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BUILDING A LAND ETHIC WITH NATIVE LANDSCAPING
College of Lake County – Building C
Saturday, November 14th 2015
8:00 am ? Doors Open, Registration, Coffee, Exhibitor Showroom, Book Store, Raffle
8:45 am ? Welcome
9:00 am ? 10:15 am – Keynote Speaker: Steve Swenson ? Aldo Leopold?s Land Ethic: The Product of Perspective??Aldo Leopold’s?A Sand County Almanac is one of the most celebrated books on conservation. ?This masterpiece beautifully captures the richness and complexity of nature, but most importantly, our relationship to it – the land ethic. ?In the forward Leopold wrote, “When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect” ?Powerfully, the essay “Thinking Like a Mountain” humbly bares how Leopold’s own land ethic evolved with perspective. ?Today, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, established by Aldo and Estella’s five children, fosters the land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. ?Steve will share Aldo Leopold’s life story, writings and the foundation’s initiatives designed to broaden perspectives and grow the land ethic.
10:30 am ? 11:45 pm ? Speaker: Benjamin Vogt ? The Ethics of 21st Century Gardening ?In a time of climate change, habitat loss and extinction, how we landscape public and private gardens reflects our cultural and personal values. ?Will we leave a legacy of resilient biodiversity to future generations, helping as many plant and animal species adapt as possible, or will we continue to privilege our immediate desires in the natural world, choosing exotic plants that are pretty to us but have no evolutionary history with local wildlife? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gardening selflessly for all life is the first step toward being empowered and an agent of positive change. As we deal both psychologically and physically with shifting climates and vanishing species, gardening with native plants will help us work through the five stages of environmental grief that make us feel overwhelmed, angry, saddened, but then ultimately liberated to care for our homes in profoundly deep ways. ?We can have gardens that are both gorgeous to us and to wildlife above and below the soil line – all it takes is a little bit of knowledge, humility and passion, to rethink pretty.
11:45 am ? 12:45pm ? Buffet Lunch, Exhibitor Showroom, Book Store and Raffle
12:45 pm? 2:00 pm ? Speaker: Heather Holm ? Attracting Bees & Beneficial Insects with Native Plants??Most insects have a positive impact in our landscapes. ?Native plants can be selected to attract specific bees and beneficial insects including predatory and parasitic wasps, beetles, flies, true bugs and lacewings. ?Learn about the predator-prey relationships of these flower-visiting beneficial insects and how they help keep problem insect populations in balance. ?The life cycles, diversity and nesting habitat of native bees will also be covered along with examples of native plants for different site conditions.
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm – Speaker: Jean Foley –?Native Pollinator Monitoring at Somme Prairie Nature Preserve ?Jean will share her practicum research from the 2015 growing season tracking native bee species and which plants they are pollinating. ?She will share which native plants observed were attracting diverse pollinators, and how we can incorporate these critical insect habitat-providers into our own native plantings.
2:15 pm? 2:30 pm ? Dessert Table, Exhibitors Showroom, Book Store, Organic Farmers Market and Raffle Drawing at 2:15 pm
2:30 pm ? 3:30 pm? Concurrent education sessions, you may choose one:
Ken Klick ? Key Invasives to Know and Control ??This session will review both the control strategies for key invasive weeds we are battling, and explore the new, “emerging” weeds that are up and coming concerns. ?Ken will share information about the Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN) and the New Invaders Watch Program, as well as discuss the strategies being used locally by the District in their land management efforts. ?No matter whether a homeowner is battling buckthorn or a volunteer steward seeking to know more as a citizen scientist, this session will share both practical invasive control methods and information about emerging threats to target-before they become bigger weed problems.
Corrine Daniels ?Lessons Learned – Get the Biggest Eco-Bang for Your Buck??This session is a discussion of lessons learned over 20 years of using natives in the restoration and landscape setting. Topics include what to pay for and what not to pay for, selecting the best seed and plant material for your dollar, considerations in the face of climate change, and ensuring Neonicotinoid-free plants.
