ruggiero, is the Horticulture Foreman at the Conservancy and is responsible for the direct oversight of the Horticulture crew and the day to day horticulture activities on the Greenway. Anthony also manages the Organic Program and the Irrigation System of the Greenway. His previous experience includes working in all aspects of the Green industry specializing in Sustainable and Organic Landcare. Tickets are $20 for ELA members, $25 for nonmembers. Call 617-436-5838 or visit the website below.
    – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/organic-lawns-at-the-rose-kennedy-greenway/#sthash.trlIsEr2.dpuf.

  • Wednesday, August 20, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – The Beautiful and Functional Rain Garden at St. George’s School

    Join The Ecological Landscaping Alliance on Wednesday, August 20 from 6 – 8 to learn about the beautiful and functional bio-retention rain garden that was engineered and designed to capture all the rain water from the new L.E.E.D. Gold-certified, Nathaniel P. Hill Library at St. George’s School that was designed, planted, and is maintained by Lori Silvia.  An additional landscape tour around the library will be included. The School is located at 372 Purgatory Road, Middletown, RI.  The fee for the tour is $20 for ELA members, $30 for nonmembers.  Register by calling 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net. Thank you perrydean.squarespace.com for the “in process” image.

  • Tuesday, August 19, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Caring for the Trees at the Rose Kennedy Greenway

    Join tour guides Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy Superintendent of Horticulture Stuart Shillaber and Horticulture Foreman Anthony Ruggiero for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Greenway on Tuesday, August 19, from 1 – 3 (rain date Wednesday, August 20.) From one end to the other, trees play an important role in the Greenway landscape design, and the trees selected for each park were chosen to fit into the style and function of each neighborhood. This tour will be focused on the Greenway trees and the organic tree maintenance program. For a complete description of the Ecological Landscaping Alliance program ($20 for ELA members, $25 for nonmembers) visit http://www.ecolandscaping.org//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2014-Eco-Tour-Caring-for-the-Greenway-Trees.pdf.

  • Thursday, August 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – A Native Meadow: 40 Acres and Over 10 Years of Success

    More than a decade ago, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates designed and installed 40 acres of native meadows and prepared management plans for extensive woodlands on a 400 acre estate in northwest Connecticut, Twin Maples.  A series of pocket landscapes were also created to highlight and enhance the property’s diverse array of existing microhabitats.  In the 10 years since installation, the introduced native paltns have been dispersing seeds and invasive species have been carefully controlled.  The property’s dynamic has now shifted to the point where native species dominate and are even proliferating into unplanted areas.  Upkeep is consequently a fraction of that needed for comparably sized properties.  Yet it is the raw beauty of this place and its evolution in concert with thoughtful management that is most compelling and uplifting: to experience it is to understand how humans can engage in a dance with the land itself.

    On Thursday, August 7, the Ecological Landscape Alliance will sponsor a tour of the property with Larry Weaner, from 1 – 3 pm.  To register, call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.

  • Monday, July 21, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Project Native: The Balance and Beauty of Natural Ecosystems

    Located in picturesque Great Barrington, Project Native is a non-profit, native plant nursery and wildlife sanctuary in Western Massachusetts.  In this diverse and beautiful natural ecosystem, Project Native inspires a love of nature that motivates visitors to create, restore, and maintain healthy landscapes.  To accomplish its mission, Project Native grows and sells native plants, maintains a wildlife sanctuary, produces experiential educational programs for all ages, and manages a native butterfly house.  The Ecological  Landscape Alliance tour on Monday, July 21 from 10:30 – 12:30 will include the Project Native Seed Bank, the Restored Woodland, Meadow, Native Plant Nursery, and Native Butterfly House.

    Opened in August 2013, the Native Butterfly House was developed in order to promote the connection between native habitats and local wildlife.  The new 35-by-55 foot structure encloses a garden of native plants grown at Project Native, all of which support the life cycle of native butterflies.  There is no single plant that provides all a butterfly needs to breed and feed.  Butterflies need a community of native plants, and different types of butterflies need different communities.  Join Karen Lyness LeBlanc to learn more about this intricate web and to explore the balance and beauty associated with native plants in the landscape.  $15 for ELA members, $25 for nonmembers.  Register online at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1011084.

  • Thursday, June 19, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Biology and Control of Common Invasive Species

    This Massachusetts Horticultural Society class, to be held on Thursday, June 19, from 7 – 8:30 in the Parkman Room, Education Building, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, will introduce you to the biology and control of common invasive plants.  Learn how to time organic and chemical controls to manage your landscape. The class will be conducted by Bruce Wenning, Ecological Landscaping Alliance.  $10 Mass Hort members, $15 non-members.  More information may be found at www.masshort.org.

  • Thursday, April 10, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm – Harvard Forest: Reflecting on the Past, Researching for the Future

    Located in picturesque Petersham, Massachusetts, the Harvard Forest has served as Harvard University’s rural laboratory and classroom for ecology and conservation since 1907. The Forest is comprised of 3,750 acres of forests, ponds, streams, wetlands, and agricultural fields providing diverse natural ecosystems and cultural landscapes for study and enjoyment, and is one of the country’s oldest intensively researched landscapes.

    The Forest is protected from development and operates under a long-term management plan designating specific areas for active forest management, long-term scientific experiments, and reserves.  Since the Forest’s founding, its researchers have been pioneers in applying the lessons from human and natural history to the interpretation, conservation, and stewardship of landscapes.  Harvard Forest scholars collaborate with conservation organizations and state and federal agencies to protect land locally, regionally, and globally.  The Forest is home to the fisher Museum, which contains the world-renowned dioramas depicting the history of landscape changes in New England since colonial settlement.

    On Thursday, April 10, from 11 – 2, the Ecological Landscape Alliance will conduct a tour of the Harvard Forest.  After exploring the dioramas in the Fisher Museum, you will go on a 1.5 mile hike to explore mixed deciduous forests, a pre-colonial hemlock stand and black gum swamp, with nearly 300 years of well-documented human land-use.  You will see a long-term deer and moose browsing experiment in a recently harvested red pine plantation, hydrology weirs that monitor headwater streams leading to the Quabbin Reservoir, a 90′ research tower that continuously measures carbon exchange between the atmosphere and the Forest, a 20 year old soil warming experiment that shows how warming the soil by just 5 degrees greatly impacts the Forest ecosystem, and the “mega-plot,” an 85 acre plot within a global array of tropical and temperate forests in the Smithsonian Global Earth Observatory, in which every tree over 1cm in diameter is mapped, tagged, and measured at 5-year intervals.

    The tour will be led by Audrey Barker-Plotkin, licensed forester, and by Clarisse Hart, education manager.  Both guides are also ecologists by training.  $20 ELA members, $25 nonmembers.  Register online at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1010955 or call 617-436-5838.

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7J_k9lMlZ0/TiSBeRkWWuI/AAAAAAAACQg/afZ_g9Wcte4/s1600/diorama.jpg