Native Plants and Permaculture: A Gathering of Plant EnthusiaNsts May 11, 2007

We will be seeking common ground between the Native Plant and Permaculture communities in developing ecologically-integrated self-sustenance and native habitat preservation in the Pacific Northwest.

• Presentations about various perspectives on indigenous and exotic plants, including human uses and ecological relationships
• Facilitated panel discussions and discussion circles
• Guided plant walks
• Garden and Permaculture tours
• Resource tables and networking opportunities
• Music, games, and community-building
• Hands-on projects
• Meals made from organic, homegrown, and wildcrafted food
• Overnight lodging and camping available

Schedule overview:
Friday afternoon and evening, 3 pm on: informal tours, socializing, discussion circles, and activities.
Saturday and Sunday, 9 am-6 pm: scheduled walks, talks, discussions and activities related to the roles of native and nonnative plants in our cultivated and noncultivated landscapes.
Saturday evening, 8 pm: concert with Laura Kemp (by donation).

Topics:
• Native Plant-Animal Interactions and Relationships
• Indigenous Land Management
• Bringing Back Native Food Crops
• The Challenges of Native Habitat Conservation and Restoration
• What Is the Role of Nonnatives?
• Wildflower, Tree, and Shrub Walks
• Substituting Natives for Nonnatives in Home Landscapes
• Responsible Control of Exotics
• Economic Uses of Native Plants
• Ecologically Sustainable Foodsheds
• Invasion Biology: A Closer Look
• Preserving Diversity in Times of Environmental Change
• Evolving a Bioregional Permaculture
• and more.

Presenters & Walk/Activity Facilitators:
• Ed Alverson (The Nature Conservancy)
• Rhoda Love (Native Plant Society of Oregon, invited)
• David Theodoropoulos (author, Invasion Biology)
• Sharon Blick (School Garden Project)
• Michael Pilarski (Friends of the Trees Society)
• Stephanie Schroeder (Walama Restoration Project)
• Toby Hemenway (author, Gaia’s Garden)
• Jude Hobbs (Agroecology Northwest)
• Rick Valley (Lost Valley Educational Center)
• Marcia Cutler (Native Plant Society of Oregon)
• Bill Burwell (Kalapuya researcher)
• Jerry Hall (ethnobotanist, Lane Community College)
• Jason Blazar (Camas Educational Network)
• Heiko Koester (Eugene Permaculture Guild)
• Aryana Ferguson (Native Plant Society of Oregon)
• Dave Bontrager (Lane County Audubon Society)
• Joshua Smith (Ecoscape Environmental Design)
• Nick Routledge (Seed Ambassadors Project)
• Tobias Policha (Institute of Contemporary Ethnobotany)
• Marcus Lorusso (Lost Valley Educational Center)
• Melanie Rios (facilitator, Maitreya Ecovillage)
• and more.

This event is supported in part by Lost Valley Nature Center, Eugene Permaculture Guild, Friends of the Trees Society, Tryon Life Community Farm, Walama Restoration Project, Institute of Contemporary Ethnobotany, Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, Fern Hill Nursery, Living Tree Paper Company, and others. We are seeking additional groups to co-sponsor, as well as individuals willing to contribute financially to help this event happen.

Contact: Lost Valley Nature Center, attn.: Chris Roth, 81868 Lost Valley Lane, Dexter, OR, 97431, (541) 937-2567 ext. 116, nature AT (replace with @) lostvalley.org.

Why This Conference?
For many years, plant lovers have held widely varying opinions about the appropriate roles of native and nonnative plants in our ecosystems and cultivated landscapes. Native plant enthusiasts list some nonnative plants as dangerous invaders, while Permaculturalists may advocate the cultivation and spread of those same species. Some native botanists endorse the selective application of herbicides to eradicate aggressive weedy species, while Permaculturally-inclined gardeners seem more apt to embrace “weeds” and reject chemical means of control. Meanwhile, whatever our attitudes towards natives and exotics, all of our diets and many facets of our economy depend heavily on nonnative plants. Before the arrival of Europeans, however, native plants provided sustenance to indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years.

This weekend gathering will bring together plant enthusiasts of all stripes to learn from one another and explore common ground. We will examine current and potential ecological and economic roles of native plants, effects of exotics on ecosystems and how best to respond to those impacts, indigenous land management techniques, and more. We will use the 87-acre living laboratory of Lost Valley Educational Center, whose Nature Center features native flora restoration projects and extensive interpretive trails through largely native habitat, and whose Permaculture gardens and projects include both native and nonnative plants. We will assess how (and whether) the different outlooks and activities represented both at this gathering and on this land can form practical syntheses which will guide us into more sustainable ways of inhabiting our region. Please join us!

Official Website: http://www.lostvalley.org/nature2007may