Announcing the 4th Celebrate Native Plants Tour!
Showcase your native plant garden during ELA’s Fourth Annual Celebrating Native Plants Garden Tour. Whether it’s a garden you’ve nurtured and maintained over decades, or a newly installed garden at your own or a client’s property, ELA invites you to share your passion for native plants on Saturday afternoon June 13. Registered guests will visit gardens around Massachusetts to share, discuss, and discover the beauty and ecosystem value of native plants. Take advantage of this opportunity to inspire greater use of native plants.
Learn the details and add your garden to the growing list.
Start Sorting Your Photos!
Today begins ELA’s third Spotlight on Natives Photo Contest. Entries will be accepted between now and May 31 at 5:00pm. Share your photos of native plants, whether individual specimen or in garden settings. First Prize Winners receive a one-year ELA Professional Membership. Photographers receiving Honorable Recognition will earn $50 credit toward purchases at the ELA Bookstore. Winners will be announced in June. Find all the details here.
Conference Thank-yous
ELA’s 2020 Conference & Eco-Marketplace held March 4 & 5 already feels eons ago. It was our largest conference yet and a great success thanks to the efforts of many. We appreciate all the volunteers, presenters, sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees who contributed their time and enthusiasm. We offer special thanks to the Conference Committee, which works year round to produce a stellar event. Special recognition goes to Dan Jaffe for spearheading a very popular seed exchange.
Irene Brady Barber ~ Willow Cheeley ~ Mark Highland ~ Dan Jaffe
Penny Lewis (Chair) ~ Rie Macchiarolo ~ Kerry O’Kelly ~ Trevor Smith
Maureen Sundberg ~ Angela Tanner ~ Bob Walsh
We also recognize the Membership Committee for a successful roll out of our first Conference Student Scholarship Program: Heather Heimarck, Rie Macchiarolo, Kerry O’Kelly, Mark Richardson, Amanda Sloan, and Julie Snell.
Many thanks to our Conference Sponsors:
Compostwerks! ~ OESCO ~ Planters’ Choice Nurseries
Plant ID Quiz Winners
Congratulations to Michele Chalice and Oakley Payne-Meyer, the winners of the Winter Plant Identification Quiz at the March Conference. The entrant each day with the most correct answers received a Professional Membership for the year.
Wondering how you did on the Quiz? You can check your answers here.
Great Seeing You on the Big Screen
Thank you to all the ELA members at the conference who took time to send in a member profile for display during lunch. It was fun looking for you, and we hope the profiles helped you connect with some new people!
Events Update
National Green Infrastructure Certification Program
The class scheduled for Gardiner, ME later this month has been postponed until November 9-13.
New Classes and Eco-Tours
In order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, spring classes will not meet in person until further notice. In the interim, classes will be conducted as live webinars. At this time, Eco-tours, which take place outside, will continue as planned.
Find all ELA’s upcoming events on the Events page of our website.
March 18: Let Us Hear from You
Stuck at home but have ideas for programs ELA should offer? Give ELA a call during volunteer virtual coffee on the third Wednesday of the month any time between 12:30 and 1:00 to share your ideas. To receive the call-in number, email: ela_new @verizon.net.
