Native Plant Trust, the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants, will present the symposium Native Plants and Climate Change, Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Featuring speakers from across New England, the symposium will examine current climate change patterns and their implications for the future of the region’s plant life, factors for building climate resilience, and how key players can make resilience possible.
“We will start with a big-picture conversation about ‘where we’re at’ in New England regarding climate change,” says Bess Paupeck, Director of Public Programs at Native Plant Trust. “The second hour will be dedicated more directly to how and why native plants are essential to the climate change conversation. The final hour will focus even more directly on ‘your own backyard’ vis a vis engaging with native plants.”
Register at: https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/native-plants-and-climate-change-event
Featured sessions:
10:00 -11:00 a.m. CLIMATE CHANGE AND NEW ENGLAND
Dr. Elizabeth Burakowski, Research Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space
Climate in the northeastern United States has shifted remarkably over the past few decades, with notable impacts on ecosystems and society. Trends include warmer and shorter winters, fewer days with continuous snow cover, changes in leaf-out dates and chilling periods, and dramatic swings in precipitation and drought. How will the climate choices we make today affect native plants in the future? This talk will provide an overview of climate trends past and future, based on historical observations and future climate model projections.
Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Burakowski is Research Faculty at the Institute for the Study of Earth Oceans and Space at University of New Hampshire. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Earth Sciences. Dr. Burakowski earned her Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Science in 2013, studying the climate impacts of deforestation in the northeastern United States. She has co-authored over two dozen publications on New England climate change, including the 2021 New Hampshire Climate Assessment. Dr. Burakowski is an avid perennial and vegetable gardener and enjoys eliminating invasive plants in her yard for sport.
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. NEW ENGLAND PLANTS IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture, Native Plant Trust
With no place on earth directly or indirectly untouched by human activity, what role do our native plants play in this uncertain future? Biodiversity has been shown to be the key to ecosystem resilience and designed spaces like gardens have an increasing impact on local and regional ecosystems. Uli will discuss how the use of regionally appropriate, genetically diverse native plants offer crucial resources for humans and wildlife alike.
UIi Lorimer is the Director of Horticulture for Native Plant Trust. He oversees the facilities and operations at Garden in the Woods and at Nasami Farm. Uli brings 20 years of experience working with native plants in public gardens with previous positions at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Wave Hill Garden, and the US National Arboretum. He is a tireless advocate for the use of native plants in designed spaces through his public speaking, writing, lectures, and media appearances. Uli feels most grounded with his hands in the soil. His publications include The Northeast Native Plant Primer- 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden (Timber Press.)
12:00-1:00 p.m.
NATIVE PLANTS, YOUR BACKYARD, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Trevor Smith, Design and Education Manager, Weston Nurseries
Trevor Smith will take you past the chilling numbers and the heartbreaking photographs and break out what sorts of things you can actually do about climate change in your own backyard. He will discuss the plant-soil connection, the importance of biodiversity, and overall how native plants help the climate via hydrology, habitat, and restoring carbon cycling.
Trevor Smith is Design and Education Manager at Weston Nurseries in Massachusetts. He holds several landscape certifications and is a past president and a current Trustee of the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Trevor is an award-winning regenerative landscape designer, specializing in green infrastructure, native plant design, habitat creation, and implementation of ecological design principles. He is passionate about the natural world which inspires his commitment to sustainable landscaping practices in an era of climate change.
Native Plant Trust is the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants. We save native plants in the wild, grow them for gardens and restorations, and educate others on their value and use. We are based at Garden in the Woods, a renowned native plant botanic garden that attracts visitors from all over the world. From this flagship property in Framingham, Massachusetts, 30 staff and many of our 2,000 trained volunteers work throughout New England each year to monitor and protect rare and endangered plants, collect and preserve seeds to ensure biological diversity, detect and control invasive species, conduct research, and offer a range of educational programs. Native Plant Trust also operates a nursery at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts and manages six sanctuaries in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont that are open to the public. Native Plant Trust is among the first organizations worldwide to receive Advanced Conservation Practitioner accreditation by London-based Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), which included an endorsement by an International Advisory Council representing six continents. www.NativePlantTrust.org.