<< Back 7/31/02 Native plants conference increases awareness of indigenous species By Don Hendershot The natives may not have been restless, but they were definitely in the spotlight last week. The region’s premier native plants conference — Cullowhee Conference: Native Plants in the Landscape — wrapped up its 19th annual program at Western Carolina University last Saturday. The conference, which closes registration at about 500 participants, always sells out. Participants include botanists, students, nursery operators, landscape architects, horticulturists, as well as representatives from botanical gardens, native plant societies and arboretums. The stated purpose of the conference is “to increase interest in and knowledge of propagating and preserving native southeastern plant species in the landscape.” The four-day conference starts with field trips on Wednesday. There were 17 different field trips this year including several along the Blue Ridge Parkway and others to places like Chimney Rock Park at Lake Lure, Whitesides Mountain near Cashiers, Panthertown Valley, Satulah Mountain and the Highlands Biological Station. The other three days are filled with educational workshops, enjoyable and informational programs, including plant walks on the WCU campus and plenty of time for networking and roaming the floor of the Ramsey Center where vendors have nursery stock and books on wildflowers, gardening and native plants. One regular feature of the Cullowhee Conference is the presentation of the Tom Dodd Jr. Award of Excellence. The award represents outstanding contributions in the conservation, understanding and promotion of native plants in the landscape. Ed Clebsch, professor emeritus of botany at the University of Tennessee, serves on the awards committee. The award winner remains a secret until the announcement during the conference. Clebsch thought he was one of the privileged few when awards director Mary Painter asked him to keep an eye on horticulturist Dick Bir to ensure that he would be nearby when the award was announced. Clebsch told Painter she had made an excellent choice. When the plantsman award winner was announced, though, it was Clebsch. “They pulled the wool way over my eyes,” Clebsch said. Clebsch’s work in botany and conservation throughout the region is widespread and much respected. “He’s an excellent choice for the plantsman award,” said Dan Pittillo, WCU botany professor and a steering committee member for the conference. Some of Clebsch’s accomplishments include research to preserve endangered species such as the Tennessee coneflower and Ruth’s golden aster. In the conservation arena Clebsch has been called on to testify in the Tellico Dam hearings and has provided strong advocacy for the establishment of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and the Obed National Scenic River. He is a founding member of the Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning. For nearly 30 years, Clebsch worked as coordinator for the Great Smoky Mountains Wildflower Pilgrimage, the oldest and best known event of its kind in the country. For the last 16 years or so, Clebsch and his wife, Meredith, have operated Native Gardens, a native plant nursery in Greenback, Tenn. that boasts over 200 species of native plants all grown from seeds, spores or cuttings. Clebsch also serves on the steering committee for the Cullowhee Conference and is a regular attendee, participating in 17 out of the 19 conferences. This conference fills up quickly each year. Clebsch will probably be there with some of his 200 species of native plants. If you want to participate or learn more about the conference, call the University Outreach Center at WCU at 828.277.7397 or write to Return to Native Plants, 138 University Outreach Center, WCU, Cullowhee, N.C., 28723.