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Event
Spring Conference of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey
Come join us for our Spring Conference at Medford Leas. We have some wonderful speakers lined up that will inform, educate, and entertain you throughout the day. Lunch will be served and for those of you that remember last Spring we will have the same caterers this year. If you missed last year, the lunch alone is worth the price of admission.
Our line up this year will be:
Heather Holm:
Bees
Her presentation will cover the life cycles, habitats, diet, foraging behaviors, nesting lifestyles, seasonality, and preferred native forage plants including specialist relationships of common genera of native bees occurring in New Jersey. The pollination of native plants and the mutualism between plants and bees is also highlighted. Heather will cover the presentation of floral resources and how the physical characteristics of bees can influence the bees effectiveness as pollinators.
Heather Holm is a horticulturist and biologist by training, as well as a writer, designer, and a publisher. In addition to taking part in native bee research projects, she informs and educates audiences in the Midwest and Northeast, through her writing and many presentations, about the fascinating world of native bees and the native plants that support them.
Heathers new book, Bees, An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide will be available for purchase and Heather will be available for book signing during the breaks between speakers. Sale price for the books is $25.00 and all forms of payment will be accepted.
Jared Rosenbaum:
Return to the Hypsithermal
Native Grasses, Restoration, and Carbon in New Jersey
What place do grasslands and other open habitats have in the past and future ecology of New Jersey, an area with forest as its dominant natural land cover? Jared Rosenbaum of Wild Ridge Plants will explore natural occurrences of native grasslands, as well as their restoration potential and carbon sequestration ability. We'll travel from the hypsithermal to the future, from coastal dunes to Highlands ridgelines, in this exploration of non-forest native habitats and the plant species that comprise them.
Jared Rosenbaum is a botanist, native plant grower, and ecological restoration practitioner. He is the co-owner of Wild Ridge Plants, LLC a family business that grows native plants sustainably, from locally collected wild seeds. Jared provides consulting services and teaches classes related to native plant ecology, botany, wild edible and medicinal plants, and ecological restoration. Jared is the author of two books on native plants, including The Puddle Garden, a children's book.
Bill Young and Blaine Rothauser:
Think Globally, Restore Locally
Aka The Bill and Blaine Show
Bill Young and Blaine Rothauser, will jointly present on the topic of New Jerseys current bio-ecologic condition - a fancy way of saying the health of its open spaces and the importance of ecosystem services on the human condition. Using their combined 60+ year knowledge as inveterate landscape ecologists they will present the audience with descriptions of recent restoration projects and describe some of the latest techniques involved. The environmental economics of supporting and enhancing biodiversity at every level of the energy pyramid will be explained. Nature takes care of herself. Want to get rid of mosquitoes? Build out the habitat, and the predators will do the restdragonflies, fish, bats, and birds will make a delicious meal out of your problem. Their presentation will emphasize the untapped potential of the backyard land steward that wants to rebuild his/her local foodweb and then scale-up and explain how restoration ecologists eco-engineer greater landscapes to maximize their functioning. Blaine and Bill will spend this hour at full throttle galvanizing the listener to redouble their efforts as native plant stewards to make their backyards and communities Great Again.
Bill Young has over 32 years experience in environmental assessment, planning, management, restoration, and construction. He specializes in restoring degraded lands to public amenity, reuse, and development. Bill has taught Ecology at the University of Pennsylvania for well over a decade and also at City College of New York and Temple University.
Blaine Rothauser is a conservation biologist and Senior Project Manager with GZA GeoEnvironmental with over 26 years of experience in conservation management of natural resources. He was recently the Chairperson of Florham Park Boroughs Environmental Commission and contributed to the boroughs Open Space Master Plan. He is also a natural history writer and accomplished photographer.
Dave Benner:
Gardening in the Shade
Dave will show us how to work with the environment and the importance of using native plants as alternatives to grass lawns. He will also cover the best methods to control deer damage and other wildlife problems. We will learn many new ways to create a natural landscape with practically no maintenance. Imagine a shade garden with moss lawns and no grass for over 40 years! Then add established beds of groundcovers, wildflowers, shrubs, ferns, vines, trees, and spring bulbs, all blooming in May.
Dave Benner taught as a professor of Ornamental Horticulture at Delaware Valley College for 22 years. He studied Horticulture at Penn State University, and worked as the Resident Botanist for Bowmans Hill Wildflower Preserve for a decade before his professorship and continues his work at Bowmans Hill as a Botanical Consultant today. Mr. Benner was a pioneer in developing the moss lawn concept and his property has been featured in numerous publications; Architectural Digest, Brooklyn Botanic Garden Booklet The Natural Lawn, and House and Garden Magazine to name a few. He founded Benners Gardens Inc in 1992 with his son Alan, who also went on to start Moss Acres, a retail source for various mosses in 2002.
As in the past, we will have a native plant sale with all proceeds going to the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. This is another opportunity to increase the biodiversity in your landscaping as well as supporting our wonderful organization. .
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LocationTheater in the Arts and Social Wing of Medford Leas (View)
One Medford Leas Way
Medford , NJ 08055
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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