2ND ANNUAL

Think Natives First™

Plant Conference 2026

presented by Native Forest Nursery

sPECIFY iT rIGHT.

nATIVE pLANTS FROM pLAN TO pERFORMANCE

Tuesday, August 11

8:30a – 5:30p

Gwinnett Technical College

5150 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA 30043

Meet the Experts

The 2026 curated lineup of changemakers who are already leading the charge in “thinking natives first.” Lineup is firm, but subject to change. Check back often for updates.

Ashley Frasca

TNF Emcee & Host of “Green and Growing with Ashley Frasca”

Ashley has been a staple at 95.5 WSB Radio in Atlanta for more than 15 years. She helps folks navigate Atlanta traffic each morning, and her Saturday morning garden show “Green and Growing with Ashley Frasca” is one of the newest shows on 95.5 WSB. It is a must-listen in Georgia and beyond, for those who want to be successful with their lawn, landscape or garden.

For eight years, she served as producer for the “Lawn & Garden Show,” under Walter Reeves. When Walter retired in February 2020, she became the host of “Green and Growing with Ashley Frasca,” airing every Saturday from 6:00 to 9:00a. The show covers garden basics and includes expert interviews, features from around town, and garden questions from listeners.

We welcome her back for the second year as our emcee and session moderator.

Clay Bolt

World Wildlife Fund

Positive Impact Native Plants in the Urban Setting Can Have on At Risk Species

Clay is known for drawing attention to the diverse, often overlooked world of native bees, like the rusty-patched bumble bee. His work sparked Midwest communities to replace lawns with native plants and restore habitat. In this talk, Clay explores how that same transformation can happen in the Southeast, home to hundreds of native bee species. By planting natives and creating nesting space, communities here can help pollinators thrive too. It’s a reminder that beauty and urgency go hand in hand, and that collective action can bring a species back from the edge.

Clay Bolt serves as WWF’s Manager of Pollinator Conservation and Great Plains Communications, working to protect native bees and grassland ecosystems through habitat restoration, education, and reducing pesticide dependence. An award-winning natural history photographer published in National Geographic, The New York Times, and National Wildlife Magazine, he was instrumental in securing Endangered Species Act protection for the rusty-patched bumble bee, North America’s first native bee to achieve that status. In 2019, he made history as the first photographer to document a living Wallace’s Giant Bee, the world’s largest bee, during an expedition to Indonesia.

Jake Brown

Native Habitat Project

The Importance of Saving Native Biodiversity for Future Generations

The Native Habitat Project believes that you can’t appreciate what you don’t know, which is why education is their number one priority in highlighting the value of native ecosystems.

In this session with Jake, we’ll explore why protecting that biodiversity matters now more than ever, and what it takes to ensure these ecosystems, and the species that depend on them, are still here for generations to come.

Growing up on a farm in East-central Alabama, some of Jake’s earliest memories are of “nature walks” around the family property with his grandmother, searching for anything that walked, crawled, swam, flew, or bloomed. That early curiosity blossomed into a lifelong love of the outdoors. Jake went on to study at Auburn University, earning a degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Environmental Engineering. He spent six years working for a private engineering firm before joining the Native Habitat Project, where he now applies his engineering background to the work of restoring and protecting native landscapes.

Chad Casselman

Native Forest Nursery, LLC

Nursery Stock Selection and Sourcing: How to Stack the Deck in Your Favor

In this practical, insider-focused session, Chad breaks down what separates a thriving planting project from a failed one, which often comes down to the plants themselves. He will walk attendees through the key differences in nursery stock types, what to look for in a truly healthy plant (roots first), and how proper nutrition, air pruning, and container selection set plants up for long-term success. Most importantly, he’ll share how to stack the deck in your favor by sourcing strategically, building nursery relationships early, and avoiding the costly mistake of treating plant procurement as an afterthought.

Chad Casselman is the Operations Manager at Native Forest Nursery, where he has overseen all facets of the business, from finances and team management to sales and marketing, since joining in 2016. An entrepreneur at heart, Chad was drawn to NFN by a genuine commitment to working with organizations dedicated to improving the natural environment.

Brandy Hall

Shades of Green Permaculture

Smart Stormwater: Practical Solutions for a Resilient Future

What if your landscape could slow, sink, and store every drop of rain… while also restoring soil health and supporting native ecosystems? In this seminar, Brandy shares practical, permaculture-based strategies for designing landscapes that treat water as a resource, not a runoff problem.

Whether you’re a landowner, designer, or sustainability enthusiast, you’ll leave with actionable tools for transforming your landscape into a climate-resilient ecosystem.

Brandy Hall is the Founder & CEO of Shades of Green Permaculture, a certified B Corp named to Inc.’s 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in 2025. Since founding the company in 2008, she has led a team of 30 in working with thousands of clients to design and build regenerative, resilient landscapes. With nearly two decades of experience as a general contractor, stone mason, and educator, Brandy is recognized nationally as “part of a new guard of landscape designers” (Garden & Gun) and her first book, The Complete Guide to Home Permaculture, will be published in January 2026. She also serves as Mayor of Pine Lake, GA, and enjoys spending time outdoors with her daughter.

Dr. Bethany Harris, Ph. D.

University of Georgia

Setting the Stage for Success: Preparing Sites for Native Plant Establishment

Successful native plantings begin with proper planning and preparation. This presentation by Dr. Harris will cover invasive species identification and removal, site assessment, soil preparation, and best management practices for native plant establishment. Attendees will learn practical strategies to improve planting success, reduce maintenance challenges, and create resilient native landscapes.

Dr. Bethany Harris holds an M.S. in Entomology and PhD in Horticulture from UGA, and built her career through pollinator research, leading the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens, and coordinating the Horticulture Program at Southern Crescent Technical College. Now, as Center for Urban Agriculture Director, she works with industry professionals, homeowners, and county agents on sustainable food production, pollinator conservation, urban forestry, and more..

Dr. Heather Kirk-Ballard, Ph. D.

University of Georgia

From Turf to Meadows: Site Preparation and Establishment Strategies for Native Plantings

Turning turf into thriving native meadows takes more than good intentions. It starts with a solid plan. In this session, Dr. Ballard shares research-based strategies for preparing sites and establishing native plantings that actually take hold. Topics include effective weed management techniques, understanding herbicide tolerance in native species, and proven approaches to getting new plantings established successfully, from initial site prep through the critical early stages of growth. Attendees will leave with practical, science-backed tools to reduce establishment failures and set native landscapes up for long-term success.

Dr. Heather Kirk-Ballard is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Sustainable Urban Landscapes at UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, where she develops programming focused on climate-resilient, environmentally friendly landscaping. Her work champions native plants, biodiversity, permeable hardscaping, water conservation, and strategies to reduce the urban heat island effect. Through research and outreach, she educates students, communities, professionals, and policymakers on designing landscapes that balance beauty with lasting environmental impact.

Jacob Lange, RLA, LEED AP & Aubrey Sabba

Starr Whitehouse

Innovative Approaches to Native Plant Integration in Urban Landscapes

Jacob and his colleague Aubrey will present several case studies from New York to Atlanta that integrate robust native plant programs under physical, operational, and environmental constraints. Explored along a transect from upland to lowland urban environments, the speakers will highlight specific approaches, some design-based, some technical, some operational, that were developed during the design phase to ensure long-term plant success amidst difficult odds.

The case studies will range from immersive over-structure amenity landscapes to public parks with intense use and limited maintenance resources, as well as large habitat reclamation projects where native plants provide environmental and human health benefits.

Jacob Lange, Partner and Atlanta Studio Director at Starr Whitehouse, leads the firm’s Southeast work on waterfront parks, pedestrian-centered districts, and green infrastructure, including a multi-phase Chattahoochee River park system in Roswell and downtown revitalization in Alpharetta. His prior projects include a pedestrian-focused redesign study for Georgia Tech’s North Avenue and brownfield transformations like the Atlantic Chestnut Affordable Housing Complex and NYPD 40th Precinct Station House. Beyond his project work, Jacob is active in ULI Atlanta (a 2020 Center for Leadership graduate), volunteers with Park Pride’s Park Visioning program, and teaches and critiques at Clemson and Georgia Tech’s architecture schools.

Aubrey Sabba, Landscape Architect and Senior Associate at Starr Whitehouse, has two decades of experience designing cultural landscapes, parks, trails, and community master plans for public and institutional clients. With a background in horticulture, and as a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI), she is adept at integrating native plantings and green infrastructure to create immersive nature-based play experiences. In all her work, Aubrey takes inspiration from the biodiversity of the Piedmont region, and she has helped infused nature into some of Atlanta’s most significant community open spaces including Centennial Olympic Park, Woodruff Park, and Atlanta Beltline’s Enota Park.

Lauren Martin, SITES AP, LFA

Epsten Group, A Salas O’Brien Company

Designing Living Landscapes: Using SITES & Living Building Challenge to Inspire Clients and Regenerate Ecosystems

This session tackles one of the most important conversations in sustainable design: how do we move clients beyond short-term aesthetics toward landscapes that are ecologically restorative, resilient, and financially smart over time? Lauren explores how two powerful frameworks, the SITES Rating System and the Living Building Challenge, work together to guide practitioners in designing spaces that function as living systems. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, attendees will learn how to make the business case for regenerative design, integrate native plants and pollinator habitat into high-performance landscapes, and communicate long-term value to clients in a way that aligns environmental goals with smart, profitable practice.

Lauren Martin is Vice President and Senior Manager of Operations at Epsten Group, a Salas O’Brien Company, where she has spent over nine years advancing sustainability consulting and green building practices. A UGA graduate, she holds an impressive portfolio of credentials including LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, SITES AP, Fitwel Ambassador, and Parksmart Advisor, reflecting her deep expertise across the full spectrum of sustainable building and site certification. Her work sits at the intersection of human health, environmental performance, and the built environment, making her a powerful voice for native-forward, sustainability-minded design.

Hannah Medford

Mellow Marsh Farm

Workshop: Plant This, Never That: Native Alternatives to Harmful Invasives

This workshop will cover why people still install invasive plants and how to replace harmful invasive plants with environmentally appropriate natives. We will discuss the benefits of native plants and learn how to choose species that perform well for various sites. Along the way, we will work through useful resources that will enable you to come up with suitable native plant selections on your own.

Hannah Medford is a manager at Mellow Marsh Farm where she primarily assists customers in finding the best plants for their project specifications. She has a background in native plant horticulture, landscaping, and taxonomy research. She holds a B.A. in Biology and English from UNC Chapel Hill.

Steve Nygren

Author & Founder and CEO of Serenbe

From Spec to Reality: Your Role in the Native Shift

In our closing segment, Steve makes the case that specifiers wield far more influence than they often realize, shaping not just individual landscapes but entire ecosystems and the market forces behind them. Every plant listed in a spec sends a financial signal down the supply chain, and native plants represent a genuine growth opportunity rather than a limitation. Steve closes with a clear, actionable charge for specifiers ready to put this into practice immediately: default to native-first plant palettes, eliminate known invasives from standard details, bring growers into the conversation before finalizing construction documents, and align planting schedules with the realities of production timelines.

Steve Nygren is the Founder and CEO of Serenbe, a nationally recognized wellness community and model for balanced growth that preserves green space alongside agriculture, housing, and retail. He led the creation of the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance, resulting in a landmark Georgia land use plan protecting 70% of 40,000 acres on Atlanta’s edge, and authored Start In Your Own Backyard, charting a path for community reinvention. His work has earned him the Global Wellness Institute’s Leader in Innovation Award, Southface’s Argon Award, Georgia Trend’s 2019 Most Respected Business Leader, and the 2025 MLK Jr. Beloved Community Environmental Justice Award.

Steve’s most recent book will be available for purchase and signing, where a portion of the proceeds will benefit Root Local’s ongoing mission of environmental conservation and collective impact.

Steve Sanchez

HGOR

Methodologies for Infusing Native Flora Into Commercial Landscape Designs

Commercial projects comprise more than half of all development in the US, yet most of the designed landscapes are still comprised of a majority of non-native plant material. Though there has been a steady increase in the availability of native plants introduced for use in commercial landscapes, the wave of non-native plants continues to overwhelm the nursery trade at a faster pace. Steve will examine what the specific needs are in commercial landscape designs, the obstacles which challenge increased use of native plants and what actions can be taken to bring native plants out of the shadows and into the hands of landscape architects and designers.

With over 30 years of research, analysis, and ecological design rooted in the natural environments of the Southeast, Steve Sanchez, Principal at HGOR, brings deep expertise in using native plant material to enhance biodiversity, restore natural systems, and create high-performance landscapes. His portfolio spans complex projects including the Downtown Atlanta Urban Tree Planting Plan (8,000+ trees), Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Northeast Georgia Medical Center, The Lovett School, and the Chattahoochee Nature Center. An active member of ASLA and the Georgia Native Plant Society and former Trees Atlanta board member, Steve is also a frequent speaker at Park Pride, Trees Atlanta, and UGA’s College of Environment and Design.

R. Alfred “Alfie” Vick

University of Georgia

Native Plants as Functional Infrastructures

As cities face mounting pressure from stormwater runoff, erosion, and rising temperatures, native plants offer a powerful, often underused solution.
In this session, Alfie explores how incorporating native plants into designed landscapes can improve stormwater management, reduce erosion, and support long-term site performance. The conversation will also cover the biodiversity benefits native plantings provide, from supporting pollinators to strengthening local ecosystems, as well as their role in reducing urban heat.
Attendees will come away with a clearer understanding of how native plants function not just as aesthetic choices, but as practical, high-performing tools for building more resilient landscapes.

Alfred Vick is the Georgia Power Professor in Environmental Ethics at UGA, Director of the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program, a licensed landscape architect, and a LEED Fellow whose work focuses on integrating human use with the functioning of natural systems. At UGA’s College of Environment & Design, he teaches landscape ecology and sustainable design, with research spanning green infrastructure, native plant communities, and American Indian ethnobotany. His professional portfolio includes several LEED-certified projects, among them the LEED Platinum headquarters of the Southface Energy Institute, and he has served as past Chair of the Sustainable Sites Technical Advisory Group for the US Green Building Council.