Nearly 500 people attended the 18th annual “Cullowhee Conference; Native Plants in the Landscape” that ended July 28.

Dr. Dan Pittillo, a botanist at Western Carolina University and a member of the steering committee for the conference, said there were 18 field trips, six workshops and at least a dozen programs during the four-day event. Participants came from as far away as Texas and New England.

Pittillo said the Cullowhee Conference is the longest running and most sought-after native plants program in the region. He said there is never a problem filling the conference, but that 500 is probably the maximum number of attendees organizers want.

“We don’t want it to grow too large. We want people to have an opportunity to bump into one another,” Pittillo said.

The conference brings together people with varied interests, knowledge and skills. The field trips, workshops and programs reflect this variety. Pittillo said the steering committee asks for input from guests and designs different programs.

Field trips included destinations such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, Joyce Kilmer National Forest, Shining Rock Wilderness; particular disciplines like the study of fungi and the study of mosses; and methodology such as vegetative and soil surveying. Workshops included nature journaling; plant keying; and techniques for stream restoration. Programs included the natural history of the Southern Appalachians; exotic plant management in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; landscaping with fire; proper pruning practices and tree identification.

Besides being on the steering committee, Pittillo leads field trips and presents programs during the conference. This year he led an ecology trip; Methods in Plant Community Ecology: Vegetative Surveying. Pittillo said the exercise was two-fold - to learn how to lay out and sample a plot and to compare two different habitats.

Rick Huffman of Pickens, S.C., a landscape architect and president of the South Carolina Native Plant Society, was one of the participants on Pittillo’s field trip. This was Huffman’s fifth conference.

“The conference is great. One of the biggest resources is the people who attend,” Huffman said.

Area naturalist George Ellison and his wife Elizabeth were also presentors at the conference. Elizabeth facilitated a workshop - Nature Journaling and Field Sketching - while George and horticulturist Kim Hawks led a field trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. George Ellison also led another field trip, Birds in the Landscape, which focused on plants that provide food and cover for birds.

The stated purpose of the conference is “to increase interest in and knowledge of propagating and preserving native southeastern plant species in the landscape.”

Pittillo said the main draw is the natural beauty and amazing biodiversity of the region. “Everyone comes to see our vegetation,” he said.

Next year’s conference is already scheduled for July 24-27. For more information call 828.277.7397 or write; Return to Native Plants, 138 University Outreach Center, WCU, Cullowhee, NC, 28723.

 

Back to Top
The Smoky Mountain News