The 22nd Annual SavATree Seminar

Join us at the 2020 SavATree Seminar for a lively morning of learning… and laughs!

Dr. Christy Rollinson
Forest Ecologist, The Morton Arboretum
  • The Impact of Climate Change on Tree Selection and Resiliency
Tree responses to weather variability and extremes drives long-term success, survival, and change in both human-managed and natural landscapes. Events like late freezes relative to spring bloom are becoming more frequent even as horticultural growing zone designations have shifted in recent years. This talk will discuss the role of weather and climate in the context of “right tree, right place” and how proper planting and maintenance can improve resiliency to unexpected weather-driven events.
Dr. Fredric Miller
Professor, Department of Agriculture and Horticulture Sciences, Joliet Junior College
  • How Can We Help Plants Survive – and Even Thrive – in the Face of Climate Change?
Plants can be highly adaptable, resilient, and sustainable but with the extremes of climate change, they are, and will be faced with more and more challenges. In this session, we will address how we can better “assist” plants in using their inherent abilities to fight off abiotic and biotic stresses, and to better understand their “tactics” and “strategies” for making them more sustainable in a hostile urban environment. Specifically, we will address the impact and effects of extremes in weather (i.e. precipitation and temperature), lethal pests and diseases, and urban soil properties, and how we can employ Plant Health Care (PHC) practices to help mitigate these effects. The session will conclude with a brief report of major pest and disease issues for 2019, and a look ahead as to 2020.
James M. Patchett
Co-Founder & Partner, Solutions in the Land, LLC
  • The Solution is in the Land
This presentation will provide an overview of the rationale and strategies for the promotion of community-wide economic and social development initiatives coupled with a holistic vision for the restoration of the health and vitality of the region’s water, soil, air, and ecological systems. Case studies will showcase how these concepts can be applied to reduce surface water runoff and erosion and associated flooding throughout the watershed, reduce nutrient loading into areawide aquatic systems, improve regional water quality, enhance bio-diversity, and restore soil vitality and historical patterns of water and carbon cycling, all of which can effect positive benefits for the mitigation of climate change. The presentation will also introduce new paradigms for urban and rural economic development grounded in socially and environmentally restorative practices.

SavATree is proud to be the Principal Tree Health Care Sponsor for the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Continuing Education Credits Available
SAVATREE Seminar is approved for PLANET Landscape Industry Certified recertification at 1 CEU per hour of instruction attended.
For more information on PLANET recertification, please visit PLANET’s Recertification Center at LandcareNetwork.org.