Dan Lurie, Erdenheim Farm Manager and ISA Certified Arborist  

This class will cover the basics of winter (dormant) pruning of apple and peach trees. The discussion will include how fruit trees grow and produce flowers and fruit, pruning tools, and a demonstration of pruning large mature fruit trees; followed by a hands-on portion of the class where each student will prune a young peach tree.  
The class is held at Erdenheim Farm, where there are 125 fruit trees, and taught by Farm Manager and ISA Certified Arborist Dan Lurie. Class is outside so attendees should dress appropriately and bring their own pruning shears with a holster.
This class has been approved for 2.5 CEUs with ISA, LA CES, and the New Jersey Board of Tree Experts.  

Wednesday, February 26
10:00 am – 12:30 pm  

Members: $60 / Non-members: $65

Doug Tallamy, Professor of Entomology at the University of Delaware; Author, Bringing Nature Home (2007), The Living Landscape (2014), Nature’s Best Hope (2020), and The Nature of Oaks (2021).

Join author and entomologist Doug Tallamy at Temple Ambler Arboretum for a lecture and deep discussion about concrete ways each of us can make a positive environmental impact.  Nearly every day Doug receives emails from people who have read his books and heard his talks and yet still have questions about ecological land care. These are good, thoughtful questions about ecology and evolution, biodiversity, invasive species, insect declines, native and non-native plants, conservation and restoration, residential and city landscapes, urban issues, oak biology, keystone plants, Homegrown National Park, monarchs, supporting wildlife at home, and more.  
Join us as Doug addresses as many of these queries as he can, with hope that his answers will further motivate and inform us all in our desire to restore ecosystem function where we live, work, play, worship, and garden.

This program is co-presented by Morris Arboretum & Gardens and the Temple Ambler Arboretum.  It is offered IN PERSON at Temple Ambler Arboretum and  offered ONLINE via Zoom with recording.  Please go to our In Focus section to register for this course.

It has been approved to carry 1.5 LA CES and ISA CEUs.

Tuesday, March 11
2:00 – 3:30 pm  

Students / Young professionals / Subsidized rate: $15
General admission: $25
Professionals / Benefactor rate: $35

Please go to our In Focus section to register for this course.

John Majdic,  Landscape Designer, GreenWeaver Landscapes  

Is your home landscape ready for spring showers? Join us for a timely program exploring practical strategies for managing stormwater on a residential scale. You’ll learn a range of approaches, from straightforward measures like reducing turf areas to more advanced solutions such as incorporating planted bioswales. You will leave with an understanding of a variety of green infrastructure techniques that could be implemented on your own property. We will explore plant selection and planting techniques and move through a number of successful case studies that illustrate the aesthetic and environmental benefits of sustainable stormwater management in residential settings. Uncontrolled stormwater runoff poses a significant threat to local watersheds, contributing to pollution and ecological degradation. Effective management strategies are crucial for restoring our lands to functional ecosystems. With approximately 83.9 percent of Pennsylvania's land under private ownership, much of it residential, homeowners play a pivotal role in regional habitat stewardship!

John Majdic is a landscape designer with GreenWeaver Landscapes. His specialty is incorporating ethical stormwater management, native plantings, and habitat gardens into his plans in an artful manner that reflects the aesthetic desires of his clients along with their sense of environmental stewardship.  

This program has been approved to carry 2 LA CES and ISA CEUs.

Thursday, March 13
6:00 – 8:00 pm
 
Members: $35 / Non-members: $40

Please go to our Horticulture & Design section to register for this course.

Christopher Roddick, ISA Certified Arborist, NOFA AOLCP

Modern arboriculture recognizes trees as the center of tree-based ecosystem and yet, in practice, we all too often manage trees as isolated organisms. This workshop will introduce you to Ecological Arboriculture, a holistic approach to caring for trees, woody plants, and landscapes that considers trees as habitat, food sources, and ecosystem engineers. Planting strategies, species selection, and other arboriculture practices can be adapted to increase biodiversity and functionality in the landscape while still making beautiful spaces.  
Christopher Roddick spent 30 years as the head arborist and foreman of grounds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Now he’s moved to southern New England to start Sweet Birch Land & Tree, an arboricultural consultancy and practice. By looking at trees as tree-based ecosystems, Chris follows a holistic approach to caring for trees and land called Conservation Arboriculture. Chris is an ISA Certified Arborist and a NOFA AOLCP. He is the author of the Tree Care Primer, a guide to care for young, mature, and veteran trees.
This class will meet in the Welcome Center at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens. After a morning of learning indoors, we will move into the gardens for an afternoon of learning outdoors. Dress for the weather.  
This class has been approved for 6 CEUs with ISA, LA CES, and the New Jersey Board of Tree Experts.  

Friday, March 28
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
 
Fee: $165

Please go to our In Focus section to register for this course.

Samantha Nestory, Engagement Manager and Naturalist, Stoneleigh: a natural garden

Most people are familiar with the innumerable benefits of living trees, but even after their death, trees provide vital habitat, shelter, and food for wildlife. Join us as we learn how dead and dying trees still teem with life, from tiny termites to fantastic flying squirrels and everything in between! This program will begin inside with a lecture and discussion and then move outside to explore the way Stoneleigh has worked to incorporate dead wood into its landscape projects and native plantings.  
This program will take place at Stoneleigh, a former private estate located in Villanova that is now one of the newest public gardens in the Philadelphia region. Its extraordinary trees, sweeping vistas, and intimate garden spaces reflect more than a century of loving care by three different families. In its new role, Stoneleigh is an intriguing blend of historical landscapes overlayed with beautiful new gardens designed to support and nurture our local ecology. Stoneleigh’s Engagement Manager Samantha Nestory holds ecology and entomology degrees from the University of Delaware and is passionate about ecological gardening, native plants, and insect conservation.
We will meet at Stoneleigh: a natural garden, in Villanova, PA. This program has been approved to carry 2.5 CEUs from ISA, LA CES, and the NJ Board of Tree Experts.

Tuesday, April 8
1:00 – 3:30 pm  

Members: $40 / Non-members: $45

Peter Fixler, Chief Arborist, Morris Arboretum & Gardens  

This class provides an introduction to tree climbing and features the opportunity to have supervised climbing instruction in trees. It is ideal for tree companies looking to advance promising grounds staff, or for gardeners and landscapers who want to add new skills. Effective methods for climbing trees will be demonstrated by instructors and practiced by students. Safety rules will be reviewed and stressed. Students will learn how to tie critical knots regularly used by arborists.
If you have them, bring an arborist’s rope and saddle, a hard hat, gloves, and safety glasses to the class. If not, there is equipment you may use. Wear boots, long pants, and dress for the weather. This class will meet at the Bloomfield Farm Horticulture Center before heading outdoors.
This class has been approved for 6 CEUs with the ISA, LA CES, and the NJ Board of Tree Experts.  

Friday, April 25
9:00 am – 4:00 pm  

Fee: $165

Andrew Conboy, Certified Arborist & Founder, Colonial Canopy Trees  

From dry ridge tops to swamp margins to serpentine barrens, our native oak species (Quercus) thrive in an exceptionally wide range of environmental conditions. Oaks serve as important keystone species throughout much of the United States, and their ecological value is unrivaled. Despite this, oaks are often underutilized outside of ecologically oriented native-plant landscapes. In this course, we will explore the versatility of our PA-native oaks in the landscape. We'll learn about each species' preferences and discuss how you can implement more in your designs, projects, and gardens. We'll then walk through the Quercus collection (Quercetum) on the Bloomfield Farm side of the arboretum to check out various majestic specimens!
This class has been approved for 2 CEUs with ISA, LA CES, and the New Jersey Board of Tree Experts.  

Friday, May 9
1:00 – 3:00 pm  

Members: $30 / Non-members: $35