2023 Joint Annual Meeting: Northeast and Southern Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations

Monday, July 17 

Travel day.

5:00 – 7:00 pm. Icebreaker/Social (Sleep Inn Hotel, 11 Village Drive, State College PA). Dinner on your own.

Tuesday, July 18

6:30 – 7:45 am. Continental breakfast, registration table open

8:00 – 8:20am.  Welcome – Jason Albright, Acting State Forester – Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

8:20– 9:00 am.  Growing plant material for the People by prioritizing indigenous plant production nurseries in Africa – Siyabulela Siya Sokomani, Founder, Nguni Nursery, Cape Town South Africa

9:00 – 9:20 am. Evaluating Nursery Capacity for Agroforestry in the United States. Alaina Ring, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Maine.

9:20 – 9:40 am. Challenges of nurseries and urban forestry – Alec McCartney, Nursery Manager, New Jersey State Nursery.

9:40 – 10:00. Update on resistance breeding in eastern hemlock. Rachel Kappler, Holden Forests and Gardens.

10:00-10:30 am.  Morning break.

10:30 – 10:50 am. Tree planting needs to restore watersheds in Pennsylvania. Teddi Stark. Watershed Forestry Program Manager. PA DCNR.

10:50 – 11:10 am. Growing trees and collecting seed: perspective from an urban tree nursery. Megan Palomo, Heritage Nursery Director, Trees Pittsburgh.

11:10 – 12:00 pm. Need for seed: perspectives from seed collectors: in person and Zoom panel. Calvin Ernst, President, Ernst Conservation Seeds, Inc. Christopher Kiratzis, Owner, Better Forest Tree Seeds, LLC. Eric Lovelace, Lovelace Seeds, Inc.

12:00–1:00.  Lunch.

1:00 – 1:30. Lessons learned from forest climate-adaptation projects. Denise Alving, PhD Candidate and Margot Kaye, Professor, Pennsylvania State University.

1:30 -2:00.  Ramping up seedling production of disease-resistant American chestnuts. Sara Fern Fitzsimmons, Chief Conservation Officer. The American Chestnut Foundation and Penn State University.

2:00-2:15 – Climate smart seed sourcing. Laura Leites, Professor, Penn State University.

2:15 – 2:45 pm. Introduce vendors, afternoon break.

2:45-3:05. Uses of biochar in tree nurseries. Pat Sherren, Metzler Forest Products.

3:05–3:20. Market research findings on nursery production. Harry Guinness, New Leaf.

3:20-4:00. Successes in tree planting on mineland reclamation sites in PA. Eric Oliver, Mineral Resource Program Specialist, DEP Bureau of Mining Programs, Michael French, Director of Operations, Green Forests Work.

4:00-5:00. Meeting of Northeast Nursery Association

6:00 – Dinner on your own

Wednesday, July 19: field tour

6:30 – 7:45. Breakfast

7:45 – 8:00. Board buses

8:00 – 9:00. Travel to Penn nursery

9:00 – 11:00. Tour Penn Nursery, Pennsylvania’s primary nursery for the production of bare root tree seedlings for state land in PA.

11:00 – 12:00. Travel to Howard nursery

12:00 – 12:30. Catered lunch at Howard nursery (Kitchen’s Witch)

12:30 – 1:30. Tour Howard nursery.

2:00 – 2:30. Return to hotel.

3:30 – 3:45. Bus pick up for arboretum banquet.

4:00 – 5:30. Walking tour of arboretum.

5:30 – 7:00. Banquet at arboretum

7:00 – 7:15 Bus will return to hotel.

Thursday, July 20: optional tour

6:30 – 7:45 Breakfast

8:00 – 12:00 Field tour with Denise Alvaring (climate-adapted field plantings in Stone Valley) and Sara Fitzsimmons.