Beyond the backyard: Native Planting for public Landscapes

On June 7th, Keep Durham Beautiful and New Hope Audubon Society hosted a day-long forum focused on the use of native plants in public-facing and large-format landscapes.

A panel of experts addressed how public spaces can be redesigned to allow native species to thrive and why this practice can increase biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with smart operational cost considerations.

The forum was targeted toward landscape professionals, owners and managers of public-facing and large-format landscapes in the Triangle area.

Agenda

8:00 Check in

9-9:30 Introductory remarks

9:45-10:45 Panel 1: making the case for native plants in public places

  • Barbara Driscoll, New Hope Audubon Society Bird-Friendly Habitats

  • Michael Dupree, Owner of Feather Village Farms & Services

  • Gabriela Garrison, Eastern Piedmont Habitat Conservation Coordinator at NC Wildlife Resources Commission

  • Neal Wisenbaker, Horticulturist for the City of Raleigh

  • Moderator: Preston Montague, Founder of Preston Montague Studio

10:45-11 Break

11-12 Panel 2: CASE STUDIES: large scale sites

  • Nick Adams, Land Stewardship Manager (West) at Triangle Land Conservancy

  • David Hoffman, COO of Hoffman Nursery

  • Jeff Masten and Heidi Hannapel, Co-founders and Co-directors of Bluestem Conservation Cemetery

  • Kaitlin Hartman, Environmental Compliance Manager at Environmental Protection Agency

  • Moderator: Daniel Stern, Director of Horticulture at the NC Botanical Garden

12-1:30 LUNCH & Onsite Tours & Networking

1:30-2:30 Panel 3: CASE STUDIES: small scale sites

  • Ben Bergmann, Horticulturist for the City of Durham

  • Jared Carter, Principal Scientist at Syngenta

  • Annabel Renwick, Curator of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at Duke Gardens

  • David Dean, Agile Project Manager at IBM

  • Moderator: Ashley Troth, Horticulture Agent at Durham County Cooperative Extension

2:30-2:45 Break

2:45-3:15 Featured Speaker 1

  • Basil Camu, Wizard of Things at Leaf & Limb

3:15-3:45 Feature Speaker 2

  • Johnny Randall, Director of Conservation at NC Botanical Garden

3:45-4:00 Concluding remarks & Closing call to action

4:00-4:30 Activity: Evaluation, Planning, Needs

  • Mentorship mapping with feedback opportunities and time for questions.

5:00 depart