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Featuring Native Plants in Your Landscape

ELA’s Native Plant Tours are an enjoyable way to see native plants in all kinds of landscapes – urban to rural. Hosts generously share their gardens for a few hours, but they also share invaluable lessons they’ve learned about incorporating natives into their landscapes. Two former hosts share how they became interested in native plants and their insights into use of native plants in home landscapes.

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Pioneering Higher Ground: Green Roof Lessons for Planting Design

by Laura Hansplant

While a green roof planted with a carpet of sedum will manage stormwater efficiently, a design that incorporates more sophisticated habitat structure and diverse native species will increase habitat value and overall resilience. Observations from successful plantings in extreme conditions also translate into lessons for resilience for on-ground landscapes.

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“Every parcel has promise”- Restoration in the Urban Habitat

by Miho Connolly

The Challenges of Restoring Urban Native Habitat, presented by Dr. Steven Handel at the 25th Annual ELA Conference, centered around a modern reality: with population growth and the spread of urban areas, cities have become a new and important habitat type. While many might consider cities to be ecologically sterile sources of environmental problems, Handel sees environmental opportunity.

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Documenting the Spontaneous Flora of New York City with EcoFlora

by David Atha and Brian Boom

The New York Botanical Garden is documenting the flora of New York City using all available tools from traditional botanical techniques to modern technology and broad community participation. The goals of the project: document the spontaneous flora of NYC, enhance botanical and ecological understanding, and conserve the native biodiversity.

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Book Cover - Designer's Mind 

Book Review: Cultivating the Designer’s Mind

Written by Walter Cudnohufsky with Mollie Babize

Reviewed by Trevor Buckley and Emily Davis

Cultivating the Designer’s Mind: Principles and Process for Coherent Landscape Design, readers will find a window into the mind of Walter Cudnohufsky, founder of the Conway School of Landscape Design and a visionary educator in design and planning. Accompanied by co-author Mollie Babize, a Conway alum and former administrator of the graduate program, Cudnohufsky presents an ably written and accessible book that demystifies the sometimes elusive design process and espouses a democratic design ethos. Through the lenses of landscape and ecology, they lay out a vision for applying a deliberative and compassionate mode of design-thinking to our complex and frenetic world.

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