Events

Over the past 37 years, the annual Michigan Native Plant Conference has presented timely, actionable and fascinating information about native plants and habitats, landscape design, wildlife, invasive controls and much more.  Our 2024 conference theme will involve the role water plays in our ecosystems. The state of Michigan has tremendous freshwater resources and many of our native plant communities have evolved to take advantage of this treasure.

This year’s conference is composed of two sections. We are holding an in-person conference at the Kellogg Convention Center in East Lansing, Michigan on Sunday, March 3, 2024. In addition we will offer four one-hour webinars held throughout the year. The in-person portion of the conference will be a full day of opportunities to network, learn and ask questions of our speakers, congratulate the WAM Grant winners and participate in the WAM annual meeting. Of course, a delicious lunch will be served and there will be an array of vendors selling art work, jewelry, books and more.

After the breakout sessions, we will invite all participants to a panel discussion featuring Bill Schneider owner of Wild Type Nursery, Ester Durnwald owner of Michigan Wildflower Farm and Amy Heilman, landscape architect. The topic will be “How to Establish Your Own Native Garden.” This Q and A format wil offer a tremendous learning experience from some of the leading experts in native plants and gardens.

Our Webinar Series will give registrants the chance to keep learning all year long. These one-hour webinars feature a wide variety of topics and presenters. All conference registrants will receive Zoom invitations a few days before the presentations. Presentations are scheduled at 7 pm unless otherwise noted. All webinars will be recorded so participants can view them at a later day or refer to them for information.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Lynne Heasley from the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at Western Michigan University will present “Local Ecological Knowledge as Storytelling, and Why This is Fundamental to Biodiversity Conservation in the Great Lakes.” She is the author of A Thousand Pieces of Paradise: Landscape and Property in the Kickapoo Valley; The Accidental Reef and Other Ecological Odysseys in the Great Lakes; and coeditor of Border Flows: A Century of the Canadian-American Water Relationship.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS:

• Eric Elgin will present “Lakeshore Conservation: Challenges of Protecting and Restoring Nearshore Vegetation.”
• Paige Filice will present “Garden to Beautify Your Yard and Protect Lakes and Rivers.”
• Lawrence Sobson will present “Trees for Your Community.”
• Jo Latimore will present “Life in the Weeds: Exploring the Rarely Seen World of Aquatic Plants.”
• Yu Man Lee will present “Mapping, Monitoring, and Conserving Vernal Pools, the Coral Reefs of Michigan’s Forests.”
• Shelly Stusick will present  “Getting to Know Go Beyond Beauty”, an organization dedicated to restrict retail sales and use of invasive plants in Michigan.

PANEL DISCUSSION: How to Do Your Own Native Garden

This panel discussion will be scheduled at the end of the day after the breakout sessions so everyone can attend.  It promises to be a lively discussion on the techniques, tips and “how to” start your own native garden.

• Bill Schneider from Wildtype Nursery
• Esther Durnwald from Michigan Wildflower Farm
• Amy Heilman Landscape Architect, The Living Garden

The cost is $100 for the general public, $80 for Wildflower Association of Michigan (WAM) members, and $25 for students.

To access the agenda, learn more about speakers and their presentations, or to register for the event, visit wildflowersmich.org/wildflower-association-of-michigan-annual-conference/.