Daan Bleichrodt is on a mission to re-connect urban kids with nature worldwide. He is Chief Tree Planting Officer at the IVN environmental education and leads the Tiny Forest movement in the Netherlands. He is also a consultant and teacher for Earthwatch in the UK, Goodplanet in Belgium, and Ecosystem Restoration Camps. He currently lives in the leafy town of Den Dolder with his wife Kiki and two sons - Mees and Tijn. He has a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management and a master’s degree in business administration and organizational change. Since joining IVN ten years ago, he has learned a great deal about restoring nature and restoring people’s connection to the living world.

Lori Hayes is the Director of Urban Forestry, and District Tree Crew, Districts 5, 6, 7, & 8, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and is a certified arborist through ISA (International Society of Arboriculture). She oversees many projects including the TreePhilly Program, street tree planting, and maintenance. Lori graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Science in horticulture, she is a Penn State Master Gardener, and a lifelong learner. Lori's passion for trees and the urban forest has given her the nickname The Lorax.

Diane Ehrich owns Collins Nursery, a small retail nursery in Glenside, Pennsylvania which specializes in container-grown native plants from the Mid-Atlantic region. The nursery was founded by John Collins, a Philadelphia landscape architect, and educator. Diane has continued to fulfill and expand John’s mission of propagating and providing native plants to homeowners, non-profits, and local townships. Diane studied art at Rhode Island School of Design and Boston University and has an MA in art education from New York University. She draws on her experience as a teacher to help educate customers about the benefits of native plants. An enthusiastic gardener, Diane went back to school at Temple University/Ambler to study horticulture in 2004 and soon after, went to work helping John in his backyard nursery. She has worked as a gardener, at a local garden center, and has done ongoing volunteer work with the Friends of High School Park, a native plant restoration project in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. In addition, Diane is a botanical artist and a member of the Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators and the American Society of Botanical Artists.

Richard McCoy has over 30-years of experience in the green industry. He is the visionary behind Richard A. McCoy Horticultural Services Inc., founded in 1995. Since transitioning from conventional to organic landscape methods in 2005, McCoy Horticultural has been offering environmentally and sustainably responsible, landscape design, installations, maintenance, green infrastructure, and organic lawn care.

His work at Stony Wood Garden, a 3.5-acre private woodland garden in Princeton, New Jersey, has been recognized by The Smithsonian Institute's Archives of American Gardens.

Abra Lee is a national speaker, writer, and owner of Conquer the Soil a platform that combines Black garden history and current events to raise awareness of horticulture. She has spent a whole lotta time in the dirt as a municipal arborist, extension agent, airport landscape manager, and more. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University and alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals.

Max Blaustein is an Environmental Scientist with the Philadelphia Department of Parks & Recreation's Natural Lands Management team. His work has focused on the restoration and operation of a historic nursery facility in West Fairmount Park, where he propagates native plants for conservation projects that support the ecosystem function and habitat value of the 5,600 acres of natural areas within the City of Philadelphia.

Robin Rick has been a Woodlands Grave Gardener since 2016 and The Woodlands' Facility and Landscape Manager since 2018. It is with great pleasure and purpose that Robin works to care for the locally andnationally significant treasure that is The Woodlands. She brings to the  position professional experience in architecture and horticulture. After a career in architecture, she worked as a residential gardener and attended the Barnes Foundation Arboretum School where she earned a Certificate of Horticulture.  At TheWoodlands Robin's responsibilities bridge the two disciplines - helping maintain the site's historically significant features  - buildings and trees - while welcoming daily use by the West Philly community and other visitors.

Jordan Foreman grew up in Central Jersey just a stone's throw from Six Mile Run. He has always loved to hike in the woods, but it wasn't until he was a student at Rutgers University that Ecology became his passion. He was an intern at Rutgers Gardens at the University, and he interned at Central Park in New York City through college. Then, Jordan spent a year as an AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador before he discovered the Professional Horticulture Program at Longwood Gardens with the help of the kind folks at the Delaware River Basin Commission. After finishing Longwood's Professional Horticulture Program, Jordan moved to Durham, North Carolina to become an Arborist for Bartlett Tree Experts. Currently, Jordan is a Foreman and Plant Healthcare Specialist for Bartlett where he continues to inspire people through his passion for plants.

Dale Hendricks has been growing and propagating plants professionally since 1975. In 1988 he co-founded North Creek Nurseries, Inc in order to propagate and grow perennials and grasses with an emphasis on natives and garden selections of natives. In 2009 he founded Green Light Plants, LLC to build carbon-friendly and regenerative landscapes; growing native, woodland, and permaculture plants, organically and joyfully. He has been honored with the American Horticulture Society’s Individual Commercial award and the Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional Award, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society award of merit. He has taught plant propagation at Longwood Gardens and lectures widely.

He served on the founding board of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and as co-chair from 2004-2007. He lives in Landenberg, Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania with his family where he gardens, propagates plants, and grows good soil.

Hasan Malik's fascination with trees has been a constant for as long as he can remember. With a hand pruners or saw, he readily gave attention to the tree problems he encountered growing up in Northeast Philadelphia. Hasan is an ISA Certified Arborist and has a degree in Civil Engineering from Temple University.

In 2008 Hasan founded Tree Northeast. The nonprofit organization plants street and yard trees throughout Northeast Philadelphia, engaging volunteers and residents by greening the community. To date, the organization has planted over 1000 trees and helps maintain them regularly.

Tree Authority started in 2012 with the goal of providing superior tree care in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Region. The nursery began the following year in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Hasan and his wife Tasneem continue to expand the nursery, which now stocks over 200 varieties of fruit, shade, and ornamental trees, including a diverse selection of natives.

The Tree Authority's goal is to give trees the best chance to survive in an urban landscape right from the nursery. The nursery uses best practices to grow strong, healthy trees with virtually no girdling roots, no transplant shock, and the trees have visible root flares.

Visiting the Tree Authority in Perkasie Pennsylvania makes evident Hasan's melding of horticulture and engineering. His innovations for container types, staking systems, irrigation techniques, and soil mixes consistently translate into healthy vigorous trees.

Michael Dunn is the founder and president of Preservation Tree and is the Consulting Municipal Arborist for West Chester Borough in Pennsylvania. He is also an Urban Forestry Consultant with LandStudies, a leading environmental firm in Lititz, Pennsylvania. His main area of focus since 2016 has been the integration of the urban forest into urban and regional planning in Southeastern Pennsylvania and beyond.

Steve Goin is the Director of Land and Facilities at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, the largest privately held greenspace in the city of Philadelphia. He graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor of science in wildlife and fisheries with a minor in forest science. He is an ISA Certified Arborist with 19 years of experience managing trees in a variety of settings. He spent over a decade as an Arborist working for Bartlett Tree Experts, servicing residential and commercial properties on Maryland's Eastern Shore, in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, and finally managing the Philadelphia office where he cared for trees along tight city streets and out in the expansive landscapes of the suburbs. It was during this time that he came to know the Schuylkill Center, a 340-acre nature preserve within the city of Philadelphia, protected in perpetuity under a conservation easement. He volunteered his time at the Native Plant Sales where he answered questions about trees.

Aaron Greenberg is the Arboretum Manager for Laurel Hill and West Laurel Cemeteries, where he oversees gardens, grounds, and a collection of over 4,000 trees. He is also the State Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Champion Tree Program which documents the largest trees of each species in the state. Aaron is a Board Certified Master Arborist with the ISA, and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified.

Robert Wells (Bob) is a consulting arborist with 49 years of experience in the arboricultural industry.

He entered the tree world as a climber with Bartlett Tree Experts in 1971 in Piscataway NJ.

In 1973 he started the firm of Wells Tree & Landscape in Princeton NJ which is now in its 47th year under the leadership of his son, David Wells.

Bob completed his BS from Rutgers Cook College in Plant Sciences in 1985 and a master’s in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013. He is an NJ Certified Tree, a Registered Consulting Arborist, and a Board-Certified Master Arborist

In 2007 Bob joined Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania as an Associate Director with the Urban Forestry Consulting Section with Jason Lubar. They focused on both internal and external contracts involving a myriad of tree-related matters including inventory, assessment, and management of the 7,000 campus trees at the University of Pennsylvania. It was during this time that he also helped to form the School of Arboriculture at the Arboretum which brings in outside speakers and offers classes to the greater Philadelphia arboricultural community. He retired on July 1, of this year

Community service has been a big part of Bob’s life and over the years he has served as the Chair of Princeton Township Shade Tree Commission, and President of the Marquand Park Foundation.

Bob is now doing the occasional consulting job for his son with Wells Tree and looks forward to getting a chance to finally read all those books that have been on his bucket list.

For over two decades, Charles King Sadler has immersed himself in the design and care of landscapes throughout North American, this has resulted in his being sought after to work on prestigious public and private properties across North America and being consulted by top landscape practices domestically and from abroad.

Charles began his career as a visual storyteller, in the field of illustration, with a degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology, he applied his artistic vision and talent public and private commissions including contributing newspaper illustrations for publications such as the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. After working in the landscape profession for a period Charles returned to school, SUNY-ESF on the campus of Syracuse University, to pursue master’s studies in Landscape Architecture, and he started his own design firm in order to apply his philosophy of design and horticultural care within the design aesthetic. Charles is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist.

For more information on King Garden, visit kinggardeninc.com

Joan Maloof is a writer, an ecologist, and a conservationist with a unique voice in today’s times. She has studied and worked with plants her entire life; her formal education includes a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science, a Master’s degree in Environmental Science, and a Doctorate in Ecology. She is a Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University, where she taught Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies. Maloof has published numerous research articles in publications such as Ecology, American Journal of Botany, and the International Journal of Environmental Studies. Maloof’s books include Teaching the Trees (2005), Among the Ancients(2011), Nature’s Temples: The Complex World of Old-Growth Forests (2016), and The Living Forest: A Visual Journey into the Heart of the Woods(2017).

In addition to her research and writing, Maloof founded an organization with the goal of creating a network of protected forests across the US. That organization, the Old-Growth Forest Network, now has thousands of supporters. Maloof travels widely to educate others regarding the extent and condition of our forests and encourages their preservation.

Maria is a 4th generation nurseryman and proud of it! After graduating from Penn State with a BS in Horticulture, she ran the family’s 1000-acre wholesale nursery, destination attraction garden center, and new plant research and development division. She took a new path in 2009 partnering with her father to form UpShoot LLC, a boutique horticultural marketing firm focusing on sales, marketing, and licensing of new plant introductions and gardening-related products. In 2019 Maria partnered with Spring Meadow Nursery to develop the Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Trees program.

Maria is a freelance writer for both green industry trade journals and consumer gardening magazines. In 2015 she released her first book with co-author Pam Bennett titled Garden-Pedia: An A-Z Guide to Gardening Terms. This ASHS award-winning book is going into its second printing. Additionally, she has spoken nationally and internationally on a variety of gardening-related topics.

Maria has pushed the glass greenhouse ceiling becoming the 1stfemale President of the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association and International Ornamental Crabapple Society. She serves as the Vice-President of GardenComm: Garden Communicator’s International. She is also on the ONLA Legislative Committee. Locally she is on the Salvation Army Advisory Board in Painesville, Ohio.

Nancy Buley is Director of Communications for J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., wholesale tree growers of Boring, Oregon, where she has been “talking trees” for 26 years. A former newspaper reporter and food editor, she graduated in Technical Journalism and Horticulture from Oregon State University. A Lifetime Honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Nancy has earned national recognition for her tree advocacy and stewardship efforts including a decade-plus service on the board of directors of Friends of Trees. A GardenComm (member) and a graduate of the Society of Municipal Arborists’ Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI), Nancy lives and gardens in Boring, beneath an ever-widening canopy of trees.

Andy Schenck, a self-professed plant nerd, is the owner of Sam Brown’s Wholesale Nursery in Malvern, PA where he has worked for 22 years. Andy received a B.S. in Ornamental horticulture from the University of Delaware and is a member of the Plant Selection Committee for the Rare Plant Auction at Longwood Gardens (Delaware Center for Horticulture). Andy’s long-lived passion for the outdoors, nature and gardening inspired his desire for life-long learning and his successful career in horticulture.

John Berryhill is the Landscape Curator for the Botanic Garden of Smith College where he has worked for just over 23 years. In that time, he has served several roles, including wildflower gardener and arborist. He served as the Chief Arborist there for 15 years and has transformed the care of Smith’s arboretum from an external, contracted operation to an internal one with a team of three certified arborists.

This week, John talks about risk assessment on Smith College's campus.