Green Works/VNLA Winter Meeting and Trade Show – 2016
Join us at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center
Friday – February 12, 2016
8am – 5pm
PRE-REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS CLOSED!
WALK-IN REGISTRATION IS MOST WELCOME!
SCHEDULE AND REGISTRATION
8:00 -10:30 am – VCH Exam
9:00 -10:30 am – Keynote Address w/Claudia West, ecological sales manager at North Creek Nurseries, a wholesale perennial grower in Landenberg, PA 
and co-author of her new book ‘Planting in a Post-Wild World’ (Timber Press).
“Creating Stunning Plant Communities that Stand the Test of Time” – Plants are the foundation of healthy ecosystems and they bring beauty and joy to our lives. But great plants alone don’t automatically create lasting ecological benefits in our gardens. Claudia will talk about spectacular perennials and grasses and how to use them in stable, layered, natural combinations that increase the ornamental, functional, and ecological value of your landscape. Enjoy and be inspired! A Q&A will follow Claudia’s presentation.
10:30 – 11:00am – Visit with Vendors/Trade Show
11:00 am – Noon – Green Works/VNLA Business Meeting – includes presentation of awards.
12:15 – 1:00 pm – Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 pm – Green Works/VNLA Industry Award Winners Presentation of Projects. The winners of the 2015 Industry Awards Program will present their winning entries complete with a description of their project and photos.
2:00 – 2:30 pm – Visit with Vendors/Trade Show
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
2:30 – 3:30 pm Join Bruce Fraedrich, Ph.D, VP/Director at Bartlett Tree Experts Research Laboratory in Charlotte, NC. 
“Planning for Sustainable Management” – A successful sustainable landscape begins with design and implementation. This presentation will focus on the biological side of the design and implementation process. Topics will include the importance of landscape diversity, selecting pest resistant plants, matching species to site, site preparation and planting procedures. The presentation will focus on recent research on pests & plant diversity, organic soil amendments, including biochar, and the latest in planting procedures. Earns one (1) pesticide credit.
OR
2:30 – 3:30 pm “Getting Down to Business – A Roundtable Discussion” – Join Ashley Robinson and David Burton, Green Works Board Members and roundtable facilitators. Sit down with your fellow colleagues for a “real” conversation about running a business. Four to six people will share a table with topic questions to discuss. Each table will discuss topic questions and take notes on key points discussed during the first half of the session. The second half of the session will be an open forum where each table shares their discussion points as well as present new questions or ideas.
Topic Questions for each table:
- What is one of the biggest challenges you face as a small business owner?
- How do you manage the challenge of cash flow throughout the season?
- Do you have a marketing plan and if so what has worked and what has not?
CONCURRENT SESSIONS CONT.
3:30 – 4:30 pm. – Join Bruce Fraedrich, Ph.D, VP/Directory at Bartlett Tree Experts Research Laboratory in Charlotte, NC.
“Challenges with Organic Plant Management and Sustainable Alternatives” – Many consumers and horticultural professionals are requesting organic options as a means to manage pests and maintain landscape plant health. At the same time, managing plant health is becoming increasingly difficult due to the continued introduction of exotic pests. Climate change is facilitating spread and severity of native pest populations as well as causing major fluctuations in weather conditions that can create plant stress. This presentation will look at advances in detection, assessing and managing plant pests and problems and organic and sustainable products and techniques to manage plant health. Earns one (1) pesticide credit.
OR
3:30 – 4:30 pm – “Designing Plant Community Based Meadows in Vermont” w/ Rebecca Lindenmeyr, Linden L.A.N.D. Group. Join Rebecca
for her presentation as she applies the “Plant Community Design” approach described by Claudia West and Thomas Rainer in their book “Planting in a Post-Wild World” to an actual landscape design here in the Champlain Valley. Becca will describe how to select mostly native species that are adapted to local site conditions and arranged with niche space/competition in mind, using “structural plants, seasonal theme plants, filler plants and groundcover plants” and create a densely layered meadow community. It’s a model that can be adapted and replicated to help reduce lawn and increase biodiversity on many properties.
BRUSH UP ON YOUR LATIN FOR THE ANNUAL ID CONTEST!
Speaker Profiles
Claudia West is the ecological sales manager at North Creek Nurseries, a wholesale perennial grower in Landenberg, PA. Claudia holds a Master’s Degree of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. In her current role, Claudia works closely with ecological design and restoration professional, offering consultation services from initial project planning stages to adaptive management strategies after project completion. Her work is centered on the development of stable, layered planting designs and the desire to bring American native plants back into our landscape by making them widely acceptable. Claudia is a sought after speaker on topics such as plant community based design and the application of natural color theories to planting design. Together with co-author Thomas Rainer she published a new approach to ecological planting design in her first book ‘Planting in a Post-Wild World’ (Timber Press).
Bruce Fraedrich, Ph.D, VP/Director Bartlett Tree Experts Research Laboratories. Located in Charlotte, NC this facility is fully equipped with an extensive library, an education center, an arboretum containing about 2,000 species of trees and plants, several working test plots, and even a bird sanctuary. The Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories is capable of evaluating plant samples, culturing and identifying disease-causing organisms, identifying insects, and performing complete soil analysis services. Bruce has been the VP and Director of Research for 25 years and focuses on diseases of woody landscape plants and tree risk management.
Ashley Robinson was educated at the Landscape Institute in Cambridge MA, and worked for a renowned landscape architect, in MA. Ashley has managed several retail flower & garden shops, then moved to Vermont 10 years ago to start her own landscape design business.
David Burton is in his forth year of being a small business owner in Essex Junction, Vermont. He has a B.S. in Horticulture with a minor in Small Business Management from Virginia Tech. He has a great passion for seeing how businesses operate to provide a successful atmosphere for the owner, employee and client.
Rebecca Lindenmeyr is a landscape designer and co-principal of Linden L.A.N.D. Group, an ecological design/build company based in Shelburne, VT. She enjoys sharing her scientific perspective as it applies to good design and the creation of outdoor living spaces that help busy people connect with their family, friends and the natural world.
Green Works 2016 Winter Meeting Brochure web