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Promoting nature-based, toxic-free land care practices for the health of people, their pets, and the planet.

PRFCT EVENTS

Save the Date!

Managing Invasives:
Mindful Ecological Approaches

Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture
630 Bedford Road
Tarrytown, NY 10591

Registration opens March 31, 2025.

Tickets $150

Managing Meadows Save the date

Mark your calendars! We’re returning to Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture for a day-long symposium on managing invasive plants without chemicals. Hear from experts on techniques like timed cutting, solarization, steaming, and smothering. Learn about the latest invasive plant research and how to prevent their spread. See an equipment show-and-tell. And enjoy a buffet lunch from the Café at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Schedule

Welcome by Edwina von Gal

Beyond Removal: Proactive Strategies for Protecting Ecosystems
Eve Beaury (Assistant Curator, Center for Conservation and Restoration Ecology) and Rebecca McMackin (Lead Horticulturist, American Horticultural Society)

Managing Mugwort: Four Strategies
Claire Davis (Owner, Starflower Gardens),  Michael Hagen (Curator of the Rock Garden and Native Plant Garden, New York Botanical Garden), Sarma Ozol (Horticulture Supervisor, Trust for Governors Island), Ashley Gamell (Owner, Studio Hopeland LLC), moderated by Julia Snook (Curator, Lenoir)

Buffet lunch from the Café at Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Managing Woodies: Three Strategies 
Budd Veverka (Director of Land Management, Mianus River Gorge), Annabel Roberts-McMichael (Owner, Tend and Gather), Penn Marchael (COO/President, Pennington Grey), moderated by Rashid Poulson (Director of Horticulture, Brooklyn Bridge Park)

Managing Invasives at Stone Barns: An Integrated Approach
Elijah Goodwin (Director of Ecological Monitoring, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture) 

Equipment Show-and-Tell 

The event is geared towards horticulture professionals (including landscapers, designers, restoration practitioners, and public garden staff), but will welcome land care enthusiasts of all kinds. 

We anticipate offering CEUs; check back for updates.

If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor of this event, please email Charlotte DeFazio-McElrath at Charlotte@perfectearthproject.org by March 24, 2025 to ensure your sponsorship is listed in all of our promotional materials.

Interested in having Edwina or another PRFCT team member speak at your event? Fill out our Speaker Request Form HERE.

Testimonials

We are profoundly grateful to Edwina Von Gal for sharing her invaluable insights on nature-based landscaping practices with our community. Her expertise in harmonizing with Mother Nature to create landscapes that are not only visually stunning, but also promote the health of our families, pets, and vital ecosystems is truly inspiring. Thank you, Edwina, for taking the time to guide us toward nurturing more vibrant and sustainable environments.

~ Eileen Mullen, The Lion Head Beach Association

[Edwina’s] presentation was inspirational, entertaining & filled with a joyous sense of freedom – all while imparting such important information & a new way of looking at landscapes & plantings. I am so interested in getting as many of our residents as possible to understand a new perception of beauty. 

~ Jean Thatcher, Three Harbors Garden Club

We received wonderful, positive feedback from so many of the attendees who said that they felt informed and empowered to make changes in their home landscape practice towards a more ‘magical’ and sustainable model.

~Lisa de Guzman, Three Harbors Garden Club

My husband and I are totally inspired! And the feedback today says…so are the 175 + guests listening last night. 

~ Laura Blumin, Three Harbors Garden Club