Agenda Adirondack Native Plants Symposium

Building Resilient Landscapes

Hosted by: SUNY Adirondack Agricultural Business Program
Date & Time: Thursday, March 26, 2026 | 12:00–4:30 PM
Location: SUNY Adirondack, Queensbury, NY
Contact / Planner: Kim London, londonk@sunyacc.edu

Conference Overview

The Adirondack Native Plants Symposium: Building Resilient Landscapes is a half-day professional symposium bringing together practitioners, researchers, educators, and community leaders to explore native plants as essential tools for ecological restoration, climate resilience, and community well-being in the Northeast.

Designed for both hands-on practitioners and institutional decision-makers, the symposium blends research-backed frameworks with real-world implementation strategies, spanning applications from home gardens and schoolyards to municipal infrastructure and transportation corridors. The program emphasizes native plants as living infrastructure—systems that deliver ecological services while reducing long-term costs, maintenance inputs, and environmental impact.

Attendees include home gardeners, landscape professionals, municipal planners, conservation leaders, educators, students, and public agency staff. The event prioritizes actionable learning, cross-sector collaboration, and regional networking, making it an ideal venue for speakers seeking meaningful engagement and applied impact.

Conference Highlights

• 9 expert presenters from leading regional organizations and institutions

• 6 concurrent workshops across two specialized tracks

• 2 bonus lunchtime sessions: indoor lecture or outdoor hands-on demonstration

• Closing keynote on regenerative landscape design

• Pre-conference networking roundtable for students and early-career professionals

• Professional development certificates with contact hours

• Strong attendance from students, professionals, municipal staff, and community leaders

• Free for SUNY Adirondack students; $25 public registration

Program Structure & Session Highlights

Track 1: Applied Landscape Design & Implementation

Home Gardens • Small-Scale Projects • Design-Build Applications

This track focuses on practical, garden-scale native plant design, emphasizing site assessment, plant selection, installation, and maintenance. Sessions are accessible to beginners while offering depth for professionals.

Featured Sessions & Speakers

• Designing Functional Native Plant Gardens
  Corliss & Sam Keenan, Country Home Landscapes
  Step-by-step guidance on assessing sites, selecting regionally appropriate plants, and designing resilient, low-maintenance native gardens.

• Shade Gardening with Native Plants
  Cevan Castle,
  Strategies for creating thriving woodland and low-light native gardens using layered plant communities.

• Growing & Using Native Plants as Wild Foods & Medicine
  Jane Desotelle, Underwood Herbs
  An introduction to traditional food and medicinal uses of Northeast native plants, emphasizing ethical cultivation and sustainability.

Track 2: Institutional & Municipal Green Infrastructure

Professional Practice • Large-Scale Implementation • Research-Based Strategies

This track explores native plants as functional infrastructure, addressing climate adaptation, public health, and large-scale landscape stewardship.

Featured Sessions & Speakers

• Climate Forestry & Urban Tree Systems
  Rob Breen, ITECA / SUNY Albany
  Campus–community partnership models for climate-resilient urban forestry and native tree nurseries.

• Pollinator Highways: NYS DOT’s Native Plant Program
  Lynn Godek, NYS Department of Transportation
  Large-scale implementation strategies for roadside habitat restoration, procurement, and regulatory compliance.

• Urban Green Spaces & Mental Health: Evidence-Based Design