Native Plant Series- Spring Ephemerals & Native Trees
JOHNSON COUNTY EDUCATION PROGRAMS, Johnson County
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Build conservation practices at home by adding native plants to your landscape. Learn from local experts through a new Native Plant Series. Johnson County Conservation will host four native plant sales and a speaker series in the spring and fall of 2024: May 5, June 2, Sept. 8, and Oct. 6. The plant sales and speaker series are also being supported by the Johnson County Master Gardeners of Iowa. Native plants vendors are local Iowa companies, including Allendan Seed Company and Trout Leaf Native Plants. Vendors will be selling plant plugs. The May 5 event will feature Allendan Seed Company.
Program Schedule:
- 9:00-9:40 am- Native Plant Sale w/Allendan Seed Company
- 9:40-9:45 am- Welcome & Introduction
- 9:45-10:45 am- Spring Ephemerals w/Zachary Hall
- 10:45-11 am- Break/Shop Plant Sale
- 11-11:45 am- What trees to plant in a
post derecho world? w/Virginia Hayes
- 11:45 am- 12:30 pm- Program Ends and Plant Sale
Session Descriptions:
Spring Ephemerals w/Zachary Hall:
Spring is a great time to shake off the winter doldrums and head
to the woods for a splash of early season color. Together we will explore flowers commonly
found in our woodlands, their identifying features and best ways when and where
to see them. What’s that you say? I can see these in my own yard? We will take it a step further and discuss
specimens you can incorporate into your own plantings!
What Trees to Plant in a Post-Derecho World w/Virginia Hayes:
Nearly four years after the August 2020 derecho, our community is still in the process of recovering its tree canopy. In additional to the structural damage, costing billions of dollars for recovery, this devastating storm resulted in the loss of critical habitat. Such damage likely contributes to increased energy use, worsening urban heat island effect, and poor air quality. This session will help you move forward by giving suggestions on species to try or to avoid in your yard and suggestions for native plant pairings. We will also discuss common reasons why trees die and what you can do about it.
Speaker Bios:
Zachary Hall:
Zachary Hall is an Associate Professor in the Parks, Natural
Resource and Conservation Program at Kirkwood Community College where he
teaches Native Plants, Forestry, Plant Identification, Park Maintenance and
Administration. Zac has a M.S. Degree in
Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on Land Use and Environmental
Planning. From 2014-2020, Zac was the
Superintendent of Parks and Forestry for the City of Iowa City, where he
managed 55 Parks with over 2,000 acres of public land, 50,000+ public trees, 1,000
acres of natural areas, 4 Athletic complexes and 25+ miles of public
trails.
Zac is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Tree Risk
Assessment Qualified (TRAQ) Certified Arborist with 20+ years working in both
the public and private sectors in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture in Colorado
and Iowa. Zac is the President of the
Iowa Urban Tree Council (IUTC), which advises and makes recommendations to the
State Forester and DNR on all topics related to Urban Forestry in the state of
Iowa. The IUTC also collaborates regionally
with other Midwestern states’ forestry councils and national representatives
from the U.S. Forest Service on Urban Forestry issues.
Zac is the
owner of Samara Natural Resources Consulting where he provides site assessments, plant
material inventories and vegetation management recommendations for property
owners. Zac’s consulting work has been
described as a “home inspection, but for your yard”.
Virginia Hayes:
Virginia
Hayes started working as an arborist in Iowa City over 10 years ago while her
children were in preschool. Virginia passed the ISA exam in 2017, and later
that year completed a graduate certificate in Urban Forestry and
Sustainability. Virginia worked at Acorn ArborCare starting in 2019 and was
cabling some arborvitae the day that the derecho hit. After doing nearly two
years of derecho clean up, Virginia got tired of cutting down trees and wanted
to plant them instead. She joined Sustainable Landscape Solutions in 2022, and
the company planted over 700 trees in 2023. She enjoys finding appropriate
places to plant unusual tree species, and planting native landscaping.
