Ecological Landscape Alliance

Featured Events

Webinar: Why Rain Gardens Fail and Tools for Success

Wed, September 23 @ 12:00 pm EDT - 1:00 pm EDT

With appropriate planning, design, construction, and maintenance, rain gardens, bio-swales, and other stormwater treatment workhorses can be an artistic part of our landscapes, gardens, streetscapes, and public spaces.

Mon, September 28 @ 12:00 pm EDT - 1:00 pm EDT

This webinar covers a broad range of topics, including regenerative design, green infrastructure, adaptive strategies in the face of climate change, the importance of maintaining your own health and well being, and ways to challenge the norms in pursuit of authentic results.

Wed, October 7 @ 12:00 pm EDT - 1:00 pm EDT

Discover the important ecological role of ferns in the landscape and how they are affected by mammal populations and soil conditions.

Sat, October 17 @ 10:00 am EDT - 2:00 pm EDT

Learn how to grow native plants from seed and why the skill is relevant in a horticultural context.

Wed, October 21 @ 12:00 pm EDT - 1:00 pm EDT

This presentation offers a glimpse into the rich species diversity that comes from establishing a meadow and making the right choices from design through maintenance.

2020 Season’s End Summit: Healing the Earth That We Steward

Wed, October 28 @ 9:00 am EDT - 5:00 pm EDT

Join us at this year's Season's End Summit for refreshing perspectives and inspiring discussions of the healing landscape tools that empower us to be part of the solution as we look ahead to future seasons of stewardship.

Fri, November 6 @ 10:30 am EST - 12:30 pm EST

This class will cover a brief history of climate change and address carbon and hydrological cycles, the earth’s heating and cooling systems.

Event calendar

Featured Articles

Reducing Invasive Plants and Recovering a Healthy Plant Community

By Ellen Snyder

In southeastern New Hampshire, where I work with landowners and communities on land stewardship, managing invasive plants is a constant struggle. As the Land Stewardship Coordinator for the Town of Durham, I’m guiding three restoration projects on town conservation land. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of invasive plants on all three properties. To avoid invasive paralysis, I keep my focus on the goal: restoration of a place to a mostly self-sustaining, healthy plant community. The reward is a restored landscape brimming with native plants and native beneficial insects.

Dodder, a Parasitic Vine Weed

By Bruce Wenning

Not all plant diseases are caused by parasitic microbes, some are caused by parasitic weeds. The dodder vine is one of those weeds. Dodder attaches itself to healthy plants and makes them more vulnerable to other diseases and insect pests. Find out all about the dodder lifecycle and best practices for ridding your landscape of this fascinating but noxious vine.

How to Identify and Respond to Pests at Home

By Emily May

One of the most fulfilling aspects of spending most of my time at home over the past few months has been watching the flowers in my yard blossom and buzz with bees, flies, butterflies, hummingbirds, and more. I also notice when things go awry, like when I spotted deformed flower heads on my bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) and later on my purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). What was going on and what could I do about it without the use of harmful pesticides which pose risk to both humans and insects alike.

Carpenter Bees at Work in Home and Garden

By Karen Boussolini

Bees are smart. They recognize high-quality food and habitat. The buzz has gone out that my house is a happening place for carpenter bees. In a quest to rid my house of carpenter bees, understand their life cycle, and find alternatives that don’t involve them eating my house I discovered some simple steps to save both my house and these gentle beneficial insects.

Alexandra Botanic Gardens of Wellesley College: Sheet Mulching Update

By Tricia Diggins

Ten years ago I wrote an article about sheet mulching that highlighted a project in the Alexandra Botanic Gardens of Wellesley College. It was so interesting to revisit the project ten years later and to see if the sheet mulching solution stood the test of time and kept the turfgrass at bay. One of the unexpected benefits of smothering the turfgrass was that it allowed native plants to naturally form a thriving plant community.

View More Articles

Join Our Community

Our Members Include

Landscape Professionals
Horticulturalists
Growers and Manufacturers
Conservationists
Restoration Ecologists
Wetland Scientists
Community Activists
Home Gardeners

Benefits

Company Membership

Professional Membership

Student/ Community Membership

Free Webinars

Discounted Events

4 people

1 person

Access to Member-only Content

Membership Directory Listing

Find an Eco-Pro Listing

Speakers Bureau Listing

Company Featured in Newsletter

Discounts on ELA Advertising

Get Started

Join Today

Conferences

ELA’s one- and two-day regional conferences offer cutting-edge knowledge, useful information, CEU’s, and invaluable opportunities for engagement with fellow professionals. Conference sponsors present their ecologically-focused products and services while supporting ecological education.

View Conferences

Webinars

“A Focus on Sustainability” is an interactive webinar series geared to the needs of landscape professionals and gardeners. Experts from across the country present a wide range of topics relevant to sustainability. Webinars are developed in collaboration with several like-minded, ecologically-focused organizations that also provide regional education programs.

View Webinars

Classes, Eco-Tours & Workshops

ELA programming offers classes, tours, and hands-on workshops to expand your skills from design and soil management to incorporating edibles and managing rainwater.

View Events

Introducing ELA

Featured Sponsors

Sponsor an Event

Exhibit at a Conference

Advertise with ELA

Just want to say again how very much I appreciate the “Walk in the Garden” series. The quality of your programs is tops! A “Walk in the Garden” is so much more than a series of slideshows. It is a celebration of how all life is connected. It is great to have this positive reminder amidst the scarier reminders!

K.R. Watkins

Can I just say I have enjoyed all the lectures, conferences, classes and tours put on by ELA. You are doing a fabulous job. Thank you so much for all the work you put into this really incredible resource.

Georgia H

I loved the Roy Diblik design workshop. Educational, hands on and inspirational. Great job!

Ruth R

I am really enjoying all the webinars that the Ecological Landscape Alliance is offering. Thank you so much for organizing them and making them available for FREE! I spread the news about them on my Constant Contact page for the NJ Native Plant Society.

Susan H.

I want to thank you and ELA for having such a wonderful speaker [Heather Holm] talk about our native bees and plant partners. It was fantastic. Great photos.

Virginia K.

Thanks - another great webcast. For those of us living too far away to take advantage of other ELA offerings, your webinars are eagerly awaited. I teach classes at the NC Arboretum, and always tell my students about them.

Nina S, Hidden Road Landscape Design

"I just returned from visiting the Celebrating Natives gardens in Concord and Lincoln. They were so interesting and the homeowners answered any questions we had. Please do this again. It is a wonderful way to spread the word on ecological gardening. Thanks."

C. Mandler ELA Newsletter Subscriber and Tour Attendee

I thoroughly enjoy being a member of ELA. In fact, I get the most out of my membership from your organization than from any other professional organization I belong to. Your educational opportunities are fantastic, I have enjoyed every webinar I've ever attended, and your newsletter is always informative and helps me do my work. Thank you!

Nancy H. Little Eden Gardens

Fantastic! So many delicious offerings so well organized, so much energy, so many smiles! And just think of the abundance of skills, knowledge, deepened friendships, new connections, and inspired energy now out there, put to service, and passed on to still others! An astounding event! Hooray for everyone on the Conference Committee!

Cindy G, Landscape Designer

I just wanted to let you know I thought the conference was fantastic. It was so informative and the speakers where great! Thanks so much.

Kim H. Kim Hoyt Architect & Landscape Architect P.C.

I am an avid consumer of your web information and webinars. Keep up the excellent work!

Judy P. Connecticut Sea Grant

I wanted to thank you for an excellent Walk in the Garden series. The webinars were all-around professional, fact-filled, and pertinent presentations. I've learned a lot and am inspired to implement some changes!

Margaret R.

I especially enjoyed the Conference and felt like I learned quite a bit. I plan to make attending an annual event, either for me or one of my work colleagues.

Michele A.

I learned so much from David Seiter’s webinar. I love the scientific approach and thinking differently about some plant species in terms of services, design, interaction with people, etc. Thank you!

Missy F

Thank you everyone for the energy you put into ELA. These programs shine from your involvement, expertise, and love of nature. I’m excited for what the next year will bring.

Mark H.

Thanks so much for organizing a great informative Mid-Atlantic conference. The speakers were all excellent and very enlightening, I came away with lots of new knowledge. I also enjoyed meeting and networking with lots of like minded professionals.

Mark E. MSE Landscape Associates, LLC

Laura and I were just talking about how much we get from all of the ELA events and webinars…. The good "vibes" abound at ELA events.

John K, Land Design Inc.

The whole day on soils was particularly educational. I really liked the on-topic, varied discussions.

Erica B.

I met and made new friends with great topics to discuss.

Timothy M.

You do a wonderful job with your newsletters. Everything might as well be a MUST Do with the way you present the programs. We appreciate your dedication to doing a good job, and are most impressed with ELA.

Ginny S. Talbot Ecological Land Care

I really love ELA. Can't believe I only discovered y'all last year!

Laura B

Thank you for a full day’s worth of insightful material! Thank you for organizing this great event every year.

Karen C.

Speakers were very good, but meeting landscapers at the talks & in the lobby was best.

Cathy B.

Thank you Penny for making this delightful series available to members of the GCFM. [A Walk in the Garden webinars] have been one of my favorite hours each week this springtime. The speakers have been top notch subject experts who have excellent teaching skills to boot. Their photo presentations have been beautiful and informative. All around an excellent series!

Linda N

Top navigation

Navigation

Advocating for Responsible Stewardship