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March 8, 2025
On March 8, 2025, the Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference will offer a full day of educational programming promoting the cultivation and maintenance of native plants in the landscape.
The conference theme is Beyond the Box - Growing a culture of native plant landscaping and the event will be held at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
Registration opens December 3!
2025 Conference Agenda
Keynote Session (9am): Cultivating Place: How a Garden Culture of Care for Native Plants Strengthens Places & People - Jennifer Jewell, author and host of the national award-winning weekly public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden.
There will be concurrent sessions following threads of "New to Natives" versus "Knows the Natives."
Session 1 Breakout:
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New to Natives: Creating a Culture of Native Plant Restoration - Jim Tolstrup, High Plains Environmental Center
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Knows the Natives: How Colorado State and Local Policies Can Boost Native Plant Landscaping - Suzanne O'Neill, Colorado Native Landscape Coalition
Session 2 Breakout:
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New to Natives: A Seasonal Perspective on Community Engagement and Native Plant Availability - Maggie Gaddis, Colorado Native Plant Society
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Knows the Natives: Breeding Native Cultivars: Is Artificial Selection Impacting Insect Visitation? - Tommy Roth, Colorado State University
Session 3 Breakout:
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New to Natives: Your Native Plant Garden, All Grown Up! - Dave Sutherland, City of Boulder OSMP (retired)
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Knows the Natives: Parks Pollinators and People: How landscape and local factors drive differences in pollinator biodiversity in Denver, Colorado parks - Nicki Bailey, Colorado State University
Closing Session: Celebration and Reflection: 10 years of the Landscaping With Colorado Native Plants Conference, a moderated panel with Jennifer Jewel and co-founders of the conference.
We will have vendor booths and student poster sessions available during registration, lunch and breaks, so be sure to join us when doors open at 8 am. Lunch will be provided.
Please note: This event will be held regardless of winter weather conditions unless CSU and/or major highways and interstates are closed due to inclement weather.