DATE: 3/29/05
WRITER: Diane Palmer, (864) 656-4741

NEWS BRIEFS FROM CLEMSON UNIVERSITY’S PSA MEDIA RELATIONS

1. Carolina Yards & Neighborhoods program set for April 2
2. S. C. Native Plant Society Symposium scheduled for April 22-24

1. Carolina Yards & Neighborhoods program set for April 2

The Carolina Yards & Neighborhoods program is scheduled for April 2 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Hayden Conference Center in the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

The program is free and open to anyone who is interested in transforming their yards into beautiful landscapes by adopting environmentally-friendly landscape practices.

Clemson University’s Home and Garden Information Center Director James Blake will be speaker. The program includes online resources and a downloadable handbook that will help to not only conserve limited water resources and reduce pollution, but will also help save time, energy, and money.

Registration is not required. Check the South Carolina Botanical Garden’s website at: http://www.clemson.edu/scbg/ for other garden programs.

2. S.C. Native Plant Society Symposium scheduled for April 22-24

Want to learn how to create a landscape or enhance your garden with native plants? Then plan to attend the S.C. Native Plant Society Symposium April 22-14 at the Riverbanks Zoo
& Botanical Garden in Columbia.

The theme of this year’s event is “The River in the City: Plant, animal and human interactions in the Midlands of South Carolina.”

An evening with Professor Reed Noss, author, lecturer, international consultant and Davis-Shine Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Central Florida will
be April 22 at 7 p.m.

Also scheduled are Saturday workshops, local field trips, and a Saturday evening dinner with Professor Stephen Buchmann.

Cost for Friday evening with Professor Reed Noss is $30, which includes refreshments and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Saturday workshops and field trips are $80, which includes a
boxed lunch, workshop materials or transportation for field trips. The cost for Saturday evening with Professor Stephen Buchmann is $30. Participants may register for all or some of the events. A $10 late registration fee will apply after April 12.

“The South Carolina Native Plant Society is a strong supporter of Clemson University's sustainable environment emphasis, with outreach and conservation efforts in use of native plants in private and public landscapes,” said Bill Stringer, Clemson University professor in the Department of Entomology, Soil and Plant Sciences.

For program agenda and registration information, go to: http://www.scnps.org/symposium.html.

The S.C. Native Plant Society is a non-profit organization committed to the preservation and protection of native plant communities in South Carolina.

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