Register now for the Grow Native! Southwest Illinois Workshop: Stormwater Challenges & Native Plant Solutions, happening Friday, February 21 at Lewis & Clark Community College in Edwardsville, Illinois. The goal of this workshop is to explore native landscape solutions to manage stormwater and protect streams and other aquatic ecosystems. During this half-day event, speakers will present about stormwater management challenges at smaller residential, larger landowner, and community scales. Participants will learn about specific landscape applications to address stormwater management in the region, and increase their knowledge of policies to fund and implement stormwater management.
Chris Sanders, Senior Associate of the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, will be the keynote speaker. His presentation, If This Stream Could Talk – Tower Grove Park East Stream Restoration, will explore the nexus of resilient infrastructure and public open space, and demonstrate how the Tower Grove Park East Stream Restoration has merged sustainable stormwater management, history, ecology, education, and play with the landscape of a Victorian park with National Historic Landmark status.
The keynote talk will set the stage for plenary speakers Chris Carl, Trevor Bennett, Christine Favilla, and Andrea Godshalk, who will share their experiences using native plants in a variety of situations to address stormwater challenges. Topics include stormwater and native plant gardens design, construction, and maintenance; bioretention basins within green infrastructure; enhancing creeks through sustainable practices; and the co-benefits of reducing urban flood risk with native plant solutions. Jean Ponzi, Green Resources Specialist at Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center, will emcee the event.
This morning workshop will be held from 8:00 a.m. to noon. A breakfast buffet will be provided at 7:30 a.m. Registration, including breakfast, is $25 for MPF members and Grow Native! professional members, $15 for students with a valid student ID, and $30 for non-members.
To register for the workshop, use the registration form below. The deadline to register for the workshop is February 7, 2025.
Cost: $25 for Grow Native! members, $15 for students with valid student identification, and $30 for non-members (a buffet breakfast is included in the cost).
For those who are part of the Grow Native! Professional Certification Program (GNPCP), this event counts as 3 CEUs. See details about earning GNPCP CEUs here. For Landscape Architects who participate in LA CES, this event counts as 3.5 PDH.
Photo of native plants used in a stormwater management practice by Carrie Lamb