1:00 PM ET Planting the New Paradigm Jeff Lorenz, Founder, Refugia Design

Refugia Design, based in the suburban Philadelphia area, embraces the ethos of designing landscapes that support native ecosystems in traditional suburbs and dense urban areas. Jeff and his very talented team specialize in transforming lawns into sophisticated and dynamic plant communities. Jeff will present a variety of inspiring projects that set a new bar for ecological functional planting, embracing natural processes and established plant community science, firmly believing these gardens become the stepping stones within larger ecological corridors.

2:00 PM ET Building a Truly Biodiverse Pollinator Garden Through Science and Design Claudia West, ASLA, Phyto Studio

Claudia will take you behind the scenes of the planning and construction of a 3-acre Pollinator and Bird Garden at The Arboretum at Penn State. Years of collaborative research with a large team of Penn State-based and outside experts, including scientists in Penn State’s Center for Pollinator Research and community members of the Arboretum’s Avian Education Advisory Committee, contributed science based research to develop a garden that would attract every pollinator and bird indigenous to the region. Didier Design Studio in Ft. Collins, Colorado designed the innovative garden layout, a beautiful tapestry of hills, ponds, structures and gardens. Claudia worked closely with Dr. Harland Patch, Penn State’s entomologist, in creating the planting design with the overarching goal of selecting and weaving together plants that would provide the best nutritional resources and habitat for pollinators and birds based on the Penn State scientific research.