Lectures and Special Events, 2009

All events held at the North Carolina Botanical Garden's display gardens visitor center (the Education Center) in Chapel Hill, unless otherwise noted. Please pre-register by calling the Garden at 919-962-0522.

NOVEMBER

Wednesday, November 11, 7:30 pm

Kathryn Kennedy on 25 Years of Plant Conservation through the Center for Plant Conservation

In the new Education Center!

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Center for Plant Conservation, the North Carolina Botanical Garden will host a public lecture by the center's director, Kathryn Kennedy, on November 11 at 7:30 p.m. The lecture takes place in the Reeves Auditorium of the Botanical Garden's new Education Center. The lecture is free and pre-registration is not required.

In 1984, two graduate students, Don Falk and Frank Thibideau, organized a small group of botanical gardens to take a more active role in plant conservation. These botanical gardens would protect germ plasm samples representing the genetic diversity of imperiled species and hold these in perpetuity, as a last resort against extinction in the wild and to furnish material for reintroduction and restoration of wild populations. The North Carolina Botanical Garden was one of those first gardens in the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) network, which today comprises 36 institutions. The Garden now holds germ plasm for over 30 species in its National Collection of Endangered Plants, and continues to be a leading institution for plant conservation.

In her lecture, Kennedy will describe the approach and accomplishments of the CPC, which so far stands at over 700 species protected, some 100 reintroduction projects, nearly 2,000 field projects to monitor rare plants, and over 100 publications. The 36 institutions of the network—staff and volunteers—have accomplished work valued at $10 million for plant conservation projects.

The evening will also include a panel discussion about endangered plants in North Carolina, an overview of the Plant Conservation Program in the N.C. Department of Agriculture, and a brief introduction to the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s conservation programs. The Botanical Garden will also announce a new endowment, through the CPC network, for conservation of a particular endangered species.

Return to the EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS page to find other public programs, such as Classes and Workshops, Art at the Garden, and Certificate Programs.

Last updated by Laura Cotterman on November 04, 2009 at 03:43:03 pm.

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Annual Lecture Series

Evelyn McNeill Sims Native Plant Lecture

Every spring the Garden offers a lecture by an outside speaker that focuses on native plants and their conservation and ecology. The lecture series was initiated in 2000 with a gift from Botanical Garden Foundation Board member Nancy Preston. Mrs. Preston wanted to honor her mother, Evelyn McNeill Sims, on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Born in Lumberton, North Carolina, Mrs. Sims was educated at UNC - Greensboro and later moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, with her husband and daughter. Wildflower excursions in the mountains surrounding Kingsport were a favorite activity for Mrs. Sims, who eventually became a volunteer guide at Bays Mountain Nature Park. She now resides in Chapel Hill and attends the lecture named in her honor each year.

2000 Cecil Frost, North Carolina Plant Conservation program, "The Future of North Carolina's Wildflowers in a Changing Landscape"

2001 Larry Mellichamp, UNC-Charlotte Botanical Gardens, "From the Green Swamp to the Green River — Native Wetland Plants Suitable for cultivation in North Carolina"

2002 C. Colston Burrell, garden designer, writer, and photographer, "The Use of Native Plants in the Landscape"

2003 Chip Callaway, landscape architect, "North Carolina Natives — Gardeners and Their Gardens"

2004 Dick Bir, horticulturist and author, "Horticulture and Conservation"

2005 Naomi Pierce, Hessel Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Lepidoptera, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, "Ants, Plants, and Blue Butterflies"

2006 Rick J. Lewandowski, Director of the Mt. Cuba Center, Delaware, "A Passion for Native Plant Gardening"

2007 Barry Rice, The Nature Conservancy, "Carnivorous Plants — An Insect's Nightmare"

2008 Ken Moore, NCBG emeritus assistant director, "Why We Garden—A Conversation"

Jenny Elder Fitch Memorial Lecture

Named in memory of Jenny Fitch, local plant enthusiast and passionate gardener, this lecture takes place each fall. Mrs. Fitch passed away in 1995. The endowment for the lecture series was graciously donated by her husband, R.B. Fitch, in 1997 after friends and family sent scores of memorial gifts to the Garden. We have been able to bring a renowned gardener or horticulturist to Chapel Hill each year since 1999 to present the Jenny Fitch lecture.

1999 Rosemary Verey, plantswoman and author

2000 no lecture presented

2001 Janet Marinelli, director of publishing at Brooklyn Botanic Garden and pioneer in the field of ecological gardening, "Gardens that Act Like Nature: Garden Design in An Age of Extinction"

2002 Rosemary Gladstar, herbalist, author, and conservationist, "Planting the Future — Saving People by Saving Plants"

2003 Neil Diboll, president of Prairie Nursery in Westfield, Wisconsin, "Creating Meadows for Birds, Butterflies and People"

2004 Rick Darke, landscape design consultant, author, and photographer, "Learning from a Woodland Stream"

2005 Darrel Morrison, landscape architect, "Landscapes of Time and Place"

2006 William Cullina, New England Wildflower Society, "Fifty (but who's counting) Great Native Plants for the Southeast"

2007 Pam Beck, garden writer, designer, and photographer, "Winter Interest in the Landscape"

2008 Emily Herring Wilson, author & biographer, "The Love of Gardening—the Legacy of Elizabeth Lawrence"

2009 Doug Tallamy, wildlife ecologist, "Bringing Nature Home"