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2023 Schedule at a Glance

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Field Trips

IMPORTANT: All Wednesday Field Trips are Currently Full.
Wednesday Field Trips will depart at 8:30AM from Norton Residence Hall’s Parking Lot (
Not the Ramsey Center)

FT. 1    Blue Ridge Grassland Communities w/ Gary Kauffman
FT. 2    Black Balsam Knob Cloud Community w/ Randy Burroughs
FT. 3    Kayaking the Little TN River w/ Peter Loos, Dawn Sherry & Brent Martin
FT. 4    Green with Envy: Moss Landscaping w/ Mossin' Annie
FT. 5    Whiteside Mountain – w/ Jeff Zahner
FT. 6    Design Inspiration in Panthertown Valley w/ Preston Montague
FT. 7     High Elevation Grass Bald Ecology Hike w/ Geoffrey Neal
FT. 8    Mosses of the Blue Ridge Parkway w/ Robert Wyatt & Anne Stoneburner
FT. 9    Panthertown Valley Ethnobotanical Tour w/ David Cozzo & Adam Bigelow
FT. 10   Big Ridge Preserve and Amazing Grace Properties, LLC w/ Ron Lance
FT. 11   Southern Highlands Reserve w/ Kelly Holbrooks & Eric Kimbrel
FT. 12   Highlands Botanical Garden w/ Sonya Carpenter
FT. 13   Botanizing on the Blue Ridge Parkway w/ Adam Black & George Morris
FT. 14   Sam's Knob Valley & Flat Laurel Creek w/ Laurie Lawson & Owen Carson

Wednesday Full -Day Workshops

W 1: Working with Cast Stone and Botanical Imprints with Jeff Jackson – Camp Bldg. Rm 134
W 2: Wild Herb Tea & Herbal Syrup Workshop w/ April Punsalan – WCU Picnic Area
W 3: Botanical Illustration Workshop w/ Amy Tipton – Camp Bldg. Rm 143
W 4: Gardening for the Planet: Native Pollinators, Native Plants, No Pesticides w/ Brannen Basham & Jill Jacobs – Camp Bldg. Rm 139

WEDNESDAY EVENING
5:30pm – 6:45pm         Dinner at Ramsey Center Ramsey Concourse (Level 3)
7:00pm – 7:30pm         First Timers Session - Main Stage
7:30pm – 7:45pm         Break
7:45pm - 8:00pm         Welcome - Main Stage
8:00pm – 9:00pm        Social Media’s Role in the Native Plant Movement (Panel) - Main Stage

THURSDAY

7:00am – 8:00am        Breakfast - Ramsey Concourse
8:30am – 9:30am         Vendor Walk - Arena Floor
9:30am- 9:45am           Welcome - Main Stage
9:45am – 10:45am        Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina - Three lifetimes of experience under one cover w/ Patrick McMillan and Richard Porcher - (Main Stage)
10:45am – 11:00am      Break - Arena Floor
11:00am – 12:00pm      Why the Southern Forest’s Deep Past is North America’s Future w/ Bill Finch - Main Stage
12:00pm – 1:15pm         Lunch - Ramsey Concourse
1:30pm – 2:30pm          Beauty of the Wild w/ Darrel Morrison - Main Stage
2:30pm – 2:45pm          Break
2:45pm – 3:45pm           Concurrent Session 1 - Various Locations
4:00p.m. - 5:00p.m.      Concurrent Sessions 2 -Various Locations

Thursday Evening
5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Plant and Book Sales - Ramsey Arena Floor
5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Dinner-  Ramsey Concourse
6:45 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Book and Plant Sales- Ramsey Arena floor
Special Evening Presentation
7:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Moths and our Native Flora with Lenny Lampel - Main Stage
9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Networking - Norton Hall

FRIDAY 

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Breakfast - Ramsey Concourse
7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Conference Check-in/On-site - Ramsey Arena Entrance

8 a.m. - Noon - Half-day Field Trips - Buses Depart from Backside of Ramsey/Handicapped Entrance Concourse Level
FT1 Pitillo Family Preserve with Dan Pitillo
FT2 Slow Sauntering at Pinnacle Park with Nadine Phillips
FT3 Vertical Bog with Adam Bigelow
FT4 Birding Cullowhee with Dawn Sherry and Tom Tribble

8 a.m. - Noon - Half-day Workshops
W1 Native Plant Propagation, Theory & Practice with Emily Driskill - Concourse Area N
W2 Cultivate Your Writing with Margot Lester - Cordelia Camp Building room 141
W3 Sustainable Landscaping with Laura Lee Rose - Main Stage
W4 Make More Plants in Your Own Backyard! with Gail Barton - Concourse Area D
W5 Introduction to Graminoid Identification with Scott Ward - Cordelia Camp Building room 139

8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. Half-day Campus Walks
All walks will depart from the Ramsey Center Arena Floor in front of the Book Vendor.
8:30 a.m. Walk #1 Campus Tree Walk with Geoffrey Neal
8:30 a.m. Walk #2 Cullowhee Creek Stream Restoration with George Morris
8:30 a.m. Walk #3 Woody Ethnobotny Walk with Marc Williams
8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. Exploring and Networking on your own, Plant & Book Sales

Afternoon
Noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch - Concourse Area
Noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch ‘n’ Learn, Investigating Cultural Management of Rivercane in Riparian Restoration with Alyssa Quan - Concourse Area N
1:00 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. Book and Plant Sales - Arena Floor/Vendor Area
1:00 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. Poster Session - Arena Floor
1:40 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Announcements - Main Stage
1:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Tom Dodd Jr. Award - Main Stage
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. “Venus Flytrap Champions” - Engaging Landowners to Protect Rare Species on their Land with Julie Moore - Main Stage
3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. How Louisiana Created an Inspirational Certified Habitat Program with Tammany Baumgarten & Phyllis Griffard - Main Stage
Evening
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Book and Plant Sales - Ramsey Arena Floor
5:00 p.m. Silent Auction Closes
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Picnic Dinner - WCU Picnic Area
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Talent Show - WCU Picnic Area
8:30 p.m. - Midnight Music/Dancing - WCU Picnic Area
9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Moth Watch with Lenny Lampel - WCU Picnic Area

SATURDAY

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Breakfast - Ramsey Concourse
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Plants of Promise - Main Stage
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Book and Plant Sales - Ramsey Arena Floor
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Restoring a Historic Wetland: Bowyer farm with Brian Jorg - Main Stage
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Final Plant and Book Sales - Ramsey Arena Floor
11:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Break
11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Common and Not So Common Natives for the Home Landscape with Mike Berkley - Main Stage
1:00 p.m. - Conference Closes

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