Fall Fling

Join us Saturday, September 27, 2025!

TOPICS & SPEAKERS 

Landscape Design with Native Plants
Paul Bouseman

Gardening for Pollinators
Tabby Flinn

Gardening for Birds
Edward Oehlman

More detailed information about 2025 topics and speakers coming soon.


LOGISTICS

Date and Time
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Doors Open at: 8:00 am
Program: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Location
Ivy Tech Community College, Shreve Hall
200 Daniels Way
Bloomington, Indiana

Fee (Paypal or Check)
$15.00

Contact
monroeces@purdue.edu

About the 2024 Inaugural Program

The 2024 line-up featured four speakers with expertise in the following topics. There was time for Q&A after each presentation.

Collecting and Processing Native Plant Seeds
Bill Daniels, Native Seed Communities Program Leader at Indiana Native Plant Society

A Basic Introduction to Pruning
Haskell Smith, Urban Forester, City of Bloomington

Pollinator Habitat Enhancement for Home Landscapes
Mary Welz, Indiana Partner Biologist at Pollinator Partnership

Gardening in our Climate Changing World
Dr. Bennet Brabson, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Indiana University Bloomington

Logistics

DATE
Saturday, September 28, 2024

TIME
Breakfast snacks:
8:00 a.m.
Program:
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

LOCATION
Extension Office
3400 South Walnut Street, Bloomington, IN

FEE
$10.00

2024 speakers

Bill Daniels, Native Seed Communities Program Leader at Indiana Native Plant Society

Bill retired in 2019 from a work-life spent primarily in horticulture and environmental, health and safety, and now spends much of his time procuring, processing and propagating native plant seeds.

In addition to being the Indiana Native Seed Communities Program Leader, he helps with the Monroe County-Identify and Reduce Invasive Species (MC-IRIS) Fall Native Plant Sale and Sycamore Land Trust’s Native Plant Nursery. He is also a Master Gardener. Other areas of interest include vocal music and the effects of our food choices on biodiversity loss.

Recommended Reading

Haskell Smith, Urban Forester, City of Bloomington

pruning tools and garden gloves

Haskell Smith has been with the City of Bloomington in Urban Forestry since 2014, working nearly every job top to bottom. He currently holds two ISA credentials and sits on the board of directors for both the Indiana Arborist Association and the Indiana Community Forest Council.

Mary Welz, Indiana Partner Biologist at Pollinator Partnership

As a naturalist and plant enthusiast, Mary is passionate about the conservation of pollinators and the native plant communities upon which they depend. She earned a BS in Biology at Indiana University and studied Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia.

Among her professional roles, she worked for an ecological service provider, served as a Regional Specialist for State of Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management, and prior to joining Pollinator Partnership, worked as the environmental educator for Sycamore Land Trust. Through these positions, she conducted administrative support for native plant nursery operations, provided habitat planning technical assistance, and engaged various audiences through nature interpretation and land stewardship volunteer opportunities.

As P2’s Indiana Partner Biologist, Mary now assists small, specialty, urban, and other agricultural producers across Indiana with establishing pollinator friendly habitat by providing Farm Bill application and conservation planning support. She also works to create educational content to feature wildlife habitat success stories and promote conservation practices that benefit pollinators and other wildlife. After hours, Mary delights in tending her herb and vegetable garden, restoring her home landscape with native plants, and volunteering to 'wrangle' invasive plants.

Recommended Reading

Bennet Brabson, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Indiana University Bloomington

Bennet Brabson is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at Indiana University Bloomington, presently focusing his research on climate research and environmental physics. Dr. Brabson received his BA in Physics from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

Dr. Brabson has received various teaching awards at IUB, has published over 100 articles on high-energy physics and climate change, and has given numerous talks and lectures in the US and UK on high energy physics, on the science of climate changes, and on new energy resources.

His present research focuses on relationships among extreme temperatures, soil moisture, and the northern hemisphere jet stream in the US Midwest.

How to Get to the Shreve Hall at Ivy Tech Community College