GARDEN AURORA 

Est. 1918

​Rooted in our town for 105 years


2025 Speaker Program

                                                                                                               

Date
SpeakerTopicDescription
February 28 
Garden Aurora Board of DIrector's
Get to Know Garden Aurora and Flower Show Awards
Orientation Meeting on Zoom   
March 26   
David Hawke
Fascinating Fungi: The Fundamentals
David Hawke is a naturalist, photographer, writer, speaker, and a land steward. He started his career in outdoor education at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre (Midland) and continued at the Tiny Marsh Provincial Wildlife Area (Elmvale).

Recently he was with the Couchiching Conservancy land trust, in the position of Property Manager. Currently he is with the MTM Conservation Association overseeing the removal of Common Reed from the Tiny Marsh wetland. When not busy with outdoor work, David authors a weekly nature column which can be read at the website OrilliaMatters.com.

During this session David will share with you the roles that are performed within our ecosystem by mushrooms, toadstools, slime molds and other seemingly icky things. Identification features and how mushroom guides are arranged will be discussed. This is not a "can I eat it?" presentation.

April 23   
André Flys
Honey bees, Beekeepers, Agriculture
André Flys is owner/ operator / beekeeper, mead maker, production manager at Pioneer Brand Honey. His brand provides natural products that encourage environmentally sustainable food sources. He is a third generation beekeeper, past-president of Ontario Beekeepers Association, former lead for honeybee education at the Royal Winter Fair, and past teacher at the Niagara College commercial beekeeping program. He has a booth at the Aurora Farmer’s Market.

You will meet a beekeeper and learn how commercial beekeeping operations in Ontario and abroad play a role in today’s challenging unsustainable agriculture model. Learn the basics of honeybee biology and what role each bee plays in the hierarchy of the colony, as well as the products and services honeybees provide humanity.  

May 28   
 Julien Robertson
Neighborhood Stewardship - Home making in the Anthropocene
Julien is a Science Communication & Development Coordinator at the Canadian Council on Invasive Species, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and the founder of Homegrown Society. Homegrown Society is a citizen network that is taking responsibility for the stewardship of our shared natural spaces. He is creating space for youth and community members to learn about nature through natural inquiry and place-based initiatives. Homegrown Society currently facilitates the Case Woodlot Guardians program in Aurora. This is a 17 hectare forest nestled in the Aurora Highlands, located at the headwaters of Tannery Creek in the East Holland River Watershed which flows to Lake Simcoe.

Drawing from Homegrown Society’s stewardship work, Julien will paint a picture of what it means to care for Urban Nature in the Anthropocene and what we can do to be better neighbors to our shared natural spaces. Together we will explore the wonders of the Lake Simcoe Watershed with a focus on Aurora’s natural heritage and envision new and old paradigms for a greener collective future. 

June 25     
Lynn Short
Introducing the concept of Neekaaniganaa (All Our Relations in Ojibwe)
Lynn Short is a wife, mother to three and grandmother to five. She is very connected to the land and spends most of her time outdoors, working and playing! She was the Environmental Stewardship Specialist at the Humber Arboretum at Humber College. Lynn worked at Humber College since 2005 in various positions; Senior Nature Interpreter at the Centre for Urban Ecology, Professor of Horticulture at the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology and Co-Lead on a land based project for Early Childhood Education. She has retired and is looking forward to spending time outdoors at a friend’s Organic Farm growing vegetables and the Nature Preserve where she is a part owner.

The concept of Neekaaniganaa (All Our Relations in Ojibwe) will be introduced. We will discuss the importance of including native plants into your garden landscape. We will talk about native species vs. invasive species vs. cultivars, their advantages and disadvantages.

July 24  
Dorte Windmuller
Layered Landscapes and Soft Landings
Dorte's love for native plants started in 2016 when she transformed some lawns into flowerbeds using native plants. She was so delighted at how fast abundant life came back into her garden that she needed to share it and co-founded the Cliffcrest Butterflyway and a mini nursery for native plants. She followed this up by studying soil regeneration with Dr. Elaine Ingham.  She is passionate about helping people act on climate change and biodiversity loss in manageable way, she facilitates the Seed Sitters program at the David Suzuki Foundation and works with schools, organizations like Variety Village and private landowners as a pollinator garden consultant.

Dorte will share her love for layered landscapes in her presentation. Layered landscapes consist of trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and groundcovers, they attract more birds and bees into your garden. By creating edge habitat you can support a greater diversity of life. Layered landscapes are very beautiful and make better use of your garden space. Dorte will introduce you to some native plants that are wildlife favourites and the concept of soft landings.

September 24
Darryl Cheng
Bringing Houseplants Indoors for Winter
Darryl Cheng is the author of 'The New Plant Parent' and 'The New Plant Collector' and creator of House Plant Journal. He is a passionate advocate for indoor gardening.  Darryl’s passion for plants and engineering approach to plant care have turned him into one of the most trusted houseplant resources on the internet! What was initially a hobby Tumblr page has turned into an Instagram account with over half a million followers, a go-to website for anything houseplant related, and plant time-lapse videos that have gone viral around the world.

Did you give your houseplants a summer boost?  When exactly should I bring them back inside?  In this talk, Darryl brings his “Engineer’s Approach” to help you understand the optimal way to augment houseplant growth outdoors in the summer and how to keep them going strong indoors through the winter.  We’ll touch on care fundamentals, grow lights, and pests - in Darryl's clear, data-driven style.


October 22
Shaun Booth
Intro to Natural Garden Design
Shaun Booth is owner of In Our Nature, a natural garden design firm and native plant nursery. As a co-author of the Globe & Mail bestselling book “The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region”, Shaun brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to design projects. His unique blend of experience allows you to benefit from innovative nature-friendly solutions that perfectly blend the needs of biodiversity and beauty to your garden.

In this talk Shaun will explore how natural garden design differs from traditional horticulture, what benefits it brings to nature and our gardens, and actionable steps to make a place for nature in your yard using native plants and natural garden design.

Shaun will bring copies of his book for sale at the meeting.