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2009 MELA Annual Conference
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7:30 am
Registration
Vendor Fair
Book Fair
 
8:30 am
Opening Remarks
 
9:00 am
Opening Keynote:
Doug Reed,
Reed Hildebrand
 
10:15 am

Vendor Fair
Book Fair

 
11:00 am

Eco-Functional Design,
Jacob M. Blue, Senior
Landscape Architect,
Director of Design,
Applied Ecological
Services, Inc.

Eco-friendly Landscaping,
Jeff Swano,
President/Owner,
Dig Right In Landscaping, Inc.
Front Yard Native Garden Design,
Lynora Jensen, Owner,
Jensen Design, Inc.

Screening:
Green Fire: The
Life and Legacy of
Aldo Leopold

Enhancing your
Relationship-Building Skills,

Jacqueline Loewe,
Founding Partner,
Sheridan Park Consulting

 
12:00 pm

Lunch
Polaris Award
Vendor Fair
Book Fair

 
1:30 pm

Natural Alternatives in Pest Management,
Donald C. Booth, Ph.D.,
Entomologist and
Erik Grossnickle,
Arborist; Bartlett Tree Experts

Perceptions of Nearby
Nature/Adoption of
Ecological Practices,

Lynne Westphal,
Project Leader/
Research Social
Scientist and Paul H.
Gobster,Research
Social Scientist;
USDA Forest Service

The Sustainable
Edible Garden,

Jeanne Pinsof Nolan,
Owner and
Jacqueline A. Kotz,
Landscape Architect;
The Organic Gardener

Marketing Sustainability,
John Harris, Principal, a5

 
2:45 pm

Retrofitting Subdivisions,
Edith Makra,
Community Trees
Advocate,
Klehm Arboretum
& Botanic Garden

Horticultural Based
Water Management,

Larry Cammarata,
Green Management
Consultant,
The Brickman Group Ltd.

Bringing Balance Home,
Brian Cretton,

Permaculture
Design Consultant,
BIO-Design Solutions/
Maple Grove Organic Farm

It's About Time
Steve Pearce, General
Manager, Sebert
Landscaping

 
3:45 pm
Closing Remarks:
Moving Beyond
Sustainability to
Regeneration,

Richard C. Hayden,
Garden Roof
Department
Manager, American
Hyrdrotech, Inc.
 
5:00 pm Sustainable Social  
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MELA 10th Annual Conference 2012
Balance: Natural Systems and the Built Environment

Conference Highlights

View these presentations from the MELA Annual Conference (PDFs):

See what MELA suppliers have to offer:

This year's MELA Conference drew a blend of attendees never seen before. Landscape Architects and Sustainability CEOs joined MELA this year, in addition to community green space experts like the MELA Polaris winner Ben Helphand from Chicago's NeighborSpace; municipal management leaders; and land managers from private sector facilities and land conservation groups. Attendees from five Midwestern states were represented.

MELA Conference SpeakerThis new type of MELA audience might be due to the unique lineup of keynote speakers and breakout sessions and the provocative topics they covered.

Opening keynote Doug Reed (pictured here), Principal at Reed Hilderbrand, set the tone for the day by making us look even more carefully at the existing ecosystems of the sustainable projects he showed us. At the same time he reminded us that "people" are part of the ecosystem. What did these landscapes mean to the people who occupied them prior to his practice making changes? Sometimes the land was historically valued; sometimes it was what the land "could" mean to people if restored properly. Overall, Reed concluded that "ecological theory now must include equal emphasis on humans in the landscape, and the idea of how they will be using the land." Food for thought for everyone doing projects restoring and regenerating landscapes.

The Conference breakout sessions also brought a people focus, along with their emphasis that built environments must work with all natural "systems," not just one of its elements. Conference sessionIncluded were sessions that covered people skills like networking, and marketing your business to people. In addition, research about how people "feel" about ecology and the environment was presented; along with sessions on how people feel about gardens sprouting up in front yards; how people can grow their own food amidst their flower gardens; how we can help people use water properly in their landscapes; and how people in subdivisions work together to solve environmental problems.

A snow storm quickly gathered outside, but a group of hardy Conference-goers stayed on to close their day with Dick Hayden, American Hydrotech, who moved the day's conversation beyond sustainability to regeneration — what he defined as a global perspective that comes from the heart to not only "sustain" our world, but also to improve Conference Vendorsit in terms of protecting freedoms and creating opportunities with energy, engagement and dignity.

During the course of the event, a 20 plus group of vendors presented a wide array of innovative products for use in sustainable landscapes. A first ever Book Fair also took place all morning, with proceeds of over $2,000 in sales benefitting MELA's future educational initiatives.

 

 

 

Annual Conference

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Download 2012 MELA conference brochure

Charter Members
View the list of our charter members.

Resources
Find out about the MELA initiatives and important resources with links for more information.

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