2021 Ecological Restoration Symposium (online)
Healing Communities by Healing the Land
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Tuesday, April 13, 2021
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Symposium Mission Statement:
The Society for Ecological Restoration’s mission is to “advance the science, practice and policy of ecological restoration to sustain biodiversity, improve resilience in a changing climate, and re-establish an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture.”
In our 2021 symposium, we will focus on that final goal by lifting the voices and amplifying the stories of historically marginalized communities to ensure our collective efforts benefit both the natural resources and the people in greatest need. Our speakers will share specific strategies for building and retaining diverse teams of employees and volunteers; identifying people and places in greatest need of ecosystem restoration; and implementing restoration programs that have the power to heal and uplift under-resourced communities. If you haven’t already started, now is the time to add the lens of equity and compassion to every aspect of our shared work.
This symposium is co-hosted by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and the Northwest Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration to provide continuing education for restoration ecology practitioners.
Agenda:
Full agenda with abstracts (PDF)
Pacific Standard Timezone
9:00-9:15am | Welcome and introductory remarks |
9:15-10:00am | Finding Common Ground: Restoring Plant Communities Globally using the SER Standards for Traditional Ecological Knowledge Cristina Eisenberg, Ecologist, Author, and member of the Society for Ecological Restoration Board of Directors |
10-10:10am | Break |
10:10-11:00am | An Introduction to the Cultural Frameworks of Western and Indigenous Science Demarus Tevuk, Engagement Strategist, Sustainable Seattle
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11:00-11:10am | Break |
11:10am-12:00pm | Sharing the Power: Hyperlocal Community-led Solutions to Advance Environmental and Climate Justice Adrienne Hampton, Climate Policy and Engagement Manager, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition
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12:00-1:00pm | Lunch break |
1:00-2:30pm | Careers in Restoration: Models of Accessible Pathways
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2:30-2:40pm | Break |
2:40-3:25pm | Restoring Cultural and Environmental Communities Jourdan Keith, Founder and Director of Urban Wilderness Project |
3:25-3:30pm | Closing remarks |
Announcements & Attendee-shared Resources
Attendees are invited to make announcements about related news and opportunities on the symposium website. Contributions may include video, text, and/or images. Email urbhort@uw.edu if you have something to share.
- Article: Exploding Individuals: “Engaging Indigenous Logic and Decolonizing Science.” Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2020. By Rebekah Sinclair.
Planning Committee Members
Joy Wood, Co-chair | Founder, Principal Restoration Ecologist and Stewardship Specialist, Restoration Analytics & Design LLC |
Charlie Vogelheim, Co-Chair | Green Cities Project Manager, Forterra |
Jodie Galvan | Parks Operations Supervisor, City of Kirkland, WA |
Rolf Gersonde | Senior Environmental Analyst, Seattle Public Utilities |
Elby Jones | Green Cities Program Manager, Forterra |
Remy Mathonnet | UW Master of Environmental Horticulture student |
Bridget McNassar | Native Plant Program Manager, Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center |
Regina Wandler | Stewardship Manager, Skagit Land Trust |
Sponsors:
Supporters:
Restoration Analytics & Design LLC

Past Symposia
2020: Pollinators, Pests, and Prey
2020 Ecological Restoration Symposium:
Pollinators, Pests, and Prey (online)
Considering the roles of and mitigating for the influence of invertebrates within regional ecological restoration efforts
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Ecological restoration practitioners are growing increasingly aware of the importance of acknowledging multiple trophic levels and employing community ecology theories into project goals and design. In this symposium, we seek to examine the influence of invertebrates such as pollinators, beneficial insects, prey and pests, and to identify challenges and solutions in considering invertebrates in restorative efforts in terrestrial and aquatic systems.
This symposium is co-hosted by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and the Northwest Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration to provide continuing education for restoration ecology practitioners.
Why should you attend? Come to ask questions, to hear your colleagues’ stories of their successes and challenges, and to learn about cutting-edge approaches being used to improve restoration project success.
Professional credits approved: APLD-5.25, CERP-1, CPH-5.5, ecoPRO-5.5, NALP/WALP-5.5
Agenda
9:00 – 10:15am
Opening Session
Welcome
Joy Wood | Restoration Analytics & Design LLC, and symposium Planning Committee Co-chair
Jessica Farmer | University of Washington Botanic Gardens
Farmers of Forty Centuries: Agriculture’s Conservation Traditions
Eric Lee-Mäder, Pollinator Program Co-Director | Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Q&A | Facilitated by Rolf Gersonde, Senior Environmental Analyst | Seattle Public Utilities
10:30am – 12:00pm | Heaven for hymenoptera: Restoration for Pollinators
Sustaining an intricate web: plant-pollinator community interactions in conservation and restoration
Susan Waters, Research Ecologist | Quamash EcoResearch
How to Improve Bee Habitat: Get to Know Native Bees
Demarus Tevuk, Environmental Programs | Crown Bees
Q&A | Facilitated by Elby Jones, Green Cities Program Manager | Forterra
12:30 – 2:00pm | Forest’s friends and foes: The dual role of insects and disease in ecological restoration
Selected USDA program pests affecting natural environments – prevention, identification, management, and reporting
Clinton Campbell, State Operations Coordinator | United States Department of Agriculture
Forest Insect and Disease Issues in Ecological Restoration
Glenn Kohler, Forest Entomologist | WA Department of Natural Resources
Q&A | Facilitated by Charlie Vogelheim, Green Cities Project Manager| Forterra, and Planning Committee Co-chair
2:30 – 4:00pm | The coleoptera in the coalmine: Monitoring with invertebrates
From the Mountains to the Metropolis, Integrating Aquatic Invertebrates into Restoration Design and Monitoring
Sarah Morley, Research Ecologist | Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA
Trends in native forest insect pests; the Pacific Northwest as a case study
Alex Pane, PhD Candidate | UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Q&A | Facilitated by Rodney Pond, Executive Director | Sound Salmon Solutions
- The Secret Life of Rivers by Leaping Frog Films
- Macro photography of Jan Hamrsky at Life in Freshwater.net
Planning Committee Members
Joy Wood, Co-chair | Founder, Principal Restoration Ecologist and Stewardship Specialist, Restoration Analytics & Design LLC |
Charlie Vogelheim, Co-Chair | Green Cities Project Manager, Forterra |
Rolf Gersonde | Senior Environmental Analyst, Seattle Public Utilities |
Elby Jones | Green Cities Program Manager, Forterra |
Remy Mathonnet | UW Master of Environmental Horticulture student |
Rodney Pond | Executive Director, Sound Salmon Solutions |
Regina Wandler | Stewardship Manager, Skagit Land Trust |
Sponsors:
Supporters:
Herrera Environmental Consultants
2019: Restoration Beyond the Reference System
2019 Symposium:
Restoration Beyond the Reference System
Theoretical, practical, and ethical dimensions in managing for ecosystem function rather than species assemblages in a complex and forever changing landscape
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Reception to follow, 4:00 – 6:00pm
UW Botanic Gardens
Center for Urban Horticulture – NHS Hall
3501 NE 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98105
Detailed Agenda
Restoration practitioners are challenged by projects in which recovery toward a reference model community is not attainable. In these cases, it becomes advantageous to restore ecosystem function, rather than a historical suite of species. In this symposium, we will look at restoring ecosystems beyond reference conditions − from the theoretical background, practical application, and ethical dimensions that practitioners need to understand in order to restore ecological communities and functions across a complex and ever-changing landscape.
This symposium is co-sponsored by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and the Northwest Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration and is part of a collaboration to provide continuing education for restoration ecology practitioners. Come to ask questions, to hear your colleagues’ stories of their successes and challenges, and to learn about cutting-edge approaches being used to improve restoration project success.
*NEW in 2019: REMOTE ATTENDANCE: We are excited to offer remote attendance, helping make this symposium more accessible to a broader audience throughout our region.
Presentations:
- Novel and designed ecosystems: challenges for ecological restoration
Dr. Eric Higgs, Professor of Environmental Studies | University of Victoria (Presentation PDFs: Part 1 Part 2) - Reference Communities: Classification of Native Vegetation in the Pacific Northwest
Tynan Ramm-Granberg, Vegetation Ecologist | Washington Dept. of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program (Presentation PDF) - Union Bay Natural Area: A Dynamic Mosaic of Visions
Rodney Pond, Executive Director | Sound Salmon Solutions (Presentation PDF) - Cross-wise: When climate impacts intertwine with human legacies
Emily Howe, PhD, Aquatic & Estuarine Ecologist | The Nature Conservancy (Presentation PDF) - Conservation of an Endangered Butterfly and the Management of Novel Plant Assemblages
Amy Lambert, Ph.D., Full-Time Lecturer | University of Washington, Bothell, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (Presentation PDF) - Indigenous Restoration Perspectives (Presentation PDF)
Ashley Alvarez, Unangan, Black, & Filipina, Co-owner of Indigenous Roots LLC
Pah-tu Pitt, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Member, Native Kut - Diversity as strength: A rainbow of goals and approaches
Emma Marris, Environmental writer (Presentation PDF)
Sponsors:
Supporters:
Herrera Environmental Consultants
Restoration Analytics & Design LLC
Friends:
2018: Restoration in a Changing Climate: Adapting Practices to Meet Long-term Goals
2018 Symposium
Restoration in a Changing Climate: Adapting Practices to Meet Long-term Goals
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
University of Washington Botanic Gardens
Center for Urban Horticulture
3501 NE 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98105
Numerous management guidelines suggest incorporating climate change effects into planning and design of ecological restoration projects. This provides practitioners with challenges of balancing multiple sometimes conflicting goals in actionable restoration design. Practitioners learn by case studies, the application of ecological science and study. This symposium will provide examples of how general guidelines for climate change adaptation were incorporated into existing projects in the Pacific Northwest. While introducing their local restoration projects, practitioners will highlight which pertinent questions of restoration and adaptation they have addressed and conclude with take-home messages for the practitioner community on how to transfer their experience to related settings.
Symposium Announcement (PDF)
Program Agenda (PDF)
Presentations
- Buying time in a warmer climate: From restoration to resilience (Presentation PDF)
David L. Peterson, Professor | University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences - Climate change and restoration on the Stillaguamish Delta: Lessons learned (Presentation PDF)
Roger Fuller, Ecosystem Ecologist | Western Washington University, Huxley College of the Environment - Considering seed provenance and plant sourcing for climate-resilient ecological restoration (Presentation PDF)
Matt Distler, Staff Ecologist | Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center - Weeds and habitat shifts in a changing climate: Modelling and responding (Presentation PDF)
Steven Seefeldt, PhD, Assistant Research Faculty | WSU-Mount Vernon NW Research and Extension Center - Climate change adaptation planning and restoration project implementation to preserve treaty protected resources (Presentation PDF)
Brett Shattuck, Restoration Ecologist | The Tulalip Tribes
Sponsors:
Supporters:
2017: Applying Ecological Concepts to Project Design
2017 Symposium:
Applying Ecological Concepts to Project Design
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
8:30 am – 3:30 pm
University of Washington Botanic Gardens
Center for Urban Horticulture – NHS Hall
3501 NE 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98105
Symposium Announcement
Program Agenda
An extensive network of professional restoration practitioners are actively engaged in restoring habitats in the Pacific Northwest. In the Ecological Restoration Symposium, we will present case studies to explore lessons learned from recent projects, enhance participants’ understanding and knowledge of best practices, and stimulate thinking about alternative approaches to tackle thorny problems. Come to ask questions, to hear your colleagues’ stories of their successes and challenges, and to learn about cutting-edge approaches being used to improve restoration project success. This symposium is co-sponsored by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and the Northwest Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration and is part of a new collaboration to provide continuing education for restoration ecology practitioners.
Speakers:
- Kern Ewing, Professor | University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
- Email: kern@uw.edu
- Presentation: The Ecology in Restoration (PDF)
- Joshua Chenoweth, Restoration Ecologist | Olympic National Park
- Judy Blanco, Director of Riparian Restoration | Forterra
- Rodney Pond, Executive Director | Sound Salmon Solutions
- Morgan Ruff, Snohomish Basin Capital Projects Coordinator | Tulalip Tribes
- Email: mruff@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
- Presentation: Protecting Hydrology (PDF)
- WRIA 7 Climate Change Impacts to Salmon Issue Paper
- Snohomish River Basin Salmon Conservation Plan (view plan) (view appendices)
- Snohomish Basin Protection Plan (view Plan) (view Technical Appx.) (view Recommendations Appx.)
- Snohomish Basin Protection Early Action Reports (Woods Creek Water Typing) (Skykomish Land Protection Assessment)
- Tulalip Tribes website
- Beth leDoux, Snoqualmie Watershed Technical Coordinator | King County Water and Land Resources Division
- Sarah Hamman, Restoration Ecologist | Center for Natural Lands Management
Additional Resources:
- Reed Canarygrass Annotated Bibliography, Boundary Hydroelectric Project (P-2144), Terrestrial Resources Management Plan. Prepared by Seattle City Light ecologist, Scott Luchessa. (PDF)
- Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) Control & Management in the Pacific Northwest. Mandy Tu, The Nature Conservancy’s Wildland Invasive Species Team The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Field Office, 2004.
- King County Noxious Weed Control Program BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES King County Noxious Weed Control Program REED CANARYGRASS BMP 206-477-9333 Website: www.kingcounty.gov/weeds February 2015, Page 1 Reed Canarygrass
For those interested in restoring native emergent wetlands or wet prairie:
- Wisconsin Reed Canary Grass Management Working Group. 2009. Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) Management Guide: Recommendations for Landowners and Restoration Professionals
- Practical Guidelines for Wetland Prairie Restoration in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Field-Tested Methods and Techniques. Krueger et al. 2014.
Professional Credits Approved: APLD (4), ASLA (5), ecoPRO (5), NALP/WALP (5), ASCA (3), SER CERP (5), ISA (4.75)
Contact: urbhort@uw.edu / 206-685-8033
Sponsors:
Supporters:
Herrera Environmental Consultants
Washington State Department of Ecology
Society of Wetland Scientists
Friends:
Sound Salmon Solutions