Allison Brown holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of California, Davis where her research focused on the significance of mycorrhizal fungi in tidal salt marshes. She has taught courses in Plant Pathology at Temple University – Ambler Campus and Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and she is currently teaching Biology at Delaware Valley University. Fungi often take center stage in Allison’s lectures and have been the highlight for many guest presentations including those for Master Gardener programs, the New Jersey Mycological Association, and other mushroom clubs, as well as the American Chemical Society. Most recently Allison gave a presentation entitled “Villains in the Garden” for the ONE Symposium at Tyler Arboretum, where she introduced her audience to the parasitic fungi commonly associated with trees. Allison also leads mushroom hikes and enjoys exploring the culinary delights of local fungi.

Susan Downing Day is a Professor of Urban Forestry in the Department of Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and Program Director for the Bachelor of Urban Forestry. Susan’s research focuses on managing urban soils to enhance tree growth and longevity in the context of environmental challenges such as stormwater mitigation and land development impacts on soil-mediated ecosystem services. She helped shape the soils metrics for the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES®) international crediting system for sustainable design projects and developed Soil Profile Rebuilding, a rehabilitation technique to restore damaged urban soils in situ and enhance urban soil carbon storage. Her research in the water relations of tree-engineered soil systems and in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust has informed stormwater policy in the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States. Susan also led Urban Forestry 2020, a research-based investigation into urban forestry career paths and education. Susan has published more than 130 articles and book chapters on urban forests and urban soils and is the 2017 recipient of the L.C. Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research. Susan holds a B.A. from Yale University, an M.S. from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.

Ari Miller is the director of design at Hinge Collective, a public interest design firm that puts community engagement and public participation at the forefront of their practice. As both a landscape architect and arborist, Ari has always advocated for the integration and restoration of natural systems in urban design. Over the course of his 17-year career, Ari has worked as an arborist at Morris Arboretum, as a green roof design specialist at Roofmeadow, and has also led large-scale civic design projects at OLIN Partners. At Hinge, he uses this experience to help communities find design solutions that best support human and ecological health in their own neighborhoods through the enhancement of public space and community-led planning. Ari has also been adjunct faculty at the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania and Jefferson University.

Bill Logan (William Bryant Logan) has spent the last five decades living with trees, as a writer, arborist, and teacher, first in coastal California and the Sierra Nevada, then for the last thirty years in the regenerating forests of New York. Logan is founder and president of the Brooklyn-based tree company Urban Arborists. His firm trains and cares for the pollards and aerial hedges in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has planned, planted, and currently cares for numerous landscapes and gardens at historic properties and urban parks in the Tri-State area. Logan lectures widely, from the Arnold Arboretum in Cambridge to the Huntington Library in Los Angeles and internationally, about the relationship between people and trees. He has won the True Professional of Arboriculture award from the International Society of Arboriculture and the Senior Scholar award from New York State Arborists.

His most recent book, Sprout Lands: Tending the Endless Gift of Trees, has been awarded the 2021 John Burroughs Medal for distinguished nature writing. His essay “The Things Trees Know” was excerpted from Sprout Lands before the book’s publication and published in Orion. It won the 2020 John Burroughs Nature Essay Award. Logan’s earlier books are Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, Oak: The Frame of Civilization, and Air: The Restless Shaper of the World. Dirt inspired an award-winning documentary that was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. Oak was featured in a story on CBS Sunday Morning. Logan has written for the New York Times, Orion, Emergence, Natural History, House Beautiful, House & Garden, and many other publications, winning numerous Quill and Trowel Awards from the Garden Writers of America. He is on the faculty at the New York Botanical Garden and has taught poetry in the New York City schools and nature writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

Dr. Tony Kendle is a horticulturist, educator, and researcher. He is the co-author of Urban Nature Conservation: Landscape Management in the Urban Countryside and the new book A Wonder In the Garden. Both books review the importance of urban and garden biodiversity.

After working for a local government parks department, Tony studied horticulture at the University of Bath.

This lead to further study and research in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Botany and Ecology. Tony was awarded a Ph.D. on the reclamation of mine spoil and the creation of new woodlands on destroyed land. This was followed by several years working as an ecological consultant, which gave him experience in the restoration of many degraded sites, from coal mines to metal mines, deserts, and even the island of St Helena in the mid-Atlantic.

During this same time period, Tony also worked with Peter Thoday, horticultural teacher, and presenter of the Victorian Kitchen Garden on the BBC. Through joint consultancy, they produced management plans and tree surveys for heritage sites and healthcare properties.

Tony then moved to the University of Reading where for ten years he taught Horticulture and Landscape Management in the degree and postgraduate level programs. His additional experience includes being a visiting teacher at the Royal Agricultural College and the Kew School of Horticulture.

Tony’s former students have progressed to roles in many countries as greenspace managers, educators, and directors of organizations working on city greening and community health.

His combined experiences led Tony to a role as a member of the founding team for the globally famous Eden Project in Cornwall – a site recognized for “reconnecting humankind with the natural world.”

The Eden Project is a botanical garden that was established as part of the United Kingdom’s Millennium initiative of national inspirational projects. It was developed by the team that had earlier restored the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Rather than being a conservatory of rare plants, Eden has an educational charitable mission. The living collections demonstrate our daily dependence on plants and the places where they are grown for us. The living collections are not rarities but staples, even so, they are plants that few people ever get to see in person.

Tony now works for Eden’s new company, the Eden Project International which works on developments throughout the United Kingdom and around the world.

Pandora Young is a Senior Horticulturist working in Longwood Garden's Outdoor Landscapes since 2005. The areas under her care are Peirce’s Park, a historic arboretum dating back to 1798, and Peirce’s Woods, a 7-acre art-form garden featuring plants native to the eastern United States. She is also an instructor for Longwood’s continuing education program, teaching courses on native and edible plants. In her home garden, the rules are: it has to be native or edible, ideally both (with the exception of Lily of the valley). She received a B.A. in Japanese studies, with a minor in Biology from Earlham College in Indiana.

Public horticulture combines her passion for art, science, the great outdoors, and connecting with people from all walks of life.

Our second guest is Scott Wade the Curator of the Peirce Historic Tree Collection at Longwood Gardens, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Scott is a certified arborist and has work in commercial, private, and public horticulture his entire career. He is a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Liberal arts. Scott is the past state coordinator of the Champion Tree Program of Pennsylvania, documenting the largest of each species of tree in the state from 2006-2019. He started at Longwood Gardens in 2009 performing tree assessments part-time and has been there ever since.

Sara Fern Fitzsimmons has worked with The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) at Penn State University (PSU) since 2003, assisting chestnut growers and researchers throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Born and raised in southern West Virginia (Hinton), Sara studied Biology at Drew University in Madison, NJ. She then received a master’s degree in forest ecology and resource management from Duke University’s Nicholas School. After a short stint as an editorial assistant at All About Beer Magazine, Sara returned to the forestry field, where she has been ever since. Sara hopes her research and professional work will facilitate long-term conservation and restoration of native tree species at risk from exotic pests and diseases.

John Holback’s environmental experience started as a child helping his dad cut invasive vines from the trees in the woods around their home. He learned a broad array of conservation efforts as a young adult in AmeriCorps and continued to build his skills while volunteering and working as a field coordinator with the Friends of the Wissahickon in the Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. John now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California and continues to apply his knowledge in his work in the Santa Cruz Mountains as an open space technician for Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in Los Altos, California. John is also a professional musician and a graduate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Corey Bassett is a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where she is researching urban forest management and ecosystem services. She has worked and lived across the United States, where she has managed statewide urban and community forestry programs and performed arboricultural consulting and municipal tree care. Beyond her current research area, she is very active around issues such as establishing career and mentorship pipelines for early career professionals, setting standards for tree care for wildlife, and connecting urban forestry with related disciplines.

Corey currently serves as the first Student Representative to the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Board of Directors, Public Outreach Director for the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the ISA’s Board of Directors, core member and co-author for the Tree Care for Wildlife program of the Western Chapter ISA, and co-author for the upcoming edition of the ISA Certified Arborist Study Guide. Corey is an ISA Certified Arborist and holds the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. She completed a Master’s in Environmental Studies, concentration in Environmental Biology, and B.A. in Earth Science, concentration in Environmental Science, both from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Jun Yang is a Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University, China. He received his Ph.D. (2004) in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California at Berkeley. His specific interests include urban ecology, urban forestry, and ecological remote sensing. He has published more than 100 scientific papers. He serves as an associate editor for Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, and serves on the editorial board of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Frontier in Sustainable Cities, Biodiversity, Landscape Architecture, and China Urban Forestry. He was a member of the Science and Research Committee of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) between 2010 and 2013.

Andrea Whitely is a garden consultant, designing and implementing new gardens, garden renovations, and garden maintenance in Perth, Australia.

Andrea is probably best known publicly for her work on 720 ABC radio with Sabrina Hahn as The Soil Sisters. Sabrina and Andrea hosted the very popular call-in program answering gardening questions for four years. They traveled together around Western Australia appearing live and were particularly popular in Western Australia sharing witty repartee as well as their love of all things garden related.

Andrea is a Regional Director with GardenComm International based in New York, USA. Since 2015 and prior to Covid-19 she traveled through the United States extensively attending the annual conferences and extending her trips to take in more gardens with friends.

Andrea has spoken publicly at Women of the Wheatbelt in Meriden, Gidgegannup Field Day, Kalamunda Community Garden, Australian Garden History events, Nannup Flower and Garden Festival, and at a variety of corporate events in Perth. For many years, as a member of the Horticulture Media Association, Andrea appeared as a speaker at The Perth Flower and Garden Festival.

Andrea has contributed to various gardening magazines including regular articles appearing in Hort Journal. The Australian Garden History Journal and HMA News as well as Our Gardens, Your Garden, Gardening Australia, and The Garden Guru papers. Her images have been published in The West Australian, and Australia’s Open Garden Scheme Guidebook, and many local newspapers around the state.

Andrea has traveled and visited gardens through Europe, Asia, the UK, The Pacific, The USA, and of course every state and territory in her homeland, Australia. She has even been to visit, Highgrove, the home of HRH Prince Charles.

Andrea is an award-winning blogger and is active on Social Media sites Facebook, Instagram Twitter, and Pinterest.

David Hewitt has been working with plants, animals, soils, and water for more than twenty-five years, starting when he began working on small farms in upstate New York. He has served in a variety of roles at a number of Philadelphia institutions, including the Wagner Free Institute of Science, and as a lecturer at the University of

Pennsylvania and a research associate in the Department of Botany at the Academy of Natural Sciences. He was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in Washington, DC, working in agricultural policy. David has an A.S. from the Community College of Philadelphia, a B.A. in biology from the The University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.

Max Paschall is the Native Plants Coordinator at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, managing the nursery and native plant sales. He is an ISA certified arborist, fourth-generation horticulturist, and founder of Shelterwood Forest Farm - an experimental land stewardship project exploring the intersection of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and climate resiliency. His work focuses on climate change adaptation, particularly through the practice of assisted migration.

Alan M. Jones is President of Manor View Farms in Monkton, Maryland. He was born in London, England, and immigrated to the United States in 1984.

Prior to attending Pershore College of Horticulture, Alan gained horticultural experience by working at The Royal Gardens, Windsor Castle, and the Savill Gardens, Valley Gardens, and Heather Garden in Windsor Great Park.

After graduating from Pershore College he joined Oakover Nurseries in Ashford, Kent, England, a seedling and propagation nursery. He joined Princeton Nurseries in 1984 after immigrating to the U.S. He became a vice president of Princeton Nurseries before leaving in 1994 to join Manor View Farm, Monkton, Maryland.

Along with two partners, Alan purchased Manor View Farm in 2007. One year before the recession! Manor View Farm is a 100-acre nursery growing a wide range of B&B trees and shrubs, a propagation division selling potted shrub liners to other nurseries, as well as an extensive Landscape Distribution Center serving the landscape contractor industry in Baltimore, Washington D.C., and northern Virginia.

Manor View is licensed to propagate introductions from Proven Winners, PlantHaven, Plant Nouveau, Concept Plants/Plant Tipp, and others.

Manor View Farm is located in the historic and scenic My Lady’s Manor in northern Baltimore County, Maryland.

Today’s Show is a special edition highlighting the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s (PHS) Philadelphia Flower Show. We have two special guests Sam Lemheney and Tim Iffel.

Sam Lemheney is the Chief of Shows and Events at PHS and directs the strategy, planning, and execution of all events including the annual Philadelphia Flower Show where over 250,000 visitors from around the world experience the work completed by him, his team, and PHS every year. Sam is a judge for flower shows in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, and has judged the floats at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. He is also an active member of the International Festivals and Events Association.

Sam received his B.S. in Plant Science from the University of Delaware and has had a lifelong passion for horticulture. He began his career at The Walt Disney Company in the Land Horticulture Science Program and eventually rose to the position of Area Manager of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Our second guest is Tim Ifill who is the Associate Director of Trees at PHS, supporting communities around the region that are working together to share the incredible benefits of trees. He leads a team that works with an incredible group of volunteers, community organizations, and government agencies to establish and maintain healthy tree canopies in Philadelphia-area neighborhoods.

Tim received a B.A. in linguistics from Haverford College. Prior to joining PHS, Tim served as Executive Director of Philly Fellows, a program he co-founded that built capacity for Philadelphia anti-poverty organizations and started young people on careers in public service. He started his career with the U.S. Forest Service, where he was lucky enough to serve in the National Forest, which is home to the world’s oldest living tree.

ason Lubar has been employed at Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania as the Associate Director of Urban Forestry for over twenty years. His career has focused on educating a wide audience about trees and natural resources. He teaches professional-level arboricultural courses, presents at international conferences, and supports Morris Arboretum’s educational mission by providing a wide range of tree-related consulting services to a diversity of clients including design firms, arborists, townships and municipalities, schools, and corporations.

Jason is the President of the ISA PennDel Chapter and is a Board-Certified Master Arborist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, and a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists and holds the ASCA Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualification. He also is on the Executive Board and is treasurer of Pennsylvania’s Urban and Community Forestry Council.

Konstanze Fabian is an ISA Certified Arborist and ASCA Consulting Arborist. She holds a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Temple University and graduated with a master's degree in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Konstanze has over twenty years of experience in the Green Industry. Native to Germany, she began her career as an urban forester working with the trees in Berlin. After moving to the U.S. Konstanze worked as an assistant greenhouse manager, and then as an estate horticulturist. Before moving to Denver in 2018 to manage the Colorado operations for Bartlett Tree Experts, she spent four years with Bartlett as a plant health care specialist and arborist representative in the greater Philadelphia area.

Alex Smith is the owner of Division Street Landscaping, which is entirely staffed by ex-offenders. Alex started his journey while he was incarcerated. While serving a 30-year prison sentence for carjacking, assault, and handgun violations he was part of a group of guys who petitioned the warden for permission to start a horticulture program in prison. He became a Master Gardener behind bars and that program has now spread to other facilities in the state of Maryland. Now home, after serving 15 years of his 30-year sentence, he has created Urban Roots Apprenticeship a training program at the Baltimore Tree Trust where he served as the Director of Operations for five years. He has also created Division Street Academy under his own company with the goal of training guys in landscaping and entrepreneurship specifically in the landscaping industry. He also consults Workforce Development programs across the country that cater to the green job industry. He believes that there is a special kind of healing that takes place when the citizens of a community that once destroyed the community play a vital role in beautifying and maintaining those same places.

Jim Duggan leads the marketing and sales operations for Rootmaker Products Company, Inc. He oversees directing the sales organization and developing digital marketing programs to build the adoption of the Rootmaker growing technology. Jim Duggan is responsible for the strategic leadership of the sales and marketing department within the business and contributes to the overall growth strategy.

Duggan brings with him nearly 40 years of experience marketing high technology products and services to build companies through targeted growth. He has worked with both large and private companies. As RootMaker develops its next generation of disruptive products, Duggan will be instrumental in creating the company mission of expanding its vision of Landscape Scale Reforestation.

In his role prior to joining RootMaker, Duggan led the growth of an aerospace distributor from $28 million in annual sales to over $95 million. He has consulted with Rootmaker for the last 10 years, and he has been instrumental in building their vision of changing the way trees are grown into a reality.

Carol Wagner is a long-time horticulturist at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania a suburb of Philadelphia. A life-long resident of Southeast Pennsylvania, she graduated from the Professional Gardener Program at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. She takes great pride in the history and plantings at Haverford, especially the College's great-grandchild of the Penn Treaty Elm. She recently became a founding member of the Newtown Township Shade Tree Commission.