Given all of these ecological services, trees are a central part of organic landscaping, and they are being celebrated as such in the 2011 NOFA Organic Land Care Annual Gathering. Early bird registration has been extended until November 22 and arborists, landscapers, naturalists and all kinds of tree-enthusiasts are welcome to attend.
The line up:
Keynote: Tom Wessels
"Foundational Principles of Sustainability"
For 3.5 billion years life has not only sustained itself, but has
thrived on this planet. To create sustainable systems we don’t need to
reinvent the wheel, we only need to embrace the foundational scientific
principles that govern sustainability in all living systems. This
presentation covers three of these foundational principles: the law of
limits to growth, the second law of thermodynamics and its relationship
to entropy, and the law of self-organization. Examples of how these laws
work in the natural world will be used to show how they can be applied
to human systems like a community or an economy.
Tom Wessels is an ecologist and founding director of the master’s degree program in
Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England. He is the
current chair of The Center for Whole Communities that fosters inclusive
communities that are strongly rooted in place and where all people have
access to and a healthy relationship with land. He is former chair of
the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation that fosters environmental
leadership through graduate fellowships and organizational grants. He
served as an ecological consultant to the Rain Forest Alliance’s
SmartWood Green Certification Program. Tom has conducted landscape level
workshops throughout the United States for over 30 years. His books
include: Reading the Forested Landscape, The Granite Landscape, Untamed
Vermont, The Myth of Progress, and Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to
Reading the Forested Landscape.
"Tree protection and Defense for Long-Term Landscapes" Kevin Smith, Ph.D. leads a research team at the Northern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service working to determine the role of disease and environmental stress on forest health and productivity as well as the role of forest fungi to maintain forest fertility and biodiversity. Kevin has published more than 90 articles in scientific journals, trade magazines, and book chapters. Kevin is an honorary lifetime member of the New Hampshire Arborist Association and in 2010 received the Award for Excellence in Education from the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.
"Pioneering the Organic Tree Care Trend When Nobody was Listening"
Peter Wild is the founder and CEO of Arborjet Inc., a manufacturer of tree injection systems and medicaments. Wild is also the president and owner of Boston Tree Preservation, an organic-based, proactive tree-care business founded in 1977. Wild developed Soil Solutions, the first completely organic lawn-care program in the Boston area.
Todd Harrington is a true pioneer in organic lawn care having made it his business
since 1987. Todd has proven that organic lawn, tree, and shrub care
works and operates a profitable business near Hartford, Connecticut
called “Harrington’s Organic Land Care.” He is an international
consultant and national organic speaker and trainer who has written
numerous published papers — of which some have been employed as the
basis for legislation. "Designing with Trees: Grouping, Natives and Sustainable Choices"
Diane Devore is a registered Landscape Architect and principal of Devore Associates,
a landscape architectural firm located in Fairfield, Connecticut. Ms.
Devore received her undergraduate degree in Ornamental Horticulture
from Delaware Valley College and her graduate degree in Landscape
Architecture from Cornell University. Devore Associates, now a
mid-sized firm with projects throughout the Northeast, was selected as
the award recipient for residential design by the Connecticut Chapter of
the American Society of Landscape Architects eight times."Tree Whispering and Cooperative BioBalance- Paradigm Shifting to Restore Balance in Nature"
Dr. Jim Conroy or the Tree Whisperer®,
earned his doctorate in Plant Pathology from Purdue University and
spent 25 years as an executive in top ag-chem companies. Now, he is an
authority on Nature-based communication and a global expert who
holistically heals stressed trees, plants, and ecosystems with his own
bioenergy-healing approach. As creator of Tree Whispering®–a holistic,
hands-on, earth-friendly, no-product, and sustainable solution–he shows
people how to restore tree and plant health by healing internal
functionality.
Basia Alexander, The Chief
Listener, is a catalyst for positive change and a leader in the new
field of Conscious Co-Creativity. As an expert Nature communicator,
Basia leads workshops and produces innovative curriculum. Both Dr.
Conroy and Basia are on faculty at Omega Institute and are co-founders
of the Institute for Cooperative BioBalance.
"Assess Internal Decay in Trees Nondestructively Using Tomography" 
"Emerald Ash Borer Update"
Dr. Claire Rutledge's research specialty is wood-boring insects. She specializes in understanding the mechanisms by which these insects locate their host trees and what determines the range of acceptable hosts. Her research has focused on understanding the interactions between plants, their herbivores and the natural enemies which attack the herbivores.
We hope to see you there!
Best,
Kristiane
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