Partnering with Nature

Native Plant Symposium

The 8^th Annual Native Plant Symposium presented by the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones was created with both casual and experienced gardeners and landscapers in mind.  Learn from experts on how to garden with native plants by working with rather than against nature.  Network with other folks interested in promoting biodiversity by using native plants in home, community, business, and government-managed landscapes.  Get inspired to partner with nature in your corner of the world!

The Symposium will feature three recognized speakers:

Larry Weaner, award-winning author and landscape designer, advocates shedding conventional gardening's counter-productive practices and provides plenty of effective solutions to common landscaping challenges.

Dwayne Estes, PhD, Austin Peay State University Botany Professor and Executive Director, Southeastern Grasslands Initiative, advocates for bringing back the Southeastern grasslands that once played an important ecological role in this area.

Jenny Cruse-Sanders, PhD, Director, State Botantical Garden of Georgia, works to increase native plant communities not just in the wild but the mild--urban and suburban communities.  She is leading an effort to encourage nurseries to grow more native plants to increase the supply for this restoration work.

The Symposium will be held at the UTC University Center Auditorium, a spacious, uncrowded, accessible venue with free and ample close-by parking.

Larry Weaner's "Garden Revolution: How our landscapes can be a source of environmental change" will be available for purchase and signing by the author. 

Nurseries will have native plants and artists will have artworks for sale in the adjacent "Native Plant Expo and Marketplace". (Note: Some vendors only take cash or check.)  You can browse the various Symposium topics-related exhibits by local organizations.  Ample time is provided at midday and at the end of the day to visit exhibits and vendors.  We hope that you will be inspired to create your own natural landscape and get to take home a door prize.

Symposium Schedule:

8:00 am                   Registration and Marketplace & Expo Opens
9:00 am                   Welcoming remarks
9:10 am                   Certificate in Native Plants "Graduation"
9:20 am                   "At Home with Native Plants" with Larry Weaner
10:20 am                 Book Signing and Marketplace & Expo
10:50 am                 "The Self Perpetuating Landscape: Setting a Motion in Process" with Larry Weaner
11:50 - 1:20 pm        Soup & Salad Bar Lunch (included) and Marketplace & Expo
1:20 pm                   "The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative: Bringing Chicago-style, Community-based                                                 Conservation to the South to Restore our Forgotten Grasslands"
                                        with Dwayne Estes, PhD
2:20 pm                   "The Role of Botanical Gardens and Partnership in Conserving Biodiversity in the                                                      Southeastern U.S." with Jenny Cruse Sanders, PhD
3:20 pm                   Plants of Promise & Door Prizes
3:50 - 4:30pm          Marketplace & Expo

All Symposium tickets include lunch:

Wild Ones Members:                              $55 in advance (through 3/14/19)
Non-members:                                       $65 in advance (through 3/14/19)

Students with valid school photo ID:     $20

All tickets after 3/14/19 or at the door:    $75

Registration Policy:  As with all Tennessee Valley Wild Ones paid programs, the number of
attendees is limited.  To give everyone the best opportunity to participate, there is a
non-refundable cancellation fee of $10, with the balance refunded if you cancel at least
7 calendar days before the symposium will be held.  If the symposium is cancelled
by Wild Ones, registrants will get a full refund.  

If you do not pay online, you will need to mail your check to Wild Ones-Tennessee
Valley Chapter, 4918 Marlow Drive, Red Bank, TN 37415.  Please put the date
of the program in the memo line as well as the last name of the person you are
registering.  You will not be registered until your payment is received.

Register Now!