Whether you’re interested in your health, sustainability, or simple pleasure, growing native edibles is a skill worth cultivating. Native edibles can feed you (and the rest of the ecosystem) regardless of your available space, and can be planted in shady corners, container gardens, and other small spaces. Join Dan Jaffe Wilder online on April 18 at 6 pm Eastern to learn about species of native edibles that can be grown wherever you can find (or put) soil. Native Plant Trust members $17, nonmembers $20. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/native-edibles-cities/ Image courtesy of Forager Chef.
Please note: We do not make video or audio recordings of classes or programs available after the fact, because we believe education is interactive, with instructors and students building a community and culture of learning. Some programs may be recorded strictly for instructor-training purposes. Please visit this page to review this and other FAQs about our policies.
River shores and stream banks have unique riparian vegetation that is adapted to changing water levels. In this Native Plants Trust virtual program on April 8 from 1 – 3, we will follow the Sudbury and Assabet rivers from the watershed’s headwaters in Westborough to its junction with the Merrimac River in Lowell with Neela de Zoysa. Along the way, we will encounter Atlantic cedar swamps, floodplain forests, shrub swamps, emergent marshes, and oxbow lakes as well as the species that characterize them. We will also learn about threats posed by dams, clearing, and pollution.
Please note: We do not make video or audio recordings of classes or programs available after the fact, because we believe education is interactive, with instructors and students building a community and culture of learning. Some programs may be recorded strictly for instructor-training purposes.
Ecological restoration is a discipline with many applications. This Native Plant Trust webinar on February 1 at 6 pm with Brian Colleran is meant for those who want to know what the term “restoration” means in an ecological context, rather than for those who have experience conducting restoration. Ideal students would be those who have an interest in making their lands more friendly to native flora and fauna and want to take their first steps, but don’t know what to do. $15 NPT members, $18 nonmembers. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/restoration-ecology-101/
Please note: We do not make video or audio recordings of classes or programs available after the fact, because we believe education is interactive, with instructors and students building a community and culture of learning. Some programs may be recorded strictly for instructor-training purposes. Please visit this page to review this and other FAQs about our policies
As horticulturists and landscape designers, we need a strong foundation in the cultural history and theory of landscape to fully understand our work in the garden. In this four part online Native Plant Trust course, we will explore Eastern and Western garden design, including long-practiced principles that encourage sustainable and ecological approaches in the landscape design field. This history survey on Tuesdays, January 23 – 30 and February 6 – 13 from 6 – 8:30, will include visual presentations, readings, projects, and discussion. Staci Jasin instructs. $150 for NPT members, $180 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/history-and-principles-landscape-design/
In 2022, Rhode Island Plant Society (RIWPS) began ReSeeding Rhode Island, an initiative to increase the availability of ecotypic seed and plants within the state. In this online Native Plant Trust session on January 25 from 5 – 6, you will learn from ReSeeding Rhode Island’s seed collector Shannon Kingsley about ecotypes and ecoregions, proper protocols for collection of wild seeds, and the types of species collected and grown by ReSeeding RI. Shannon will also delve into her experiences collecting wild seeds, the initiative’s partnerships with its wild seedbed growers, and the developing educational aspects of the project.
Please note: We do not make video or audio recordings of classes or programs available after the fact, because we believe education is interactive, with instructors and students building a community and culture of learning. Some programs may be recorded strictly for instructor-training purposes. Please visit this page to review this and other FAQs about our policies.
Sam Gilvarg and the Native Plant Trust return on January 11 at 5 pm with a live virtual seminar on Ecosystem Response to Wildfire.
In New England, the survival of many ecosystems is predicated upon the occurrence of disturbances, such as wildland fire, that alter the environment. Without these events, habitats that are home to many endangered species can undergo changes that intrinsically threaten the survival of imperiled organisms. However, not every ecosystem will respond to fire in the same way—and not every fire will create the same impacts. This course will survey the ecological response of select fire prone habitats to being burned and assess the impacts of fires occurring at varying severity, frequency, and size on them. $30 for NPT members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/ecosystem-response-wildfire/
Please note: We do not make video or audio recordings of classes or programs available after the fact, because we believe education is interactive, with instructors and students building a community and culture of learning. Some programs may be recorded strictly for instructor-training purposes. Please visit this page to review this and other FAQs about our policies.
Native plants are hot right now, and for good reason! Many gardeners recognize the importance of weighing aesthetics with ecological value in their horticultural practice, and they see the use of native plants as crucial to benefiting wildlife and humans alike. This American Horticultural Society talk explores the underlying concepts and approaches to using regionally appropriate native plants and how you can welcome native plants into your garden no matter where you live in North America. A recording will be made available to registrants for a limited time following the talk. $10 AHS members, $15 nonmembers. Register at https://ahsgardening.org/lifelong-learning/north-american-regional-gardening-approaches/
UIi Lorimer is the Director of Horticulture for Native Plant Trust. He oversees the facilities and operations at Garden in the Woods and at Nasami Farm. Uli brings 20 years of experience working with native plants in public gardens with previous positions at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Wave Hill Garden and the US National Arboretum. He is a tireless advocate for the use of native plants in designed spaces through his public speaking, writing, lectures and media appearances. Uli feels most grounded with his hands in the soil.
A surprising number of plants remain green through the winter; lichens, mosses and liverworts, ferns, ericaceous shrubs and evergreen trees, and many more. Which plants stay green, how, and why? In this Native Plants Trust online class on January 25, you will learn how to recognize and identify the groups of evergreen plants and explore evolutionary and strategies for year-round foliage. Neela de Zoysa is the instructor. $45 for NPT members, $54 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/green-winterscape/
Please note: NPT does not make video or audio recordings of classes or programs available after the fact, because they believe education is interactive, with instructors and students building a community and culture of learning. Some programs may be recorded strictly for instructor-training purposes. Please visit this page to review this and other FAQs about the policies.
The Board of Trustees of Native Plant Trust today announced the appointment of Tim Johnson as its new Chief Executive Officer. Native Plant Trust is the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants. Johnson joins Native Plant Trust from Smith College, where he was Director of the Botanic Garden and Professor of Practice.
Johnson will lead the conservation and horticulture organization, including 45-acre Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA; Nasami Farm, a native plant nursery in Whately, MA; and expanded seed-processing and storage facilities to support the new Northeast Seed Network, a regional initiative led by Native Plant Trust to create a sustainable source of seed to meet the increased demand for native plants. Johnson brings a background in environmental horticulture and biological science to a long-standing career in conservation and botanic garden administration and leadership, pillars of Native Plant Trust’s mission and organization.
At Smith College, Johnson expanded the impact of scientific programming and conservation science research, mentorship and education. He oversaw the financial management of the renowned botanic garden, and guided the development of organizational vision in alignment with mission. He grew the botanic garden’s fundraising capacity, led strategic planning including the first comprehensive plan in its 128-year history, and restructured and strengthened internal and external communications. He modernized links to the college curriculum, oversaw membership growth, audience diversification and founded the garden’s germplasm conservation collections by partnering with Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Prior to his role at Smith, Johnson was Head of Preservation and
Seed Bank Manager at Seed Savers Exchange, an international non-profit that stewards America’s culturally diverse and endangered garden and food crop legacy through the preservation and collection of 27,000 heirloom seed varieties.
A native of Wisconsin, Johnson focused his studies on biology and environmental horticulture, earning a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire and a PhD in environmental horticulture from the University of Florida. The appointment is the culmination of a national search, and follows the retirement of Executive Director Debbi Edelstein in January 2024 after fifteen years of distinguished service to the organization. Johnson will begin his role as CEO at Native Plant Trust on January 29, 2024.
Native Plant Trust, the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants, announced on December 8 that Debbi Edelstein will be retiring as executive director at the end of January after fifteen years of service. The organization is concluding a nationwide search for her successor and is expected to make an announcement shortly. Edelstein has led the 30-person nonprofit since February 2009 and has inspired her team to significant achievements and new initiatives in conservation, ecological horticulture, and education. Edelstein’s many accomplishments reflect her lifelong commitment to making the world a better place. During her tenure, the organization expanded its work to save rare and endangered plants, undertook important restoration projects, developed the first master plan for the 45-acre Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts, and launched the nation’s first online botany courses a decade ago. She also set a research agenda that resulted in the publication of the Go Botany website, four books, and two major research reports, “The State of New England’s Native Plants” (2015) and “Conserving Plant Diversity in New England” (2022).
In addition, she developed a successful new business model for the native plant nursery in Whately, MA, and expanded seed- processing and storage facilities to support the new Northeast Seed Network, a regional initiative led by Native Plant Trust to create a sustainable source of seed to meet the increased demand for native plants in the restoration and nursery sectors. She is the lead author of Native Plant Trust’s new fifteen-year vision document, which describes the organization’s opportunities—and obligations—in addressing the twin environmental crises of our era, climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
