It has already been two months since we had our annual symposium, though it feels much longer. Since then the second years have been working hard on finishing their theses, the first years have dived head first into theirs, plans for the annual APGA conference have been made, the graduation dinner has been organized, and overall we have all been very busy…however not too busy to take time to visit some public gardens and celebrate all of the hard work we put into this years Symposium.

On May 8, early in the morning, Laurie, Lindsey, Ling, Josh and Quill (the rest of the second years were busy – see above) all set off to visit gardens in northern New Jersey. We were fortunate enough to not hit too much traffic and arrived on time to our first destination, Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills. We were met here by Louis Bauer and Brendan Huggins, the two horticulturists on staff at this newly opened public garden. Greenwood Gardens opened to the public for the first time this year, and is a historic house and garden rooted in the Arts and Crafts and Classical approach to garden design. The site is located on a lush hillside, adjacent to a large nature preserve and recreation complex owned by the state. It is easy to forget that you are less than hour away from Manhattan as you stare off into the distance of green rolling hills. The whole garden is a series of gorgeous grottos, terraces, balustrades, allées and water features; there is even a small farm with goats, chickens, and geese – a remembrance of the past owners. Louis and Brendan showed us around the gardens and explained the history of the land, as well as some of the challenges in restoring a garden back to a specific time period. We finished our tour of Greenwood inside the house where we were able to go through some historic photo albums of the family and the gardens.

After Greenwood, we headed into the small, nearby town of Summit, NJ, and found a great lunch restaurant simply called Food. As we walked in we commented on how lucky we were that it had not rained on us, and in fact how it was even getting a little sunny out. No sooner than we had sat down though, the sky opened and it began to pour. We were in no rush so we took the opportunity to eat a leisurely lunch and we even took some time to talk about next year’s symposium.

As the downpour subsided we headed out for our second garden, Reeves-Reed Arboretum, located about five minutes away from Greenwood Gardens. At Reeves-Reed Arboretum we were greeted by 2010 LGP alumna Shari Edelson, who is now the director of horticulture at the garden. Reeves-Reed Arboretum is a historic house and estate that has been graced with the design work of several prominent landscape architects throughout its history, including Calvert Vaux and Ellen Biddle Shipman. The garden has many wonderful treasures including its narcissus bowl, several champion trees, a rose garden, and traditional herb garden. Though the area has been victim to natural disasters in the past two years, the garden looked magnificent and they are still moving a head with their plans to expand their children’s programming, including the new children’s vegetable garden being installed for this summer. And to make our visit even better the rains held off for us yet again, though Shari did provide some wonderful Reeves-Reed umbrellas just in case.

It was a long day, but a wonderful way to celebrate the success of Symposium 2013 and look forward towards Symposium 2014!

Friday May 10^th, marked the Longwood Graduate Program’s final Electronic Recycling Day (E.R.D.) for the 2012-2013 School year and the final event hosted by the Environmental Impact team for the Class of 2013.

On such a momentous day, it’s only appropriate that every single Fellow, our attentive program secretary, Patty, and our dedicated director, Dr. Bob Lyons, were all present to participate. Even better, we collected more electronics than ever before.

We collected more than three truckloads of electronics from the South Campus buildings. These included, televisions, computers, laptops, VCRs, scanners, various appliances, batteries, light bulbs and cellphones just to name a few.

According to eWaste, Inc.  Electronic recycling has many important benefits:

By dismantling and providing reuse possibilities, intact natural resources are conserved and air and water pollution caused by hazardous disposal is avoided. Additionally, recycling reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the manufacturing of new products. It simply makes good sense and is efficient to recycle and to do our part to keep the environment green.

We are so happy to provide this opportunity to lighten the load of our landfills.

In closing, don’t forget to hold onto your old electronics for the next E.R.D (December 2013) and cheers for a productive and fancy free summer season from the Fellows at the Longwood Graduate Program’s Environmental Impact Team.

Speaker Highlight: Louise Chawla

Louise Chawla

One exciting relatively new field of research that can provide public gardens with some innovative answers to this age-old question is conservation psychology. This year we are privileged to have Louise Chawla who will not be only giving a broad introduction to this exciting field but also highlight some of the issues it addresses with practical examples.  Louise Chawla is a professor in the Environmental Design Program at the University of Colorado in Boulder, co-editor of the journal Children, Youth and Environments, and associate director of the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Community Engagement. Some of her popular publications include the books In the First Country of Places: Nature, Poetry and Childhood Memory and the edited collection Growing Up in an Urbanizing World.

In addition to her presentation Louise Chawla will conduct an interactive workshop during the Special Sessions that aims to help participants understand the principles involved in designing environmental programs that encourage care for the environment. This session can accommodate a limited amount of participants, so be quick to register to avoid disappointment.

For those of you who can’t make it out to Longwood Gardens there is also the possibility to participate via our webcast. Also, we want you to contribute to the conversation whether you can be there or not on Twitter or TweetChat at #lgpsymp.

The Fern Floor at the Longwood Gardens Conservatory

Photography: Laurie Metzger

The Longwood Graduate Program’s Annual Symposium, Shifting Landscapes: Cultivating Connections with a Broader Community, is a little less than a month away!  If you are on the fence about attending, let me paint you a picture…

When you arrive at Longwood Gardens Visitor’s Center, you are greeted by the Graduate Students and Longwood’s friendly staff.  Beyond the glass doors, the garden steals your gaze, beckoning you into the crisp early spring morning. This is a special time in the garden.  The fresh air invigorates you.  Just as you begin admiring the spring bulbs, you catch a glimpse of the magnificent conservatory on the hill.

The scent of orchids intermingled with the aroma of fresh brewed coffee lead you to Longwood’s historic ballroom where your day of cultivating connections begins.  You’re surrounded by stunning beauty and thought provoking conversation.

This year’s Symposium boasts fresh perspectives and a delicious menu.  A Bistro style lunch will feature a variety of offerings from soups and salads to risotto cakes and vegetable dumplings.  Fine meats and savory vegetarian options will leave no guest unsatisfied.  Lunch will be held on the elegant Patio of Oranges with lots of opportunity for conversation.

This year’s Symposium will make use of advanced technology forums such as Twitter in addition to recognizable tools like chalk boards to help us creatively answer questions posed by our speakers. The multi-leveled discussion will spark imaginations and generate opportunities for growth in our public gardens.  Interacting with on-line viewers in addition to those in attendance, will allow for collaboration between States and Nations!

The Flower Walk at Longwood Gardens

The day will finish with optional behind-the-scenes tours of various aspects of Longwood Gardens in addition to an optional, limited seating session with speaker, Louise Chawla.  Finish your day at the Symposium by prolonging your exploration and experience Longwood Gardens: Beyond the Garden Gates.

Please join us on March 15^th 2013 for The Longwood Graduate Program’s Annual Symposium.  Shifting Landscapes: Cultivating Connections with a Broader Community. To register, click here. See you there!

2013 Annual Symposium

On March 15^th, 2013, nine months of brainstorming and planning will blossom in one day of engaging lectures and discussion centered on the theme of the public garden’s relevancy within the ever-changing social landscape.  While perhaps a timeless topic, in the past several years it has surfaced at the forefront of discussion in the field of public gardens and cultural institutions at large.  We hope that this symposium will encourage further thought and dialogue on how each public garden or cultural institution might continue to proactively think about how they can best meet existing and new audiences on common ground.

The daylong program will feature a slate of speakers with diverse experiences from within and outside the field of public horticulture, including Asimina Vergou (BGCI London), MaryLynn Mack (Desert Botanical Garden), Kathleen Socolofsky (UC Davis Arboretum), Louise Chawla (University of Colorado), and keynote speaker Gregory Rodriguez (Zocalo Public Square).

Speaker Highlight: Gregory Rodriguez

Gregory Rodriguez

Traveling from Los Angeles, California, Gregory Rodriguez will be featured as this year’s Parvis Family Endowment Keynote Speaker.  Rodriguez is the founding director of the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University, and currently serves as Executive Director of Zocalo Public Square, a non-profit Ideas Exchange utilizing journalism and live events as a medium to “foster healthier, more cohesive communities by tackling important contemporary questions in an accessible, non-partisan, and broad-minded spirit”.   Currently an op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Rodriguez has written extensively for prominent publications including the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. His book, Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race, was listed among the Washington Post’s  “Best Books of 2007”, and won him an invitation as a guest on The Colbert Report in 2008.

Register online to reserve your place at this year’s symposium. Places in the “Special Sessions” tours and workshop fill on a first-come-first-serve basis, so sign up soon to get your first choice! For those who are not able to attend in person, we are offering an online webcast option.

We hope to see you there!