Date: Saturday, February 1, 2020
Time: 8:55am – 3:30pm (Registration begins at 8:15)
Location: UNC Charlotte Center City, Room TBD
320 E 9th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
See parking details at bottom of page, click here.
Early Bird Registration – $85/$75 Gold and Green Members
(Last day to register at early bird rate – December 22, 2019)
Regular Registration – $100 (closes on January 24, 2020)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
As the green heart of North Carolina’s urban research university, the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens invites you to join us Saturday, February 1, 2020 for the third Botanical Gardens’ symposium Urban Roots: Transforming the Urban Landscape.
For over 50 years, the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens has been the central resource for botanical and horticultural information in and around Charlotte. With over 100 years of combined plant research and growing experience, our staff is uniquely qualified to bring together experts on a wide variety of urban plant-related topics to help people understand our unique place in the plant world. This year the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens has brought together a group of speakers who are deeply involved in making our populated environments better places for both people and plants.
This year’s symposium will investigate many important topics for the urban and suburban environment, including urban ecosystems, urban farming, regenerative agriculture and permaculture and more.
Register HERE for Urban Roots: Transforming the Urban Landscape, presented by UNC Charlotte Center City, in partnership with the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and sponsored by Bartlett Tree Experts and Polly Brockway.
Scholarships:
We are excited to offer two competitive scholarships to this year’s Symposium to Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) teachers, thanks to a generous donation by Polly Brockway. Download the application here: Urban Roots Scholarship Application.
SPEAKER TOPICS AND BIOS:
“Urban Nature: Human Nature”
Peter Del Tredici, Ph.D., Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
Urban ecosystems are the ultimate manifestation of the dynamic conflict between humans and nature—between our desire for neat, orderly landscapes on the one hand and our fear of messy ecological chaos on the other. This presentation will focus on the plants that grow without cultivation in cities and their remarkable ability to flourish in spite of stressful environmental conditions. Cities—along with the plants and animals they support—can be considered “novel” ecosystems that not only reflect a tumultuous past, but also preview of an unpredictable future. For better or worse, the spontaneous vegetation that inhabits our cities is as cosmopolitan as its people and, quite frankly, better adapted to their changing environmental conditions than the native species that once grew there. Like it or not, these novel ecosystems have become the new normal in many urban areas and people need to recognize the contributions they make in terms of making cities more livable and helping clean up the mess we have made of the planet.
Peter Del Tredici is a botanist specializing in the growth and development of trees. He retired from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in 2014 after working there for 35 years as Plant Propagator, Curator of the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection, Editor of Arnoldia, Director of Living Collections and Senior Research Scientist. He was an Associate Professor in Practice in the Landscape Architecture Department at the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1992 through 2016 and taught in the Urban Planning Department at MIT from 2016 through 2019. In 2013, he was awarded the Veitch Gold Medal by The Royal Horticultural Society (England) “in recognition of services given in the advancement of the science and practice of horticulture.”
Dr. Del Tredici’s interests are wide ranging and include such subjects as plant exploration in China, the root systems of woody plants, the botany and horticulture of magnolias, stewartias and hemlocks, and the natural and cultural history of the Ginkgo tree which he has been studying since 1989. His recent work is focused on urban ecology and climate change and resulted in the publication of the widely acclaimed “Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast: A Field Guide” (Cornell University Press, 2010).
“It’s not just about the food: Environmental, economic, and social contributions of urban agriculture” by Colleen Hammelman, Ph.D., UNC Charlotte
Urban agriculture – the production and processing of crops or livestock in an urbanized area – has been practiced in cities around the world for millennia. In recent decades, it has experienced a resurgence. The UN Development Programme estimates that more than 800 million urban agricultural producers cultivate 15% of the world’s food. Whether backyard gardens and hoop houses, collectively organized community gardens, individual allotment gardens, rooftop gardens, greenhouses, beekeeping, or other innovations, urban agriculture is practiced by a variety of stakeholders worldwide. Such urban cultivation pursues a range of environmental, economic, and social goals that are increasingly incorporated into urban sustainability plans. From Argentina to Canada, and many places in between, communities of gardeners and policymakers are implementing urban agriculture projects to combat the effects of climate change, build community resiliency, and bolster social integration. Reporting on several years of research in four countries, this presentation highlights the many outputs produced for cities from diverse urban and peri-urban agricultural projects.
Colleen Hammelman is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography & Earth Sciences at UNC Charlotte. Her research broadly considers questions of social justice in urban food systems. She has spent the past several years talking with more than 130 urban growers in Argentina, Canada, Colombia, and the United States in order to understand the diverse outcomes provided by urban agriculture. Hammelman’s work has been published in Environment & Urbanization, Urban Geography, Health & Place, and the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (among others). She holds a Ph.D. in Geography & Urban Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia and an M.A. in International Affairs from American University in Washington, DC.
“Working Landscapes in Urban Environments: Producing in Community” by Aaron Newton, Steward
How City Farmers, Backyard Chicken Enthusiasts, Victory Gardeners, Small Family Farms, Kids in Edible Schoolyards, Cooks in Their Kitchens, and Passionate Eaters Everywhere Can Overthrow Our Destructive Industrial Agriculture, and Give Us Hope for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in a Changing World
Aaron Newton is a food advocate born and raised in Concord, NC. He works for Steward whose mission is to promote environmental and economic stewardship by funding farmers practicing sustainable and regenerative agriculture through a crowd funding platform.
Aaron worked formerly as the Lomax Farm Manager for Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, where he oversaw new farmer training and coordinated other participants at the Elma C. Lomax Research and Education Farm.
Aaron is the coauthor of A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil from New Society Publishers 2009. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Cabarrus County Farm and Food Council and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Piedmont Farmers Market. He previously served as the Development Coordinator for the Cannon Memorial YMCA Share the Harvest Community Farm.
Aaron earned a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the College of Design at North Carolina State University. Aaron serves on the Executive Steering Committee for the Children WIN – Wellness Initiative Network for Atrium Health Care System Northeast. Aaron runs long distances, practices yoga and rides a bike.
“Building an Organic Vegetable Farm from the Ground Up” by Katherine “Peanut” Belk, Wild Hope Farm
Join Wild Hope Farm’s Peanut Belk to learn how they use regenerative agriculture and permaculture design in their diversified vegetable, laying hen, and flower farm in Chester, SC. During this talk you will get a glimpse into how they transformed the land into a working farm, from the early stages of planning and design work, to the day-to-day harvesting and field work.
Wild Hope Farm is passionate about bringing nutrient rich, organic fresh food into our local communities through a holistic farming approach. We are using organic practices to intentionally build our soil health and turn the land into a productive operation through Community Supported Agriculture. Our hope is to grow the land into a space for education, exploration, and celebration centered around nature.
Peanut Belk is our connector. She comes to the farm with a background in marketing, business development and design research, and is passionate about fostering community relationships. She tackles the finance and operations side of the business while also building the brand, hosting events, digging in the dirt, and selling our products in local markets. Most days of the week you can find her out in the field transplanting, trenching irrigation lines or harvesting your produce.
“Today and Tomorrow in the Gardens”
The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens are a centerpiece of botanical and horticultural knowledge in and around the largest urban center in the Carolinas. Come join us to hear about how the Gardens are evolving to meet the needs of Charlotte and our University community.
Jeff Gillman is the Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens and a former Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota. He is also the author of five books and a Contributing Editor to Fine Gardening Magazine. With a Ph.D. in Horticulture and a Master’s degree in entomology, Jeff has spent the better part of his career investigating the many different techniques that people use to grow plants and protect them from pests.
4 Approved Credit Hours for our Certificate in Native Plant Studies.
Register HERE.
Parking information
Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of light rail options when visiting Center City. Center City is a half a block from the 9th Street Station. Free parking is available at nine of the eleven light rail Park and Ride locations. Sugar Creek Station and Scaleybark Park and Ride locations are the closest to 9th Street Station. Standard CATS rates apply.
If you are driving: pay-to-park
The closest pay to park lot is the gravel lot on the corner of 9th and Brevard Street. Currently, the rate to park here is $7.50. See map above, this lot is noted with a red star.
Other nearby lots are at 8th & College, 9th & College, and 9th & Tryon. There are metered spaces on Brevard and 8th Street to pay during the day. These meters are free after 6pm weekdays and all day on weekends.