Boston Flora

Tag: ELA

  • Wednesday, March 9, 6:00 pm – Ulmus Americana: Saving an American Icon, Online

    In 1909, while collecting Leopard Moth larva from elm trees in the college yard at Harvard University, Dr. James W. Chapman discovered small grubs and adult beetles under the bark. With the aid of Dr. A.D. Hopkins, the first identification of the smaller European elm bark beetle, Scolytus multistriatus was confirmed in Massachusetts. S. multistriatus is the primary vector of Dutch Elm Disease (DED). DED is a fungus that invades the vascular system of a tree and has killed millions of American elm trees in the United States. With the support of the Friends of the Public Garden and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Normand and Christine Helie have been monitoring and caring for the elm trees in the downtown Boston Parks since 2012. Their research on the smaller European elm bark beetle picks up where Dr. Chapman left off. Sharing their insights on the relationship of the beetle with the young and historic elm trees in the parks, they hope to inspire us to bring the native American elm back to our landscapes.

    For over 27 years, Normand and Christine Helie, of The Growing Tree, have worked together promoting conservation landscaping and tree preservation.

    In 2012 they began monitoring and caring for the elm trees in the Boston Parks, where Dutch elm disease continues to be a major threat to both young and mature elm trees. Combining their knowledge in the applied sciences of plants, soils and entomology, they now have a better understanding of the host, its vector and the pathogen. With their development of an alternative preservation program for elm trees in Boston, some of which have historic significance, they are hopeful for the conservation of this tree species.

    The Ecological Landscape Alliance will present a webinar with the Helies on March 9 at 6 pm. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org.

  • Wednesday, February 9, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Regenerating Suburbia One Garden at a Time, Online

    Landscape design professionals can play a key role in regenerating our monocultural suburban landscapes. Understanding why this work is so vitally important and how we can create beautiful (even luxuriant) landscapes that capture carbon, create habitat in support of our native pollinators, and contribute to the cooling of the earth’s atmosphere.

    Nadia Malarkey will share the philosophy that drives her work in the regeneration of landscapes, showing images from her own commissioned residential projects. These examples illustrate the use of a spatial design aesthetic for viable bio-diverse functional landscapes.

    Ms. Malarkey’s gardens have inspired her clients with a deeper sense of environmental stewardship as well as drawn their friends and neighbors to the native plant aesthetic. This webinar, sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance, takes place February 9 at 1 pm, and is free to ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

  • Wednesday, January 19, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Forest Ecosystems and the Winds of Change: Forests as a Cog in the Earth’s Climate System, Online

    That weather and climate have a major influence on forests is a familiar concept to most of us. But forests also influence climate in ways that aren’t always appreciated and are still being discovered. This applies to local as well as global processes and extends from the early evolution of trees to the current era of rapid, human-induced change.

    This Ecological Landscape Alliance January 19 noontime presentation will explore the fascinating role of forests as a key part of the climate system, and how researchers are still unraveling their mysteries using tools ranging from state-of-the-art satellite sensors to old-fashioned walks in the woods.

    Dr. Scott Ollinger is a professor of ecosystem ecology and director of the Earth Systems Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. His research focuses on carbon, nutrient and water cycles in forests and how factors such as biodiversity and land use change affect feedbacks between forests and climate. Dr. Ollinger has been principal investigator on a number of NASA and National Science Foundation research projects and he has served on a variety of state and national science advisory boards. He was the first Director of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and is presently a member of NASA’s North American Carbon Program. At UNH, Dr. Ollinger enthusiastically teaches courses in ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry.

    Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

  • Wednesday, February 23 & Thursday, February 24, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm – ELA Virtual 28th Conference & Marketplace – SAVE THE DATES

    Join Ecological Landscape Alliance on February 23 & 24, 2022 for the 28th Conference & Eco-Marketplace – all online.  We’ll energize your practice and prepare you for spring with two full days of research and field-tested expertise, as well as innovative case studies on a wide range of topics.

    In our online conference space, you can pick and choose from presentations in multiple tracks. Move easily from presentation to presentation with a couple of clicks, and if you miss a presentation, you’ll have access to recordings after the conference.

    The conference platform also lets you connect with exhibitors in their own conference spaces and network with colleagues and friends in rooms designated for that purpose. A short initial orientation and continuously available technical assistance help support a positive conference experience.

    For complete details visit https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/ela-virtual-28th-conference-eco-marketplace/

  • Wednesday, December 15, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Sharing the Adventure: Design Communications for Ecological Landscapes, Online

    When a designed landscape succeeds, it’s a sign that there’s been strong communication across the project team. It means that the designers understand the clients’ goals and resources, and that the clients understand how their new landscape will look, how it will change, and how it will be managed over time.

    In this Ecological Landscape Alliance online December 15 presentation, Toby Wolf will explore strategies for making the design process a shared adventure. Toby Wolf is a landscape architect whose designs connect people with the natural world. His work includes planning and design for Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Wellesley College, the Native Plant Trust, Cornell Botanic Gardens, Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, and for homeowners throughout the Boston area. Mr. Wolf is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University and has taught at Cornell, RISD, SUNY ESF, and the Landscape Institute. He serves on the Horticulture Committee of the Friends of the Public Garden and on the board of the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/sharing-the-adventure-design-communications-for-ecological-landscapes/

  • Friday, December 10, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Eco-Friendly Healthy Eating: Nutrition to Support Landscape Professionals and Gardeners, Online

    Our planet is changing. Now more than ever, it is important to choose sustainable, climate-friendly foods. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance December 10 webinar at noon, Samantha McCarthy, registered dietitian, will discuss how to incorporate an eco-friendly diet pattern into your life not only to help the planet, but also to improve your health and support the high physical demand put on landscape professionals . Topics discussed will include:

    • Diet and environmental footprint
    • Key diet patterns to minimize eco-impact
    • Seasonal diet changes to support changing activity levels
    • The anti-inflammatory diet
    • Plant-based Diets, the environment, and inflammation in the body

    Samantha McCarthy MS, RD/LDN has worked in the nutrition and fitness field for over 10 years. She currently works at Cedardale Health and Fitness in Haverhill, MA as the Director of Wellness and Group Exercise. She counsels a broad range of clients, specializing in weight loss, chronic disease prevention and management, and sports nutrition. Sam has a passion for helping others reach their health and wellness goals. She has a comprehensive approach to health incorporating nutrition, exercise, stress management, and behavior change into her counseling.

    Sam received her bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut with a minor in nutrition for exercise and sport. While working in Boston as a dietitian and fitness professional, she received her master’s degree in nutrition and health promotion from Simmons College. In her free time, Sam enjoys cooking, gardening, reading, and spending time outdoors.

    Register at http://ecolandscaping.org

  • Friday, December 3, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – Ecological Plant Conference 2021, Online

    Again in this fall, ELA will host the Ecological Plant Conference online. Innovative tools and interactive collaborations will ensure that this online conference provides participants with an engaging and inspiring experience – with no travel time or transportation required.

    The benefits of human proximity to plants is well documented and is just one of the many reasons that we all design, propagate, install, maintain, discuss, and enjoy plants. This year, the Ecological Plant Conference (EPC) will delve into five plant-centric topics to educate, entertain, and inspire you. Join us for the sixth annual EPC deep dive into plants old and new.

    The Garden Base Layer: Native Groundcovers
    Duncan Himmelman

    Kick mulch to the curb! Replace it with texturally interesting native plants that help to unify your landscape and provide important ecological services.

    In his presentation, Duncan will highlight a selection of herbaceous and woody plants to use as groundcovers in a variety of growing conditions. Gardeners of all levels will be inspired to make the switch from vinca and Japanese pachysandra to smarter choices: native groundcovers!

    Biodiversity Here and Now: Creating Urban Habitats
    Veronica Tyson-Strait

    Many urban dwellers share a desire to garden. For the immigrant gardener there is an urgent need to adopt the new alien landscape and adapt it into a new home. Often that goal includes growing ornamental plants and food crops with ties to a cultural past, even if this home is on the 26th floor. Yet, we must acknowledge the environmental benefits of growing plants native to the region we inhabit.

    Veronica will showcase the diverse ecosystems of her country of birth and their influence in the evolution of her passion for plants native to North America. She will make connections between pollinators and birds in her New York gardens, highlight a few of her favorite native plants, and explain how she utilizes limited space and incorporates habitats into her garden designs.

    New Naturalism: Lessons from Wild Plant Communities
    Kelly Norris

    Drawing on his many years of horticulture experience, Kelly Norris will share in-depth lessons learned from plant communities, both natural plant communities in the wild and designed communities in the built landscape. Kelly explores plant ecology and provides invaluable strategies for landscape designers and land managers. Kelly’s love for native plants and his experiences with wild plant communities have shaped his career in profound ways. As a so-called hort-ecologist, Kelly strives to interpret native ecosystems into beautiful, functional landscapes in the urban context. Too often, professional horticulturists appropriate plants as if they were inanimate objects, instead of truly understanding how plants interact and function within the landscape environment. Join us for an exploration of wild plant communities and their constituents from across North America that will inspire and inform your professional practice whether as a grower, retailer or designer.

    Plants that Sustained a Broken World: Enslaved African Contributions to Medicine and Botany
    Dr. Carolyn Roberts

    In the midst of the violence and brutality of the Atlantic slave trade, enslaved Africans became known for their valuable medical and botanical knowledge. Their expertise contributed to early modern medicine and science.

    In this presentation, Yale Professor Carolyn Roberts will discuss this little-known botanical history. She will explore the plants enslaved Africans used, how they made medicines, and what present-day phyto-chemical research reveals about why these medicines were so effective.

    Panel Discussion
    Good Communication and Respect:
    Keystones for Team Building on Landscape Crews
    Rebecca McMackin, Panel Moderator
    At the end of the workday, we all want to feel a sense of accomplishment and contentment about the day’s efforts. How well we relate to colleagues and members of our landscape crews has a profound influence on whether it has been a good day or a frustrating one. Effective communication and teamwork will help a crew (or any other project team) maintain a positive work environment. Effective communication also permeates throughout all areas of business operations; a positive workplace means happier employees are interacting with one another, contractors, and with clients (whether homeowners or public park guests) in a pleasant and positive manner.

    Businesses of all sizes need dedicated employees that understand the importance of teamwork in achieving goals and requires that employees communicate in ways that promote team cohesion – not division. On diverse teams, where there is not a shared cultural background or language, the challenges of team building are more complex though equally or more important. Join panel moderator, Rebecca McMackin to learn some of the team building and communication strategies used among the diverse crew members at Brooklyn Bridge Park. You are sure to learn techniques that you can bring back to your workplace.

    $139. For complete speaker biographies, and to register, visit https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/ecological-plant-conference-2021/

  • Wednesdays, December 1 and December 15, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Advanced Ecological Design Workshop with Larry Weaner

    Demand for high performing, ecology-based landscapes is increasing faster than the availability of the specialized knowledge needed for practitioners to achieve them. This intensive course will be comprised of two sessions that are three hours each. This design workshop will provide concrete, real-world guidance for selecting and arranging native plants in the landscape (gardens and restoration projects), as well as provide attendees with the opportunity to employ these techniques through an assignment between the first and second sessions.

    Participants will receive login-protected access to an extensive digital manual that documents all aspects of the program, including plant selection criteria, plant recommendations, ecological process-based management specifications, and guidance for maximizing the aesthetic and experiential appeal these landscapes can provide.

    This program is geared toward landscape professionals, including but not limited to landscape designers, landscape architects, and horticulturists.

    COURSE GOALS:
    By the end of the course, participants should be able to:

    1. Examine and translate into design the ecological patterns of native plant communities.
    2. Understand the ecological processes that are relevant to native landscape design including, but not limited to, ecological processes such as disturbance, succession, and competition, and plant proliferation strategies.
    3. Understand how to arrange and select native plants to foster ecology-based landscapes that are aesthetically embraced by clients in a variety of landscape settings including gardens and restoration projects.

    COURSE SCHEDULE:
    Note: Each session will have 3 session hours plus two 15-minute breaks. $190. For complete information visit www.ecolandscaping.org.

  • Wednesday, November 17, 12:00 noon – Nature’s Sanctuary: Challenges of and Solutions for a SITES Gold Landscape

    Join the Ecological Landscape Alliance and Horticulturist Gregg Tepper online on November 17 at noon to learn about and understand the history and challenges of a SITES Gold landscape and real-world solutions to achieve the desired results. From the site’s creation in 2008 and original design intent, to 2020 and its evolved management plan, Tepper will share the difficulties faced and detailed, pragmatic solutions needed to overcome them. The topics include invasive species and stormwater mitigation, native plant choices, and maintenance strategies effectively utilized for this managed-succession site. From its current existence as a meadow through its future progression to a late-succession woodland, you’ll learn what Tepper has planned, and you’ll find the revealed surprise of this truly unique site. Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at www.ecolandscaping.org

    Gregg Tepper is a professional horticulturist, lecturer, consultant, and lifelong native plant enthusiast. After studying Ornamental Horticulture at the University of Delaware and several years creating his own ornamental and native plant gardens, Mr. Tepper started a horticultural maintenance business designing and managing private gardens in southeast Pennsylvania and northern Delaware. He went on to work at Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, DE where he held the positions of Horticulturist, Woods Path Horticulturist, and Director of Horticulture. Subsequently he was Director of Horticulture and board member of Delaware Botanic Gardens in Dagsboro, DE. He was instrumental in developing the initial horticultural mission, leading the garden steward volunteers, and implementing a two-acre meadow designed by world-renown garden designer Piet Oudolf. Mr. Tepper is now the Horticulturist at the Arboretum at Laurel Hill and West Laurel Hill Cemeteries in Philadelphia, PA where he manages various display gardens including Nature’s Sanctuary, a SITES Gold credited landscape. Gregg has lectured extensively in the United States and Great Britain. Also, he is co-author of the book Deer-resistant Native Plants for the Northeast.

  • Wednesday, November 3, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Eco-Answers with an ELA Eco-Pro: Specialty Gardens, Online

    Do you have (or desire to have) a specialty garden but need a little help getting started?
    Sometimes referred to as garden niches, there are many types of specialty gardens. They can include gardens with a particular aesthetic (like Japanese Gardens), focus on a particular type of plants (herb gardens), or be characterized by their size (small pocket gardens or large meadows).

    Join ecological landscape specialist Pennington (Penn) Marchael to ask your questions about garden niches and get professional advice to help solve your problems or get your project started. During this 90-minute Zoom live forum, Penn will provide answers to some common questions and then focus on audience questions.

    Penn will start the evening with brief opening remarks about a couple of specialty gardens and then jump right into your questions for the bulk of the Q&A session. Some topics that Penn can address are:

    • Building a biodiverse meadow
    • Creating gardens for winter interest
    • Sizing plants for a small courtyard
    • Leaving semi-wild garden areas
    • Designing a butterfly garden
    • Featuring texture in a shade garden
    • And more…

    Please send your questions in advance so that Penn will know where to focus his attention. Also send photos of the plants in question to provide some reference and to add interest to the discussion. Email photos along with your questions to: penny@ecolandscaping.org.
    If you don’t submit questions in advance, no problem, we will also be taking questions throughout the event.

    Once you are registered for Eco-Answers with the ELA Eco-Pros, you will receive an email with the Zoom Webinar link. Pennington Marchael is a landscape contractor based in Brooklyn and Bedford Hills, New York. Throughout his career he has cultivated a deep understanding of horticulture and ecology, which he uses to execute successfully vibrant landscapes. Mr. Marchael has over ten years of experience in project management, landscape construction, and maintenance. In those ten years, he has installed and maintained meadows from Virginia to Northern New York with a total of over one hundred fifty acres installed and many more maintained and monitored. His present focus is growing his business, Pennington Grey, where he aspires to train a new generation of land managers who will lead the landscape industry away from traditional practices and toward a more sustainable and dynamic approach.

    This webinar is free but open only to ELA members. Annual memberships start at $25. To join, visit https://www.ecolandscaping.org/membership/