2021 Annual Meeting - October 16, 2021
Thanks to our wonderful speakers for their educational and informative presentations! Video of the program will be posted when it becomes available. In the meantime, information can be found on their individual websites.
And thanks to Applegate Farms for their donation of lunch.
And thanks to Applegate Farms for their donation of lunch.
Featured Speakers and Topics
The Influencers - presented by Abra Lee, Conquer the soil
A conversation about the historical legacies of influential Black American gardeners and the plants they used to beautify homes and communities. Abra Lee is a national speaker, writer, and founder of Conquer the Soil a community dedicatedto celebrating the history, culture, and art of horticulture! She has spent a whole lot of time in the dirt as a municipal arborist, extension agent, airport landscape manager, and more. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University College of Agriculture and an alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals. 
Millbrook Marsh wetland walk.
The approximately 1-mile walk will meander through the marsh and will focus on plant identification. Walk will be led by Ian Caton, one of the featured speakers and Jaci Braund. Jaci serves as the PNPS Treasurer and works as an Ecologist with the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where she primarily catalogs and characterizes plant communities. Jaci holds a Master of Science in Biology from Shippensburg University. |
Super Tough Wildflowers - presented by Ian Caton, Woodthrush Native Plant Nursery
An introduction to wildflowers that have proven through experience to be particularly reliable and tough under the most adverse conditions. Ian Caton has been the owner/operator of Wood Thrush Native Plant Nursery (Formerly Enchanters Garden) since March of 2013 when he took it over from the previous owner (Peter Heus) who had been operating the nursery since the early-mid ‘90s. Wood Thrush Native Plants is a nursery specializing in native plants of the Appalachian region including West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and North Carolina. A focus of the nursery is the introduction of new and rare native plants which are little known or underappreciated in the nursery trade. Previously Ian Caton had been an employee of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates (A Landscape firm specializing in the use and promotion of native plants in landscaping) since 2001. He graduated Delaware Valley College with a BS in Ornamental Horticulture and Environmental Design. He has an extensive knowledge of native plants, natural communities, and their incorporation into the human environment. This experience was gained primarily through his long running relationship with Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve as well as long experience designing and installing native landscapes. He has also had the opportunity to work with local governments on the development of landscape plans for public spaces. |
Millbrook Marsh is a 62-acre site - 12 acres of old farmstead, 50 acres of wetland. The site is home to a several acre natural fen, and a constructed fen for observation. The farmstead area has a German style bank barn where we will have the meeting. Park in the Visitor's lot and follow the gravel path to the upper level of the barn. There is no heating or cooling in the barn so please come prepared for any temperature. Restrooms are in an adjacent building and there is a porta-potty outside.