Opening session

Welcome with leaders from FANN, Naples Botanical Garden and Florida Gulf Coast University Water School and FGCU Continuing Education & Skills Academy.

Today, everywhere we look, we see escalating environmental problems that can be readily addressed with more and better choices of plants: water supply and quality, soil health and erosion, stormwater and flood management, pollinator and wildlife habitat destruction and threats of extinction, rising temperatures and urban heat islands, and even reduced human well-being and increased crime rates due to the reduction of nature in our communities. The horticulture and landscape industry has the power to have a dramatic positive impact on our communities and the living world. This session will explore, from the viewpoints of both an ecologist and a leading landscape architect, the imperative to act now, the opportunities before us, and how choosing more native plants for our landscapes can yield the greatest benefits.

Presentation by Ellin Goetz, GOETZ & STROPES Landscape Architects, Inc.

Presentation by Brian Bovard, Florida Gulf Coast University Water School

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (CEUs)

Landscape Architecture – 1 optional CE pending

FNGLA Certified Horticulture Professional (1)

ISA Arborists pending