Print Agenda

8:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.

Registration and Welcome

8:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

GEORGE BRIGGS
Executive Director of the North Carolina Arboretum

Conference Theme: Navigating Challenging Times Creatively
Many professionals and organizations associated with our traditional plant sectors are experiencing the cumulative effects of a persistent economic recession, weather extremes, and consumers of services and commodities increasingly aware and concerned regarding environmental issues. These factors are creating an equally persistent need for leaders and organizations to be not only nimble in assimilating change, but also creative in responding to these challenges with new strategies and tactics.

Keynote: Remaining Rooted in Turbulent Times
The North Carolina Arboretum, like academic institutions, businesses and NGO's nationwide, has undergone dramatic change due to economic and other factors. In spite of an impressive palette of unique challenges during its first 25 years, the Arboretum's management has consistently guided the institution safely toward its goals. At the core of the Arboretum's progress has been a clear articulation of mission, making strategy an everyday affair, and consistent adherence to the principles of landscape architectural process. The result has been navigation from an origin as a simple trailer in the woods in 1986 to the Arboretum's current status as Western North Carolina's most significant state-supported visitor attraction.

Learning objectives: Participants will learn.
A: Strategies for maintaining nimble plant-based organizations in economic turbulence.
B: Methods for sharpening mission focus as resources become constrained.
C: Evaluating service offerings in a declining economy.
D: The value of the branding process to business performance.
E: The peculiarities of managing design and plant-based enterprises in a fluid environment.
F: Using sustainable landscape practices to enhance customer relations.
G: Using plants strategically in building market share.

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.

University of Kentucky Research Updates

DR. REBECCA SCHNELLE
Assistant Extension Professor for Floriculture and Greenhouse Crops

Annual and Perennial Trial Results, addressing plant performance and pest and disease issues.

DR. NICOLE WARD
Extension Specialist for Fruit Crops, Ornamentals and Forestry

Disease Management in Woody Ornamentals: This session will focus on common diseases of a few of commonly grown woody ornamentals. Through an understanding of basic plant pathology in the landscape, contractors and growers will be exposed to key principles of disease management, including disease identification, IPM practices, cultural control, and fungicide selection.

10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Break and TRADE SHOW

10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

DR. DAVID WILLIAMS
Associate Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences (same as Agronomy), University of Kentucky

Handling Issues with Imprelis Herbicide: This presentation will provide information on damage to woody plants following the use of Imprelis herbicide and longer-term ramifications.

DR. LEE TOWNSEND
Extension Entomologist for the University of Kentucky

Managing Tree Stressors; Borers and Scales.

11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Entomology Graduate Students

EMILY DOBBS

Quantification of insect biodiversity and ecosystem services in naturalized roughs on Kentucky golf courses.

JONATHAN L. LARSON

The ecotoxicology of insecticides and the impact on beneficial invertebrates.

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Break for LUNCH and TRADE SHOW

1:30 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.

GEORGE BRIGGS
Executive Director of the North Carolina Arboretum

Communicating through Landscape Presentation
The most important focus of any successful organization must be its communication -- in all its forms -- with customers, all in support of brand promise. What customers see, hear and experience will affect greatly their perception and ultimate support of the organization. With plant-based entities and businesses, the means by which we present ourselves, our site and our offerings are critical to forming and sustaining meaningful, positive relationships. The creative expression of the landscape, because of its proximity to the core mission of plant-based organizations, offers a unique opportunity to market, exhibit, educate and engage. Don't overlook the landscape's power to persuade.

Learning Objectives: Participants will learn.
A: Means by which plants and landscape can be used to convey aesthetic messages.
B: Techniques for exhibiting educational content through the landscape.
C: Informal education strategies applied to the landscape.
D: Using plants as a means of bringing attention to broader environmental issues.
E: Reinforcing the organizational brand with plants and landscape.
F: The role of positive plant presentation in building business relationships.
G: How landscape amenities can establish a vocabulary for communication.
H: What not to communicate with plants!

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

DR. BILL FOUNTAIN
Extension Professor of Arboculture and Landscape Management

Trees of Significance: Building Public Appreciation for Treasured Trees.

3:00 p.m. - 3:25 p.m.

Break and TRADE SHOW

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

KIM COWHERD
County Horticulture Extension Agent for Franklin County

What the County Extension Agent can do for you: A presentation on what a CEA does, the services offered and what you can do to best take advantage of these services.