The focus this year of the GNPS 2023 Symposium is Planting with Purpose: at home, in designed landscapes, and when restoring habitat in the wild. Researching appropriate native plants and choosing to incorporate a major of native plants in our properties and projects makes a difference to the other inhabitants of our ecosystems: birds, butterflies, and bees.

Specialist butterflies, moths, and bees need native plants. Native plants are the first trophic layer to convert sunlight into food for insects, helping to ensure that those insects thrive. Bird populations rely on abundant insect life to sustain their populations. Our purposeful selection of plants makes a difference to these creatures.

On Day 2, we will also take some time to highlight the activities of our chapters. Our chapters are the boots on the ground folks that bring activities closer to and more regionally meaningful for our members.

Saturday 9:00 am – 12 pm

1. Trecia Neal – Native Plant Gardening Myths- Why We Need Native Plants!
2. Gabe Andrle – Understanding Habitat to Support Birds and other Wildlife with Native Plants
3. Kathryn Kolb – What’s in your Yard? – Reveal and restore the natural landscape on your property

Sunday 2:00 – 4:30 pm

1. Benjamin Vogt – Fundamentals of Garden Layers
2. GNPS Chapter Highlights – What Worked Well and Where We’re Going

Our GNPS 2023 Symposium event will be virtual again this year. To make the event more manageable, it will be spread across two days and each session will be recorded for future playback. GNPS is partnering with Georgia Audubon to present this program. The cost for GNPS and Georgia Audubon members is $10 per day ($20 total across the two days); the cost for non-members is $12 per day. You can register here, but note that registration is being handled by Georgia Audubon. When you get to the registration site, dismiss the pop-up asking you to login in if you are not also a Georgia Audubon member.

Speaker bios available at our main symposium page.