Planting for Climate Resilience in Northeast Landscapes

In addition to playing the essential role of sustaining vital pollinators, birds and other wildlife, native plants also offer countless other benefits that are indispensable in the age of climate change. When native plant communities are re-established and maintained with ecologically attuned landscaping practices, they can minimize flooding and stormwater runoff, shade and cool concrete-heavy areas, survive droughts, and facilitate carbon storage more effectively than the landscapes dominated by turf and mulch that blanket so many of our communities. We may not be able to garden our way out of climate change, but what we do at home matters. We can rebuild and repair our landscapes and relationships while continuing to organize for an intersectional approach to a healthier, more just future.

This Ted Exford Climate Stewards lecture is supported by Dave & Loretta (Exford) Hoglund.

About the Presenter

Tyler Refsland, Manager of Applied Ecology at the Wild Seed Project (WSP), has an extensive background in plant ecology, forest restoration, and climate change. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he studied how land management practices affect the drought resilience and carbon storing capacity of oak-hickory woodlands. Prior to his role at WSP, Tyler was a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University, working in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and Wisconsin DNR to develop seed collection and planting strategies to promote climate resilient forests in the Great Lakes region. He lives in Portland with his partner, their two children, and dog Harriet.