Thursday Morning, July 28

10:00–11:00 a.m. Plenary:  Sex in the Garden with Robert Wyatt
This lecture is a tongue-in-cheek presentation that seeks to inform native plant enthusiasts about various facets of plant reproduction.  It deals with plant sexuality in a humorous and anthropomorphic manner, considering such questions as:  are males really necessary, does it always take two to tango, and does size matter?  Dr. Wyatt uses real-world examples to stimulate thinking about plant reproduction, while simultaneously entertaining the audience with comparisons and contrasts, some rather far-fetched, to animal, including human, reproduction.

Dr. Robert Wyatt obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his doctorate from Duke University, both in Botany.  He taught for two years at Texas A&M University before joining the faculty at the University of Georgia, where he was a Professor of Botany and Ecology for more than 20 years and still retains an adjunct appointment.  From 1999 to 2005 Dr. Wyatt was the Executive Director of the Highlands Biological Station, an interinstitutional center of the University of North Carolina.  He has won numerous awards for teaching and research, including a Guggenheim Fellowship that enabled him to produce a book entitled Ecology and Evolution of Plant Reproduction.  He has trained more than 40 graduate students, received more than a million dollars in research grants, and published more than 150 scientific papers.

11:30–12:30 Plenary: Teaming with Microbes with Jeff Lowenfels
Consider the redwoods:  how did they get to be more than 300 feet tall and live more than 500 years without anyone ever fertilizing them with MiracleGro or spraying them with insecticides and fungicides?  Turns out they teamed with the members of the soil food web, so they don’t need to be fed or protected with chemicals.  Based on the breakthrough Teaming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide To The Soil Food Web, Lowenfels reveals the science of growing plants you probably never learned because it has only been unraveled in the past 20 years.  It is the science behind organic gardening and growing things naturally delivered by one of the funniest speakers on the circuit.  He is famous for his ability to make a very important and complex subject easily and readily understandable.  It will appeal to teachers, students, gardeners, naturalists, farmers and soil scientists-- even the reluctant spouse!  No one who has heard it ever looks at a plant the same way again.

Jeff Lowenfels, author of Timber Press's best-selling Teaming With Microbes, is also the Cal Ripken of garden columnists.  His weekly column has run in the Anchorage Daily News for more than 34 years, never missing a single week, even for vacations.  One of the most humorous and entertaining lecturers on the circuit, Jeff is also a reformed lawyer.  The combination of garden writing and law earned him the moniker of “America’s Dirtiest Lawyer.”  Despite an extremely well-honed sense of humor, Jeff is a highly respected and popular national garden writer.  He is the former President of the Garden Writers of America, a GWA Fellow, and in 2005 was inducted into the GWA Hall of Fame, the highest honor a garden writer can achieve.  Jeff Lowenfels has become a leader in the organic gardening/sustainability movement.  His talks have converted tens of thousands of gardeners at venues throughout North and South America.  His book was reviewed as the most important new gardening book in 25 years and maybe ever!  It is now out in a revised edition, after six printings in only four years, and has been translated into French and Korean.  Jeff grew up as an indentured servant on his father’s hobby farm in Scarsdale, New York. There he was forced to plant, weed, mow, and pick fruits, flowers, and vegetables on an 8-acre “gentleman’s farm” replete with acres-wide vegetable gardens, a Versailles-style formal flower garden, a 100-tree fruit orchard and countless landscape shrubs, lawns and decorative beds.  One day in the early 1970s, while attending law school, he was held up and shot.  As a result, he ran as far away as he could go without a passport and ended up in Anchorage, Alaska.  There he has been able to translate his work-filled childhood into a meaningful and enjoyable hobby.  Jeff hosted Alaska public television’s most popular show, “Alaska Gardens with Jeff Lowenfels.” The show was so popular, it ran four times a week and aired even in Barrow, way above the Arctic Circle.  Today, Jeff hosts a popular, weekly, garden radio show.  Most importantly, Jeff is the founder of a national program that started as “Plant a Row for Bean’s,” the soup kitchen in Anchorage, and is now “Plant a Row for The Hungry.”  The program is active in 49 states and results in more than 20 million pounds of produce being donated to feed the hungry every year.  Jeff is as passionate about “Plant a Row” as he is about organics.  He encourages gardeners everywhere he goes to participate in the program and constantly reminds his fellow garden communicators of the pressing need to solve the problem of world hunger.

Thursday Afternoon Walks and Workshops

1:30–5:00 p.m. Walks

1. Campus Tree Walk with Dr. Laura Dewald

On our walk we will identify up to 50 native woody plants across campus in a relaxed and informal setting.  At different stops along our walk, we will learn and apply basic terms used to distinguish tree species from each other.  We will also discuss habitat requirements for different woody species along with the wildlife habitat that tree species provide and the pros and cons of using particular species in landscape settings.  Participants are welcome to bring their favorite field guides, but this is not a requirement. Handouts will be provided to participants.

Laura Dewald’s academic and research focus is ecology, biodiversity conservation, and restoration of forested ecosystems.  She has taught tree identification for 30 years including the Southeast, Pacific Northwest, and central and southwestern United States.  Trees are her passion!

2. Walking Tour of the Cullowhee Creek Stream Restoration with George Morris

We will take a walk on a recently completed stream restoration project that dissects the WCU campus.  The project was started during the summer of 2005 and completed during the summer of 2006.  We will discuss the structures and construction methods used and explore the role that vegetation plays in stream restoration.

3. Vendor Plant Walk: ID, Habitat, and Growing Available Plants with Peter Heus and John Strawn 

John and Peter will walk the participants through the plants that are available from each vendor represented at the conference, pointing out the merits and specific requirements of the displayed plants.  Emphasis will be placed on specific growing conditions, culture, and habitat.

Peter Heus is founder and owner of Enchanter’s Garden in Hinton, WV. He has had an interest in native plants since the 1980s, which led to starting a nursery devoted to natives in 1994.  He is a strong advocate of bringing “unknown” and under-appreciated species into the trade.  Peter propagates everything that he grows, largely from wild sources located on his property and the botanically rich area of West Virginia where he resides.

John Strawn, along with his wife, Pam, own and operate Hanging Dog Valley Nursery in Murphy, NC.  This wholesale nursery offers woody plants that include many species and cultivars of natives and a few uncommon non-natives.  Their production is both field grown and container grown.  They propagate 80-90% of their native plants.

4. Schoolyard Wetland Onsite Walk with John Byrd

A major goal of the Anderson County (TN) Schoolyard Wetland Project is for students to conduct research on the “parade” of organisms that “march” into their schoolyard wetland.  We want a community of learners with a solid understanding of how these unique habitats contribute to quality of life.  Schoolyard wetlands are an excellent way to reconnect our youth to their local landscape.  Anderson County Schools and their partners have created/restored seven wetlands at six different elementary schools.  It is important for kids to take part in all phases of the construction, ranging from site selection and preparation to surveying and planting wetland plants.  There are excellent resources available for planning and using wetlands, including two books by Tom Biebighauser (A Guide to Creating Vernal Ponds and Wetland Drainage, Restoration, and Repair). The Wonders of Wetlands (WOW) is a good curriculum source to help teachers and students study their wetland.  The fact that our educational curriculum, based on high stakes testing, in concert with certain laws and litigation concerns, discourages outdoor learning makes it even more critical to support these kinds of endeavors (see R. Louv’s (2005) Last Child in the Woods).  Workshop participants will receive an overview of the wetland construction process carried out at Cullowhee Valley School last year.  This will be followed by a field trip that will focus on management strategies, resources, and techniques for studying wetlands.  The Schoolyard Wetland Workshop will provide participants with an overview of the process used to construct a wetland at Cullowhee Valley School during the 2010 workshop. Participants will then walk to the wetland and discuss management strategies and conduct a systematic inventory of wetland inhabitants.  We also hope that students will take part in the inventory phase.

John Byrd is a retired biology teacher and Coordinator of the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization (CRESO).  He presently serves as a science consultant for Anderson County Schools in Clinton, TN.  The CRESO is an environmental education program with a mission to: (1) promote community outreach and education through student-driven programs and presentations; and (2) provide middle and high school students opportunities for unique field research and extended learning experiences in areas of data management and analysis, research design and protocols, biology, and resource conservation.  Established in 1989, CRESO is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Anderson County Schools (ACS), and Oak Ridge Schools (ORS). The University of Tennessee Forest Resources Research and Education Center (UTFRC) became a partner in 1997.  Research focuses on inventory and long-term monitoring of the population status and activity patterns of selected species in Anderson County, TN.  John was recently recognized as a Conservation Hero by the Partners for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC).

5. Movie: Andy Goldsworthy's Rivers and Tides

“Andy Goldsworthy's Rivers and Tides is a truly beautiful, Scottish-German 2001 documentary about artist Goldsworthy, a Scotsman whose medium is nature itself and whose preferred studio is the outdoors, particularly where water forever flows, rises, and/or retreats.  The soft-spoken, reclusive Goldsworthy is seen hard at work making ephemeral sculptures out of bits of ice in the trees, or building tall, mysterious cones from loose rock, which stand like spiritual sentinels in forests and on shorelines, overgrown by plants or swallowed daily by high tides.  Filmmaker-cinematographer Thomas Reidelsheimer goes to great, and sometimes inexplicable, lengths to make visual corollaries to Goldsworthy's ideas about underappreciated relationships between light, color, movement, balance, and fluidity of form in the real world, making Rivers and Tides a lively and always surprising cinematic gallery.  Some of Goldsworthy's most miraculous natural installations-- stone walls that snake through hundreds of feet of forest and stream, for instance-- show up in the last half-hour.”  --Tom Keogh, in an Amazon.com review.

Wildly praised by the nation's top critics, the smash theatrical hit Rivers and Tides is a mesmerizing, poetic, and curiously contemplative portrait of revered Scottish sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, whose long-winding rock walls, icicle assemblages, and other intricate, druidic masterpieces are made entirely of materials found in the wild.  Gorgeously shot and edited by director Thomas Riedelsheimer, Rivers and Tides is an intoxicating study of the fragile relationship between man, art, and nature.

Thursday afternoon

1:30-5:00 p.m.  Half- Day Fieldtrips
Corneille Bryan Native Garden with Janet Manning

The Corneille Bryan Native Garden is located in a spring-fed ravine within the Lake Junaluska Assembly in Haywood County, NC.  A stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway will be included, to compare plants in the wild with those in a garden setting.  The native garden is located at 2,600–2,700 feet elevation, whereas the stop on the Parkway will be at 5,000 feet elevation.  Although the garden is small, it is remarkably diverse, containing more than 500 species of native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.  Plant communities include deciduous woodland, meadow, and bog.  Wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes, and bring rain gear.  Reading the book Seasons in a Wildflower Refuge by Lilley, McFarland, and Pittillo prior to the trip will enhance your experience.  Hike difficulty rating = 2, moderate.

Janet Manning, Director of Horticulture, has been working at the Corneille Bryan Native Garden for the past 11 years.  She attended the University of New Hampshire and Haywood Community College and has a background in forestry, soil science, and horticulture.

Thursday Evening, July 28

7:30 - 8:45 p.m. KEYNOTE: The Joys and Horrors of Inheriting an Old Family Garden with Bailey White
Bailey White's family's gardening life in South Georgia began in the 1890s.  She will read several short essays describing the challenges of maintaining a four-generations-old country garden: whether to resist or accept changes in garden styles and trends; which aspects of the original garden to honor and which to eradicate; and how to cope with environmental change.  Enjoy this collection of recently written, unpublished stories and essays, some of which were written especially for the Cullowhee Native Pant Conference.  Gil Nelson will introduce Bailey White and serve as moderator for the readings.

Bailey White is a best-selling author, story teller, and National Public Radio personality, well-known for weaving humor, wit, and meaning into everyday yarns.  She lives in South Georgia and has written several books, including Sleeping at the Starlight Hotel and Mama Makes Up Her Mind, as well as the novel Quite a Year for Plums. Her most recent book, a collection of NPR's beloved holiday stories, is titled Nothing With Strings.

Gil Nelson is a writer, naturalist, and field botanist who lives in southwestern Georgia. He writes, speaks, and consults throughout the Southeast. He is the author of 10 books and lead co-author of several others.  His most recent book is The Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens.  He holds a fellowship in botany at Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy and an appointment at the Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium at Florida State University.  He is the conference director for this year's Cullowhee Conference.

Friday Morning, July 29

9:00–9:45 a.m. Plenary: The Ethics of Digging Native Plants with Marcia Winchester
Commercial and residential development throughout the Southeast has destroyed a lot of native plants.  Many of us have stood by and cringed as bulldozers knocked down plants in full flower, aghast that this irreplaceable beauty has been lost with so little regard.  Some people have managed to save a few specimens, sometimes through furtive means and not always in immediately threatened areas, convincing themselves that they have made a difference in doing so.  As noble as this may seem, this type of activity is not "plant rescue," it is plant pilfering.  The Georgia Native Plant Society developed a plant rescue program in 1995 as a way to work ethically with developers to rescue plants in the path of destruction.   GNPS plant rescues are available to Society members through a rigorously documented program.  Ms. Winchester, Director of Conservation for GNPS, will present the guidelines and protocol that Society members follow in securing permission and conducting rescues.

Marcia Winchester has been active in the Georgia Native Plant Society’s native plant rescue program for more than 13 years.  She trained under Jeane Reeves, who was instrumental in the development of the rescue program in the mid-1990s, and Lisa Betz, a long-time GNPS rescuer.  Marcia was in the first plant rescue facilitator training class in 2001 and has actively participated in updating the facilitator training manual and in training new facilitators.  She leads or co-facilitates numerous rescues each year and in 2010 was the most active facilitator in the organization.  Marcia was Vice President of GNPS in 2007 and President in 2008 and 2009.  She has been on the board of directors for eight years and currently serves as Director of Conservation.

10:00-11:00 a.m. Concurrent Sessions 1

A. Gardening in Drought with Randy Burroughs
Over geologic time, many native plants have adapted to recurrent dry periods.  We will look at the hydraulic system of a typical plant and discuss adaptations to drought.  We will also review the factors that affect plant growth and the seven basic principles of xeriscaping.   Finally, we will identify some plants that you may not have guessed are drought-tolerant.  The goal of this talk is to give participants tools and ideas for working with drought to manage healthier, lower maintenance gardens.

B. Creating a Pollinator Paradise Using Native Plants with Debbie Roos
Pollinators are essential components of the ecosystems that many wild animals rely on for food and shelter.  More than 80% of all flowering plant species require the help of animals to move their pollen grains from plant to plant and effect fertilization. Worldwide, approximately 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, fiber, spices, and medicines must be pollinated by animals to produce goods on which we depend.  In the temperate zone, the most important pollinators are beneficial insects such as bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and wasps.  In the tropics, however, vertebrates such as hummingbirds, bats, and small mammals are equally important.  As landscapes are converted from wild to managed lands, pollinator habitat is destroyed or fragmented, resulting in the loss of foraging, nesting, and/or egg-laying sites.  This session will begin with photos of some pollinators common in North Carolina to highlight the diversity of species in our state.  Participants will learn why bees are considered our most important pollinators.  The main part of the session will focus on how gardeners can use native plants to create foraging and nesting habitat for a diversity of pollinators.  We will talk about the flowering calendar and plant selection and learn which plants are irresistible to pollinators.  We’ll take a virtual tour of the popular Cooperative Extension pollinator demonstration garden in Pittsboro, which is a favorite foraging site for Chatham County pollinators throughout much of the year (see www.protectpollinators.org and click on “Chatham Mills Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden”).

Debbie Roos is an Agricultural Extension Agent for Chatham County, where she is responsible for programming in the areas of commercial vegetable production, organic production, alternative agricultural enterprises, and beekeeping.  Debbie worked for three years as an agroforestry extension agent and technical trainer for the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, and later completed graduate degrees in applied anthropology and horticulture at the University of Florida.  Debbie delivers educational programming to growers through regular workshops and her award-winning website (www.growingsmallfarms.org). She also works with area farmers’ markets and is involved in statewide efforts to strengthen local food systems.  Debbie is passionate about pollinator conservation and has planted demonstration gardens and developed resources to teach others about the importance of bees and other pollinators to our agricultural ecosystem.  Her pollinator website is www.protectpollinators.org.

C. Sociable Climbers: Native Vines That Won't Spoil Your Garden Party! with Dan Long
Native vines can bring year-round beauty to gardens and landscapes.  Dan will present a wide variety of native vines, highlighting their merits and explaining how to use them in formal and natural garden settings.  Explore the possibilities with vines that won't spoil the fun! 

Dan Long is the owner of Brushwood Nursery, whose specialty is vines and climbers, including Clematis, Climbing Roses, Passion Flowers, Jasmines and many native vines. He has been involved in production horticulture for 25 years, working for small and large nurseries in Pennsylvania before venturing out on his own more than a decade ago.  Dan is a past instructor at Longwood Gardens and lectures regularly at arboreta, public gardens, and other venues. 

D1. Student presentation - TBA
D2. Sudent presentation  - TBA

11:15–12:15 a.m. Concurrent Sessions 2

E. Good for What Ails Your Garden: Using Native St. John’s-worts in Southeastern Landscapes with Dr. Craig Huegel
Approximately 370 species of St. John’s-worts occur worldwide with a geographical distribution that includes temperate and subtropical regions of North America, Europe, and Asia.  Extracts from members of this genus, most notably the European common St. John’s-wort, Hypericum perforatum, have been used for centuries to treat a variety of medical ailments, including depression, and are well known among those versed in natural remedies.  Despite their widespread distribution, their notoriety, and their attractiveness, few native species have found their way into designed landscapes of the Southeast.  This talk will feature some of the best native species and those most widely available from commercial sources.  Dr. Huegel is a native plant gardener from Florida with extensive experience using native wildflowers in home landscapes, and his talk is based on several decades of practical experience.

Craig N. Huegel is a naturalist and ecologist who has devoted much of his professional career to issues related to wildlife in urban areas and to use of native flora in developed landscapes.  He earned his B.A. in Zoology and M.S in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Ph.D. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University.  He served as the first Wildlife Extension Specialist at the University of Kentucky, Forestry Department; co-founded the Urban Wildlife Extension program at the University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; and directed the Environmental Lands Division for Pinellas County, Florida, before departing to found his own consulting firm, Ecological Services Associates, in 2009.  Dr. Huegel has been active in the Florida Native Plant Society for more than 20 years, has served as the state Education Chair, and has lectured and written extensively on a wide variety of topics.  His third book, Native Plant Landscaping for Florida Wildlife, was published in October of 2010 by the University of Florida Press (UPF) and his fourth, Gardening with Native Florida Wildflowers and Other Groundcovers, has been accepted for publication by UPF and should be available sometime in 2012.

F. Mycorrhizae with Jeff Lowenfels
Approximately 96% of all plants form a symbiotic relationship with special fungi known as “mycorrhizae,” which are absolutely vital to the growth of plants and play a crucial role in horticulture, agriculture, and silviculture.  This talk is a comprehensive look at these all-important mycorrhizal fungi:  what they are, what they do, and how they fit into the soil food web, as well as to how to use them.  The latest information about this expanding area of science will be presented.  This is a perfect session for teachers and students alike that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  The presenter is a graduate of the Harvard Lampoon and has learned the art of explaining complicated science in an extremely humorous, painless, and effective way.

G. Ethnobotany of the Cherokee:  Edible and Medicinal Plants with Dr. David Cozzo
The botanical traditions of the Southern Appalachians are both ancient and constantly evolving. The only recorded aboriginal tradition is that of the Cherokee, and ethnographic accounts exist from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.  Europeans intentionally introduced many of our common weeds due to their desirable qualities. Currently, the region is dealing with new introductions, many of which have dramatic detrimental effects on our native flora and fauna.  In this talk I discuss some of the most prominent Cherokee plants, focusing on those used in ceremonies, as medicines, and as favored food plants.  I also discuss some of the European introductions that were adopted by the Cherokee.  Finally, I look at some problematical invasive exotic species and discuss their ethnobotany and pharmacology.

Dr. David Cozzo is an ethnobotanist who specializes in the relationship of the Cherokee to the botanical world.  He is an Associate Area Specialized Agent for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service based at the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians Extension Center and is the Project Director for the Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources.  Dr. Cozzo teaches courses and has published articles on the nutritional and medical ethnobotany of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, the most recent entitled “Poison in the Tooth: Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Accounts of Cherokee Snakebite Remedies” (Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol. XXVII).

H.  Southeastern Butterflies and Their Host Plants:  Glimpses Beyond the Ordinary with Paulette Ogard and Sara Bright
Butterflies are full of surprises.  From possum-playing escape artists to Trojan horse aphid-eaters, their adaptations never cease to amaze.  After sharing some surprising details about the basic biology of butterflies, we will focus on very common, as well as rare, species and the native plants on which they depend.  Eastern Red Cedar, Hackberry, Dwarf Pawpaw, Black Cherry, and Partridge Pea are among the hosts that will be highlighted.  Emphasis will be placed on niches and potential uses in the landscape rather than in small garden settings.  Conservation issues will also be addressed.  Join us as we take a peek into the everyday lives of Southeastern butterflies and the often-overlooked host plants that sustain them.

Sara Bright (photographer) and Paulette Haywood Ogard (writer) are the authors of Butterflies of Alabama: Glimpses into Their Lives.  Published by the University of Alabama Press, the book chronicles the life histories of 84 species of butterflies and the native plants on which they depend.  The volume represents the culmination of 14 years of research that included fieldwork throughout Alabama and other parts of the Southeast.  The two continue to collaborate on butterfly-related projects.

I1. Student presentation -- TBA
I2. Student presentation -- TBA

Friday Afternoon, July 29

1:30 - 2:30 Plenary: Projects of Promise

Discover Life in America with Todd Witcher
Discover Life in America (DLIA) is involved in a quest to identify and understand all of the species within the 800-square-mile Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP).  DLIA researchers seek knowledge about the components, abundance, and diversity of life, from spiders in the soil to slime molds in the forest canopy.  The primary tool of DLIA is the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), which brings scientists from around the world to inventory the estimated 100,000 species of living organisms in GSMNP.  The project develops checklists, reports, maps, databases, and natural history profiles that describe the biology of this rich landscape to a wide audience.  DLIA’s mission is to help identify and develop resources and partnerships to conduct the ATBI and related educational activities.  The ATBI is one of the world's biggest and most ambitious science projects, aiming to decipher the mysteries of the Smokies' intricate ecosystem by finding and cataloging every species of plant, animal, and microbe in the Park.  Since collecting began in 1998, the ATBI has uncovered more than 900 species new to science, as well as 6,700 species that are newly documented to exist in GSMNP.  The ATBI project involves hundreds of "citizen scientists,” or volunteers, who collect specimens for scientists to analyze, keeping the project cost-effective.  By completing this comprehensive inventory of species, National Park Service managers are able to use this baseline knowledge in their critical decision-making.  The data resulting from this project allow park management attention to be focused on organisms and habitats with special needs, as well as more efficient maintenance of healthy populations of species and their habitats.  It also provides a timely record for the examination of global factors such as acid rain, climate change, and pollution-- knowledge that is essential for this national park’s biodiversity to be preserved for future generations to enjoy.  To learn more about Discover Life in America and the ATBI project, visit http://www.dlia.org/.

Todd P. Witcher is the Executive Director of DLIA, the non-profit that coordinates the ATBI in GSMNP.  Todd is an eighth generation Tennessean.  Before becoming the ED at DLIA, he worked as an educator for Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville Tennessee for 16 years.  Todd has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Tennessee (1987), an M.B.A. from Lincoln Memorial University (1991), and a master’s degree in Education from the University of Tennessee (1997).  In his spare time Todd enjoys hiking, traveling, gardening, and restoring old houses.

Furman University Lake Restoration with Rich Huffman
Furman is a private university in Greenville, SC, with an 18-acre lake on campus.  Over the years the lake has gradually declined visually and biologically due to an overabundance of waterfowl, sedimentation, eroding banks, and chemical inputs.  Maintenance and drainage issues have also contributed to a shallow basin, algal blooms, and foul odors.  Environmental designer Rick Huffman with Earth Design was commissioned to develop a master plan that would reverse these trends.  The Master Plan study uses a set of green sustainable tools that work with the lake ecology to bring about a healthy change for the lake and the campus.  Design concepts of riparian buffers, rain gardens, marginal aquatics, and created wetlands and marshes are a few of the key design solutions that use native plants.  This talk will review the influences on water quality and illustrate the design concepts and implementation processes and outcomes.  The lake restoration has become a living lab for students to study lake ecology and human impacts on water quality.

Creating Beautiful and Diverse Landscapes Using Oak Grasslands with Elizabeth Raikes
What is oak grassland habitat?  Why is it important to restore this habitat on the landscape?  And how do we accomplish this task?  Oak grasslands occur primarily on upper slopes and ridges, have a 10-60% forested canopy closure, and under-stories dominated by native grasses and wildflowers.  This habitat has declined nationwide by 99% and is one of the most imperiled communities in North America.  Approximately 92% of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) is forested (82% Oak-Hickory), and 8% is made up of grassland and cultivated fields.  Open landscapes on LBL began to disappear approximately 60 years ago with the exclusion of fire, and the forest canopy has therefore closed and become dense.  Rare plants and animals that are adapted to oak grasslands have declined due to the disappearance of these habitats.  These include plants such as purple milkweed, pale purple coneflower, prairie dock, southern prairie aster, and barbed rattlesnake root, and birds such as the redheaded woodpecker, prairie warbler, and northern bobwhite.  Prescribed fire plus mechanical removal and some herbicide treatments to reduce invasive exotic plants are being used to restore and create oak grasslands.  These tools are used to promote and support a high diversity of wildflowers and pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and to enhance habitat for declining plant and animal populations.  Oak grasslands provide opportunities for wildlife viewing, dispersed recreation, environmental education, and natural history study.  The establishment and management of native plant species on the landscape are important to the survival of imperiled communities such as oak grasslands. So what can you do to help?  Plant native wildflowers such as wild bergamot, blazing star, Indian pink, and butterflyweed, as well as native grasses such as Indian grass, big bluestem, and little bluestem that not only enhance the beauty of oak grasslands but can also be used in garden landscapes.  For information about Oak Grassland areas in LBL go to: http://www.lbl.org/NRMOakGrassland.html.

Elizabeth Raikes grew up on a small farm in northern Ohio in a family of seven children.  Her family spent a lot of time growing vegetable gardens and tending landscape flora.  Since she was a child she has always had an interest in the outdoors, and it has largely been influenced by the travels and experiences of her parents and grandparents.  Her interest in the outdoors led her to pursue an education in natural resources.  She received an A.A.S in Recreation and Wildlife Management from Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, in 1980 and a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from Lake Superior University, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, in 1987.  She has always wanted to travel as part of her career.   Prior to becoming an employee of the Forest Service, she worked in temporary positions in the private sector, college/university settings, and state and federal agencies.  From 1989 to 2001 she worked on the Shawnee National Forest as a soils technician and wildlife biologist.  In 2001 she transferred to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) as a wildlife biologist.  At LBL she is responsible for the open lands management program, along with coordination of the non-native invasive species and threatened and endangered species management programs.  She enjoys a wide range of outdoor recreational activities, gardening, and arts and crafts.   

  

2:45–3:45 p.m. Plenary

The Blue Ridge Parkway:  A Path to Preservation Linking Social, Cultural, and Natural Heritage along the Crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains with Tracy Traer
A young landscape architect, Stanly L. Abbott, conceived the Parkway as a series of local recreational destinations while emphasizing and promoting the significance of the natural landscape.  We will examine the innovative design process that created America’s most treasured parkway during our most challenging economic period.  Discover many of the design techniques and innovations, physical structures, and crafted elements that define the experience and character of this American byway while connecting and expanding the social, cultural, and natural heritage of the region.

4:15–5:15 p.m. Concurrent Sessions 3

K. Ecological Design for Children and Families: Connecting Healthy Childhoods and a Healthy Planet with Robin Moore
Become familiar with the many ways in which designed landscapes can engage children’s curiosity and motivate playful learning.  Learn how plants can add value to any outdoor space used by children and families.  Become familiar with design principles and selection criteria for successful planting design of children’s play and learning areas from infancy to adolescence.

Robin Moore is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Natural Learning Initiative, College of Design, NC State University, Raleigh, NC.  He holds degrees in Architecture (London) and City and Regional Planning (MIT) and has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University.  His books include Childhood’s Domain and Natural Learning.  Professor Moore is past president of the International Play Association and former chair of the Environmental Design Research Association.

L. Sensory Appeal of Native Plants with Gregg Tepper
Join Horticulturist Gregg Tepper of Mt. Cuba Center for a fascinating and informative lecture on the Sensory Appeal of Native Plants.  Gregg will discuss the unique ways in which native plants appeal to each of our senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and even sound.  Learn little-known facts, hear entertaining true stories, and see outstanding photographs from field and forest of the wildflowers we all love.

Gregg Tepper has been the Woods Path Horticulturist at Mt. Cuba Center in Greenville, DE, for six years, where he maintains a three-acre wooded section of more than 415 different taxa of native plants.  Gregg studied horticulture at the University of Delaware and has been a native plant enthusiast for more than 25 years, having lectured extensively in the United States, as well as at Kew Gardens and the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Wisley in England.  He has designed several native plant gardens in Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania in addition to currently maintaining a two-acre native plant and shade garden at his home in Fair Hill, Maryland.  His interests include rare and unusual forms of native plants with a focus on ferns, lilies, irises, and trilliums.

M. Conservation Horticulture for the Backyard Gardener with Bill Finch
The future of plant conservation depends on what's in our heads as well as what's in our yards.  If there's any doubt gardeners can play a role in conservation, let me take you to the massive shell mounds of the Gulf Coast, some thousands of years old.  Built almost entirely with human labor, these sprawling architectural relicts support astonishing collections of plants that are now rare or virtually non-existent elsewhere along the coast. These range from useful plants like tree yuccas and Florida soapberry trees to tasty sageretia vines with huckleberry-like fruits and the delicious tomato relative called Christmas berry.  If these strange communities of plants seem at times to be the relicts of the earliest human gardens, that's probably no accident.  Humans, knowingly or not, have always played a role in the conservation of plant species, just as surely as they've played an unsually important role in species destruction.  It's interesting to examine whether the gardens we're building today will still provide refugia for plants a decade, much less 10,000 years, from now.  With the threat of plant extinctions accelerating, climates changing, and the practice of field biology declining precipitously, gardeners will have to do more than bring rare plants home to be pampered in the confines of our gardens.  We're going to need to take our knowledge of gardening and horticulture into the wild, becoming leaders in the effort to restore the processes that promote plant diversity.

Bill Finch is director of the Mobile Botanical Gardens, a senior fellow with the Ocean Foundation, and an award-winning environmental journalist.  He has been statewide conservation director for The Nature Conservancy's Alabama Chapter and is completing a book on the longleaf pine ecosystem.  Finch's weekly garden column in the Mobile Register was recognized as the nation's best specialty newspaper column by the Atlantic City Press Club's National Headliner awards, and his reporting on forest, freshwater, and marine environments has been recognized with numerous national awards.

Saturday Morning, July 30 -- NEW FORMAT FOR 2011!

9:00–9:30 a.m. Introduction to Home Gardening with Native Plants with Linda Askey 
Taking a concept you love and putting it into action is like being a cheerleader and jumping into the game.  Suddenly, the details are important.   Addressing practical considerations such as motivation, plant choices, sources, planting tips, and more, Linda will retrace her steps on her garden journey in hopes of giving beginning native plant gardeners and teachers a head start on theirs.

Linda Askey is a horticulturist, journalist, and lifelong gardener.  She moved from the Carolinas to Alabama to write for Southern Living magazine, where she contributed to the garden pages for 21 years.  Now an independent writer, photographer, and speaker, she continues to pursue her passion for all things related to gardening.

9:30–10:00 a.m. Designing with Native Plants for the Home Landscape with Randy Burroughs
Native plants have a place in all garden styles. We will look at several plants that are not in the typical design palette and discuss their attributes and uses.  All of the plants selected for discussion will be available from the conference vendors.

10:00–11:00 Plenary: Outstanding Native Perennials with Allan Armitage
Native plants are far better known today than even 10 years ago: huge strides have been made to show the benefits of native plants for erosion control, insect and bird habitats, water conservation, and pollution abatement.  While these are all good reasons to grow native plants, they are not enough for many consumers, including some professionals and lay people.  Mainstreaming natives will continue to be an elusive goal for many growers and retailers if “nativars” (i.e., cultivars of native plants) are not included in the discussion.  Allan Armitage will illustrate the diversity of native material available to all segments of the industry and suggest that offering “nativars,” if available, makes all natives more appealing, thus creating greater demand and more prominence in today’s marketplace. 

Allan Armitage is well known as a writer, speaker, and researcher throughout the world.  He has evaluated garden plants in Montreal, Canada; East Lansing, Michigan, and Athens, Georgia, gaining an appreciation of plant development in the North and South.  He holds his B.Sc. from MacDonald College of McGill University, Quebec, M.Sc. from University of Guelph, Ontario, and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University.  At the University of Georgia, he runs the research trial gardens where new plant material from most of the flower breeders in the world is evaluated.  He has won numerous prestigious awards for his teaching as well as his research, and he is the author of many best-selling books, including Allan Armitage on Perennials and Specialty Cut Flowers.