February 28th, 2026
Workshop & Plant Sale
8:00 am to 1 pm
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Schedule:
8:00 am - 8:30 Check-in, & Networking Coffee service will be available. To reduce waste, please bring a reusable mug.
8:30 - 8:45 Opening Remarks
8:45 - 10:00 Keynote: "Native Plants as Infrastructure" Joey Santore
10:00 - 10:45 Break - Final call for bare root plant orders
10:45 - Noon Breakouts
Noon - 1pm Guided Tour and Plant Sale
Keynote Speaker: Joey Santore
Native Plants as Infrastructure
A discussion on shifting the focus away from "horticultural beauty" and more towards using native plants as integral pieces of urban infrastructure, as elements that mitigate the heat island effect, reduce the potential for flooding, and provide more humane and livable spaces for human beings and the native beneficial insects and bird species that contribute to human quality of life
Joey Santore is a botanist, artist, plant propagator, author and ex-railroader who travels the world documenting plant life. He is the host and producer of the youtube channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't and was the host of a small-scale tv show called Kill Your Lawn. He advocates for native plants, building a closer human relationship with Earth's plant life, and a re-thinking of modern American horticulture and its mundane disconnection from both ecological and biological reality.
Breakout Sessions
Rico Rose - Indigenous St. Louis Working Group
"Decentering Anthropocentrism and Cultivating Ecological Connections"
Plants distribute their seed in varying ways and this talk will focus on identifying techniques for using seed dispersal mechanisms to manage plant diversity and populations. We'll discuss how plants reproduce and how you can reproduce them, too - in situ!
Chris Kirmaier - Bring Conservation Home
"Inside a Native Plant"
Photosynthesis is at the roots of life on earth. And by growing native plants we are actively supporting our local, native ecosystems. Come and learn what's going on inside our plants and take a side-trip to some other amazing photosynthetic life forms.
Ask the Native Plant Nerds
Put your native plant questions to a panel of knowledgeable people!
Panelists: Joey Santore, Susie Van de Riet, Jerry Pence, Simon Barker
Moderator: Jean Ponzi
Native Bare-root Plants for Sale
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