The speakers for 2014 ReLeaf at Hofstra were dynamite! Here are some of them:
ReLeaf 2014 at Hofstra: The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Forest Health Protection Bill Toomey was our keynote speaker on the many urban-forestry related initiatives TNC is now involved with, including the Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities project. Bill brought a great sense of humor to his presentation.
ReLeaf 2014: Why is ‘Right Plant, Right Place’ not enough anymore? What underused street trees, like American smoketree, hardy rubber tree, and Miyabe maple should we be considering? Also, how are uniform allees akin to “tree pornography?” Dr. Nina Bassuk covered a lot of territory in her talk, “Trees for the Urban Landscape.”
The beloved Jim Kisker of Schichtel’s Nursery has been a steadfast ally to the urban forestry community. His and Schichtel’s support of affordable bare root transplanting has revolutionized the UF landscape! Jim presented with his colleague Bill Snyder of Greenleaf Supplies on “The Decline of the Urban Forest and Pesticide Resistance: How to Make Your UF More Resilient.”
CCE Nassau County Horticulture Educator Vinnie Drzewucki (pron. “Sha-VOOT-ski”) gave a great talk on “Breaking the Fear of Trees,” How to Help the Public Overcome their Dendrophobia. Would love to do a blog post of Vinnie’s talk; it was very enlightening — e.g., more people die from jellyfish encounters than from tree encounters!
Hofstra Arboretum Director Fred Soviero gave an unforgettable, high-energy tour of the Campus/Arboretum. More about the campus in the next blog post!