Many of us are looking for hope and optimism right now. Spending time outdoors is usually the key a lot of us tap for a refresh, but winter is certainly here in Georgia in full force and it’s been too cold or slippery to take a jaunt in the woods. How about a few hours of native plant education instead?
Georgia Native Plant Society recently announced its 30th Annual Symposium, Breaking the Grass Ceiling: Promoting Native Landscapes. This virtual event on February 15th and 16th will address how to create and maintain native plant habitats in spaces that are dominated by traditional landscape plants and values. The set of presentations will help to quell the overwhelming challenges we face at home, in designed landscapes, and when restoring habitat in the wild.
The keynote speakers are Nancy Lawson and Janet Crouch, sisters whose passion for providing native plant habitat pushed them to challenge traditional landscaping values that many homeowner and property associations enforce. Nancy Lawson is the author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife and Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature. A nature writer, habitat consultant, and national speaker, she pioneers creative wildlife-friendly landscaping methods. Nancy co-chairs Howard County Bee City in Maryland and co-launched a community science project, Monarch Rx, after discovering a little-known butterfly behavior in her own garden. Her website, The Humane Gardener, is a treasure trove of information.
Janet Crouch will tell a very compelling story alongside Nancy. She and her husband, Jeff, gradually removed most of their turf grass lawn and filled their garden with native plants to benefit pollinators and provide food and shelter for wildlife. In 2017, the Crouches homeowners’ association insisted that they replace their garden with turf grass. This led to a years-long legal battle, but ultimately, the Crouches were able to retain virtually all of their garden. In 2021 their case spurred the adoption of Maryland legislation (House Bill 322), which prohibits HOAs from banning the cultivation of native plant gardens.
Additional speakers for the Symposium include Caroline Shaw, an Invasive Species Specialist at the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia who will discuss strategies for homeowners to tackle the ever-growing problem of invasive plants. Thomas Angell, a landscape architect with Verdant Enterprises in Savannah, will discuss native garden maintenance from his experience with ecologically-sensitive environmental design and site planning.
The Symposium will also address the future of plant conservation in the state of Georgia. Lead Botanist, Lisa Kruse, of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources will share the 2025 Georgia State Wildlife Action Plan (“SWAP”)and how plant conservation will play a role over the next 10 years. The botany team at GA DNR supports Georgia’s wildlife through survey and monitoring of Georgia’s rare flora, habitat restoration and management, collaboration with botanical gardens and research institutions, and outreach and education. The 2025 SWAP will be open for public comment in February and this presentation should serve as a great synopsis so people can contribute their thoughts and support to this important document.
The final presentations of the weekend will come from Georgia Native Plant Society’s 9 chapters located across the state. Chapter leaders will share what’s happening in their part of Georgia, including their successes from 2024 and upcoming programs and events for this year. If you are looking to get more involved with Georgia’s native plant movement, these brief summaries will enlighten you to the opportunities to create change in your local community.
The GNPS Annual Symposium this year will serve up a hefty dose of hope for native plants, and inform participants on practical approaches to managing and celebrating your greenspaces in what can sometimes feel like a difficult endeavor. Presentations are spread across two days; Saturday morning, February 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, February 16, from 2:00-4:30 p.m. Tickets are reasonably priced and each session will be recorded for future playback, so if you can’t be there for the live presentation, ticket holders will receive a link of the session recordings to watch later. We hope you will join us!
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