Early Riser Tours of Scott Arboretum & Gardens
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Explore the grounds of Scott Arboretum
Explore Scott Arboretum & Gardens on guided tours with horticulture staff. Tours depart between 7:45 and 8:00 am.
Livestream Opens
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Live Stream opens for those joining us virtually.
Welcome
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Welcome from Executive Director of Scott Arboretum & Gardens Jeff Jabco
Sumak Kawsay in the City: Community Stories for the Future of Woody Plants
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In this presentation, Oliver López shares a community-centered approach to horticulture that bridges ecological stewardship, cultural knowledge, and urban forestry practice. Grounded in both field experience and storytelling, the talk explores how trees can serve not only as ecological infrastructure but as cultural anchors that foster belonging, resilience, and collective care.
Drawing from his work in New York City and Ecuador, Oliver presents three interconnected lenses: community-based reforestation (Sembratón), bilingual public engagement (Alas Latinas), and Indigenous ecological philosophy (Sumak Kawsay).
Together, these approaches demonstrate how inclusive programming and cultural frameworks can transform public green spaces into living classrooms.
The presentation will also introduce Nature and Resistance, a public program that positions green spaces as sites of cultural expression, healing, and collective memory. Participants will be invited to contribute to the development of an Indigenous Peoples Public Programs Toolkit, a collaborative resource designed to support culturally grounded programming across parks, gardens, and public landscapes.
Additionally, Oliver will share the Tree of Solutions framework, a practical tool for community-based environmental work that connects challenges (roots), interventions (trunk), and outcomes (canopy), centering both ecological function and human connection.
Attendees will gain actionable strategies for inclusive urban forestry, multilingual engagement, and community-driven stewardship, while being invited to help shape a more equitable and culturally rooted future for public horticulture.
Break
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Purchase raffle tickets to win items donated by sponsoring organizations (in-person participants only).
Forgotten Fruits and Fencerows: How the American Persimmon and Osage Orange Shaped and Slipped from History
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The American persimmon and Osage orange once played central roles in everyday life across much of what is now the United States. Long before European settlement, these trees supported Indigenous food systems, material technologies, and regional trade networks.
This presentation traces how these culturally foundational native species moved from widespread reliance to relative obscurity. It explores how colonization, agricultural industrialization, and changing land use practices disrupted long standing relationships between people and perennial plants. What were once trees of daily use became fencerow remnants, forgotten fruits, or hedgerow curiosities.
Managing Decay Fungi in Mature Trees
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Mature trees are crucial for environmental health and community well-being, yet as they age, they become more susceptible to damage by wood-decaying fungi. These fungi can enter through wounds, leading to stress and potential loss of wood structural integrity, which can be further exacerbated by increasing drought conditions and other climate shift impacts. Managing the mature canopy is central to the well-being of the collections at the New York Botanical Garden. Join Senior Woody Plants Curator, Melissa Finley, to discuss the Garden’s approaches to assessment, prevention, and management of decay in the incredible trees that call NYBG home.
Lunch
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Lunch included in in-person conference registration. Enjoy lunch al fresco in the picturesque Scott Outdoor Amphitheater. Browse and purchase books sold by the Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group. Final opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to win items donated by sponsoring organizations.
Garden Voices: Collecting a Canopy’s Stories and Cultivating Resilience
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Collecting a Canopy’s Story: Awbury Arboretum’s Tree Assessment with Jenna Bachman
This talk dives into the first comprehensive tree inventory taken at Awbury Arboretum in Philadelphia. Jenna Bachman describes the recently completed inventory and assessment process, and shares insights gained about Awbury’s urban forest and the Arboretum’s historic specimen trees. Jenna explores new questions, and discusses how the project informs the future of Awbury’s tree collection and inventory management overall.
Cultivating Resilience: Stoneleigh's Plants and Strategies for a Changing Climate with Patrick McGinty
As the climate warms and weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable, what can we do to fortify our landscapes and the critical ecosystems they support? Patrick McGinty, Garden Manager at Stoneleigh, explores native woody plants, landscape design elements, and evolving strategies being employed in the garden to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Math, Magnolias, and Magic
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In this presentation, Kevin Parris will give an overview of magnolia taxonomy and how those relationships between species play a role in both predictable (Math) and surprise (Magic) outcomes in breeding. In a fast paced journey around the “Magnolia Triangle,” Kevin will provide a glimpse into what these "new" magnolias look like and how they might fit into gardens.
Break
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The Danse Macabre: Gardening with Death, Decay, and What Remains
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What does it mean to design with decay? How might gardens change if death were considered a resource rather than a failure? Through reflections on mortality and impermanence, and explorations of detritus-based installations, The Danse Macabre examines deadwood, dead hedges, and decaying organic infrastructure as artistic medium, structural element, and ecological material in the garden.
Reception
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Join the reception with speakers for an additional $20 (in-person participants only).