Webinar: Planting for Resilience: Native Species, Food Webs, and Ecosystem-Based Design

Two expert perspectives—one rooted in ecological relationships, the other in professional practice—come together to examine how native plants can support biodiversity, pollinators, and resilient landscapes. From co-evolved plant–pollinator relationships to the realities of sourcing, design, and public acceptance, the session will examine how plant choices shape ecosystem function and long-term landscape performance, and connect theory, design intent, and implementation challenges.

The session will begin with a presentation by Lorraine Johnson, who will explore the networks of relationships between and among species that are the foundation of resilient ecological systems. In the context of climate change and biodiversity loss, how can the plant choices we make when designing places and spaces, and/or when formulating policies and practices, support the healthy functioning of food webs, particularly as they relate to the co-evolved dependencies and mutualisms of native plants and pollinators? With illustrative examples of specialist co-evolved relationships and their (often surprising) unique specificities and adaptations, this presentation encourages us to consider multi-species support as integral to designing and/or engaging with landscapes and communities.

For more than 30 years, Isabelle Dupras has observed and helped improve the use of indigenous plant species in landscape architecture. During that time she has documented the transformation of several issues surrounding indigenous species, including their use, their impact and the values associated with them. In this presentation, she will provide an overview of the role of indigenous species in landscape architecture, emphasizing the importance of an ecosystemic design approach focused on the services provided by different plants and approaches to combining them. Drawing on her experience as a nursery owner, she will highlight the challenges involved in securing supplies of native plants for projects, as well as the need to strike a strategic balance between biodiversity and social acceptance.

This webinar will be delivered as a bilingual presentation and question period, with live captioning available in both English and French.