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.