Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden
Global Plant Conservation Science and
Outreach Symposium
A Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium
Friday, October 2, 2009
8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
| Presented in partnership between: |  |
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In a daylong event to celebrate the opening of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s new Daniel F. an Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center, the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Botanic Gardens Conservation International partner to highlight the increasing need for a cooperative international plant conservation effort to better understand the impact of climate change on plants. Some of the best plant conservation research, practice, and outreach from around the globe will be highlighted. Internationally recognized experts will discuss global strategies for plant conservation through science and education. The last session of the symposium addresses the question, "Where do we go from here?"
Click here for CALL FOR POSTERS
submission information and deadlines.
REGISTER TO ATTEND THE SYMPOSIUM
Deadline: September 25, 2009
Member fee $79
Nonmember Fee $119, or $79 before Aug. 28
The Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium is partially endowed by the friends of Janet Meakin Poor, a Chicago-area conservationist and landscape designer dedicated to preserving natural habitats. The Center for Humans and Nature is sponsoring a limited number of scholarships available to students.
Registration fee includes all handout materials, parking, a morning snack, and a boxed lunch. The symposium will be held in the Alsdorf Auditorium of the Regenstein Center at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL.
Click here for directions to the symposium.
| PROGRAM | |
8:30 a.m. |
Symposium Check-in |
9 a.m. |
Welcoming Remarks |
9:10 a.m. |
Prof. Stephen Blackmore FRSE, Regius Keeper, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland Hear why Stephen Blackmore felt compelled to write a book advocating gardening as a metaphor for how to secure a habitable planet for future generations. Gardening provides both an appropriate mindset for action and a way of intervening to halt the erosion of biological diversity that is undermining the earth’s natural capacity for renewal and sustainability. Botanic gardens are better places than any other institutions to reconnect people with nature and lead the response to climate change and other global environmental challenges. |
10 a.m. |
Refreshment Break |
10:30 a.m. |
Dr. David Bramwell, Director, Jardin Botanico Canario Viera y Clavijo, Canary Islands, Spain More than 50,000 plant species are endemic to the world’s islands. Islands, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, with rich endemic floras are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change with consequent biodiversity loss. Such a major challenge requires measures for mitigating and adapting to climate change and for the rescue of species critically threatened by climatic upheaval. Conservation policy for island hotspots should involve sustainable management, restoration, and use of local biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as measures for the long-term preservation of individual endemic species using modern ex situ conservation techniques. |
11:20 a.m. |
Stella Simiyu, BGCI Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Officer, Nairobi, Kenya
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12:10 p.m. |
Lunch |
1 p.m. |
Peggy Olwell, Plant Conservation Program Manager, Bureau of Land Management and Chair, Plant Conservation Alliance, Washington, D.C. Drought, increased wildfires, invasive species, and species redistribution are just a few of the complex issues resulting from climate change that land managers are facing. The future of managing native plant communities across the U.S. will require all of us working in strategic partnerships that are linked together in meeting common conservation goals for native plant communities around the globe. The United States' National Native Plant Materials Development Program is working with more than 500 partners who are collecting, researching, and storing seeds in anticipation of the need to sustain healthy native plant communities in light of climate change. |
1:50 p.m. |
Anne Raver, Environmental Writer, The New York Times, Reisterstown, Maryland What are the ingredients for successful communication between scientists and reporters? How can abstract terms like global warming and assisted migration be made real by telling stories about the people trying to find solutions? How do simple realizations catch fire in a community? When reporters write about scientists and their research, this outlet of expression empowers the everyday person to take positive steps towards making reality out of what are sometimes perceived as impossible ideals. |
2:40 p.m. |
Stretch Break |
2:50 p.m.
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Dr. Christine Flanagan, Public Programs Manager, U.S. Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C. The work of saving the earth, especially its plants, would be far easier if the general human population could embrace conservation’s goals and priorities. But ignorance and appreciation of the fundamental importance of plants is growing as society becomes more urbanized and isolated from the natural systems that support it. Christine Flanagan reports on the status and diversity of outreach programs and frames the issues that impact their success. |
3:40 p.m. |
The panel will include symposium speakers; Sara Oldfield, Secretary General, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI); and others involved in plant conservation in the Midwest, the United States, and around the world.
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4:30 p.m. |
Symposium Concludes |
5 p.m. |
The reception address will be given Baroness Walmsley, Chair of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). Other activities will include refreshments, a poster session, tours of the Plant Conservation Science Center (including the lab areas) and a book signing with Stephen Blackmore. |
Gardening the Earth: A Call to Action 
Climate Change and Island Floras: 
Thinking Globally and Acting Locally: The Global Strategy 
The Power of Partnerships in Plant Conservation
Communicating Science and Conservation to the Public
Plant Conservation Science: Education and Outreach through 
Facilitated Panel Discussion: Where Do We Go From Here?
Evening Reception and Poster SessionPlease continue to check this page for program updates. To register, call (847) 835-8261 or click here.
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