ELA Board and Staff at the 2024 Ecological Plant Conference
ELA enthusiasts enjoyed three fall conferences this season – from the Ecological Plant Conference at Wave Hill (Bronx, New York) on October 25 to the Season’s End Summit at Community Harvest Project (Grafton, Massachusetts) on December 5. Nine speakers across three states shared their expertise and enthusiasm with both in-person and virtual attendees during three full days this fall. Attendees at Wave Hill also participated in garden tours led by Wave Hill’s incredible horticulture staff, including Director of Horticulture Cathy Deutsch. Thanks to everyone who helped plan and execute each conference, all of our sponsors, and many of you for attending!
The Ecological Plant Conference
It was a beautiful, bright sunny day for the 2024 Ecological Plant Conference at Wave Hill, perfect for overlooking the Hudson River. Ethan Dropkin of LWLA started the program with a presentation about native annuals and short-lived perennials, bringing a fresh perspective to plants that are often labeled as “weeds,” such as spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculata) which can be used in tough soil conditions as a weed suppressive groundcover or even a “spiller” in a pot!
Our speakers, Tama Wong, “forager” and “weed eater” of Meadows and More spoke about the benefits of foraging and why wild foods are more nutritious than cultivated crops based on chemistry and environmental conditions: Wild plants that are stressed are healthier!
Arden Pontasch from NorthCreek Nurseries discussed the methodology of NorthCreek’s plant trials along with results sharing a list of native plants that will stand the test of time.
Evan Abramson of Landscape Interactions presented Landscape Interaction’s Hudson River Estuary Watershed project, restoring natural lands with an emphasis on biodiversity of local native riparian species and insects.
Lastly, in-person conference participants were treated to a tour of Wave HIll after a delicious lunch. Horticultural staff guided the tours, visiting all of Wave Hill’s gardens, including the Wild Garden, Herb Garden, Aquatic and Monocot Gardens, visiting and meeting each unique garden’s horticulturalists to learn about the history of the spaces and current stewardship.
Regenerative Solutions for Resilient Landscapes
The 10th annual R & R conference was held on November 14 at the Delaware Center for Horticulture in Wilmington, Delaware. Attendees came from PA, NY, VA, MA, and DE. We heard from four speakers, enjoyed a great lunch, had time to talk with colleagues and friends, and enjoyed the gardens around DCH.
This year, the conference planning committee decided to pause on what has become known as the R & R conference and dig into the full title, Regenerative Solutions for Resilient Landscapes. Each of the four speakers related to this theme. Eva Monheim, Kelly Gutshall, Adam Welz, and Kesha Braunskill each gave us something to consider and take back to our communities to continue the conversation.
We heard about creating landscape resiliency by restoring riparian wetlands, the challenges of dealing with legacy sediments, and the value to wildlife and humans by terraforming the land (and streams) back to historical floodplain levels, allowing plant communities to repopulate and water to flow as nature designed. This restoration regenerates ecosystem services, stacking benefits for nature and humans.
We heard stories of ecosystems in peril, pushed beyond their limits by climate change. Climate-fueled disruptions are happening on our planet where plant and animal life are unable to repopulate back to historic levels due to the “new normal” conditions associated with climate change. Climate change (aka climate breakdown) continues to wreak havoc on our landscapes, both wild and built. How will we adapt? How will wild nature adapt? This “big picture” concept is sometimes hard to grasp, but each garden matters and each community matters in the fight to save biodiversity on this planet.
We heard about Green Infrastructure programs administered by the USDA Forest Service. The Urban Community Forest (UCF) program provides financial and technical assistance to state foresters and national groups doing great work to reforest our communities.
We, as participants in the day, were taking time to regenerate and recharge by engaging with our colleagues to learn and discuss new and challenging ideas; in that way, we were feeding our own resiliency.
Season’s End Summit
Snow greeted us on the morning of December 5th in Grafton, MA, but it did little to dampen the spirit of the conference. Both speakers and attendees of the conference arrived in boots and coats ready for a great day of presentations and camaraderie. This year’s Summit was located at the Brigham Hill Community Farm which hosts the Community Harvest Project. This site produces fresh food for the Worcester Food Bank. Thanks for a great opportunity for us to show off their work.
We had five speakers on the theme of gardening for life including Nicholas Anderson, Rachel Lindsay, Tovah Martin, Robert Gegear and Michael Piantedosi. All provided excellent insights into landscapes, gardens, soils and seeds to benefit the life around us. Each speaker initiated thoughts and discussion of what it looks like to bring native plants into different settings – city, suburb and wilder lands – how our work can support the rare and not-so-rare species find the resources that they need to survive in different places. We were reminded that although our work can be challenging, there is more to do and more we can do to help all aspects of the habitats we live in. Great questions and discussions ensued and new insights were shared among the speakers and guests, all adding to the work we do each year.
Thanks to our sponsors for the conferences – Pleasant Run Nursery, New Moon Nursery, Izel Native Plants, and Pinelands Nursery & Supply at the Regenerative Solutions for Resilient Landscapes conference in Delaware. Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Black Earth Compost and NatureWorks Landscape Services at the Season’s End Summit in Massachusetts.
We look forward to another round of local conferences in 2025. IF you have any interest in helping us to plan and carry out any of these conferences in your area, please reach out to Education@ecolandscaping.org. There are many opportunities to present, plan, and host speakers 
for your local region!
