The program consists of 10 required courses and several elective workshops or trips (see below).  Students may progress through the curriculum at their own pace; a highly motivated student would be able to complete the program over the course of 19 months (two growing seasons). Courses will be open to both certificate and non-certificate students, though priority will be given to those enrolled; instructors will be a combination of on-staff and guest experts with a variety of specialties. Courses will be held in the LEED Platinum Bosarge Family Education Center, on the Gardens’ grounds, and afield on the beautiful Boothbay peninsula and beyond.

COURSE LIST FOLLOWED BY DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS AND INSTRUCTOR BIOS

The Life of a Plant: An Introduction to Botany
A Plant’s Family Tree: Relationships within the Plant Kingdom
Horticultural Ecology:  Biological Interactions of Garden Plants & Environment
Invasive Plants: Issues, Identification and Ecology
Sustainable Horticultural Practices
Shaping a Natural Site into a Landscaped Space
Gardening for Wildlife (this is suggested for Year-One or Year-Two students)
Natural Communities of Maine
Selecting Native Plants for the Maine Garden: Herbaceous Plants
Selecting Native Plants for the Maine Garden: Woody Plants

ELECTIVES FOR 2012
To sign up or for more information, see the calendar or follow the links in the titles of these three classes:

Understanding Lady’s Slipper Orchids (Friday, June 1)
Wetland Ecology (Thursday, August 9)
Introduction to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes (Wednesday and Thursday, September 5–6)

DESCRIPTIONS OF SUGGESTED FIRST-YEAR CLASSES 

Tuesday-Thursday, June 5, 6, 7, 2012
The Life of a Plant: An Introduction to Botany with Lauren Stockwell
When:    9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:     $120 members, $150 non-members (pre-registration required)

The first offering for beginning students in the Certificate in Native Plants & Ecological Horticulture, this three-day course will explore the biology of a flowering plant through its life, from seed germination and seedling establishment through fruiting and dispersal.  Along the way, we’ll review the parts of the plant and see how they work together to sustain the plant through processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, and water and mineral uptake. In the Gardens and in the classroom, instructor Lauren Stockwell will give you a whole new perspective on what goes on in the life of a plant! Required textbook will be Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon, available for purchase from the Gardens on the first day of class.

Certificate Program instructor Lauren Stockwell is a botanist and environmental consultant. Her business, Stockwell Environmental Consulting, Inc. provides comprehensive environmental services including natural resource identification, resource evaluation and related permitting.  She has led many botanical field walks and has taught several classes at the Gardens. 

The following class is suggested for both Year-One and Year-Two students.
Wednesday & Thursday, June 20 & 21, 2012
Gardening for Wildlife: Ecosystem Gardening with Carole Sevilla Browne
Please see the Year-Two classes for a full description.

Tuesday-Thursday, August 14, 15, 16, 2012
A Plant’s Family Tree: Relationships within the Plant Kingdom with Melissa Cullina
When:    9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:     $120 members, $150 non-members (pre-registration required)

Join Director of Education & Staff Botanist Melissa Cullina as she introduces you to the groups of plants that make up the kingdom “Plantae.” Out on the Gardens grounds and in the classroom, you will learn how a fern fundamentally differs from a moss, how a pine differs from a rose, and so on.  You’ll learn to recognize the major groups of plants, and will gain perspective on how they have evolved over time. Cullina will introduce students to the system by which biologists categorize plants and will explain the conventions and meanings behind botanical names.  The second class in the Native Plants & Ecological Horticulture certificate program, it is also open to other interested adult students who have had some prior exposure to basic botany.

Melissa Cullina is Director of Education & Staff Botanist for Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  Formerly Botanist with the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, she specializes in aquatic and coastal botany, field identification, and rare-species conservation.

Thursday & Friday, September 27 & 28, 2012
Horticultural Ecology: Biological Interactions of Gardens Plants and Environment with Bill Cullina
When:    9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:     $120 members, $150 non-members (pre-registration required) 

Having learned the basic structures and functions of the plant and how plants are related to one another, first-year certificate students next delve into topics of how plants interact with their garden environment.  Topics include specific adaptations to environmental condition and inter-relationships between garden plants and their surrounding biotic and abiotic influences.  Concepts such as competition, symbiosis, parasitism, pollination, and dispersal will be introduced.

Bill Cullina is Executive Director of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  Previously Director of Horticulture for the Gardens, Cullina also worked for many years as the Nursery Director for the New England Wild Flower Society. He is a well-known author and recognized authority on North American native plants. He lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include Wildflowers; Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines; Understanding Orchids; Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses; and most recently, Understanding Perennials. 

Friday & Saturday, October 12 & 13, 2012
“Invasive Plants: Issues, Identification, and Ecology” with Ted Elliman
When:    10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and local field destinations
Price:     $100 members, $120 non-members (pre-registration required)
Co-sponsored with the New England Wild Flower Society

What’s all the fuss? Invasive plant species have been getting a lot of bad lip service from botany, ecology, horticulture, and conservation professionals alike. Join Ted Elliman, Vegetation Management Coordinator for the New England Wild Flower Society, to find out why. In this two-day course, Ted will introduce you to the basic ecological problems surrounding these aggressive and tenacious plants. He’ll delve into the complicated (and sometimes political) issues surrounding invasive plant species, including the process by which a plant becomes labeled “invasive.” Finally, Ted will introduce you to some of New England’s most common invasive species through images, specimens and short local field visits.  Please bring lunch, a hand lens, water, and warm, sturdy cloths to go afield for short forays.

Ecologist Ted Elliman is currently Vegetation Management Coordinator for the New England Wild Flower Society, where for the past five years he and his dedicated corps of volunteers have located, documented, and controlled invasive species in natural areas for land trusts, conservation organizations, and state agencies across the New England landscape.  In his present position, he also conducts botanical inventories, rare-plant and natural-community documentation. Previously, Ted worked as a contract ecologist for the National Park Service and several other agencies doing rare-plant and natural-community surveys and invasive-management projects on the Appalachian Trail (from Maine to Pennsylvania) and the Boston Harbor Islands.   He has been a natural history tour guide to western China for the last 15 years.

DESCRIPTIONS OF SUGGESTED SECOND-YEAR CLASSES

Friday & Saturday, April 6 & 7, 2012
Shaping a Natural Site into a Landscaped Space with Irene Brady Barber
When:     9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where:    Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:      $120 members, $150 non-members (pre-registration required)

A signature offering of our Certificate in Native Plants & Ecological Horticulture Program, this course is focused on environmentally sound landscape-design practices using native plant materials appropriate for Maine. Landscape designer Irene Brady Barber will train you to plot and analyze a site, determine priorities the site needs for usage, and create and install an eco-friendly design featuring Maine natives. Sustainable design considerations such as understanding and anticipating runoff in Maine’s frequently shallow-to-bedrock soils, minimizing erosion and siltation, and conserving and protecting the site’s natural features (such as existing trees) during construction will be emphasized. Suggestions for low-input designs, such as how to incorporate drought-tolerant and nitrogen-fixing native plant selections, will be offered. Instruction will take place both in the classroom and out on the grounds using the ecological designs surrounding the Bosarge Family Education Center as a living example of low-impact landscape design using native plants.

Irene Brady Barber is currently both a landscape designer for Cosmic Stone & Garden Supply and a seasonal horticultural educator at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  With an academic and professional background in both communications: human behavior and horticulture studies, Irene is presently working to complete a professional certification in the field of horticultural therapy, which is the focus of much of her teaching at the Gardens. 

Friday, May 18 AND Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Selecting Native Plants for the Maine Garden: Herbaceous Plants with Bill Cullina
When:    9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:     $120 members, $150 non-members (prer-egistration required) 

The use of native herbaceous plants in a horticultural setting will be the topic of this combination classroom and in-garden course for second-year certificate students.  On one day in the spring season and one day in summer, native plant expert Bill Cullina will introduce students to native plant species to use in different horticultural settings based on their habitat preferences in nature.  Native plant selections for different combinations of soil pH, sun and shade, and wet to dry substrate will be considered.  Selecting plants for aesthetic factors such as color and texture, as well as broader ecosystem considerations, will be introduced.  Finally, Bill will explain the use of native plants in niche garden types, such as woodland or meadow gardens, and in ecological restoration.

Bill Cullina is Executive Director of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  Previously Director of Horticulture for the Gardens, Cullina also worked for many years as the Nursery Director for the New England Wild Flower Society.   Cullina is a well-known author and recognized authority on North American native plants. He lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include Wildflowers; Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines; Understanding Orchids; Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses; and most recently, Understanding Perennials. 

The following class is suggested for both Year-One and Year-Two students.
Wednesday & Thursday, June 20 & 21, 2012
Gardening for Wildlife: Ecosystem Gardening with Carole Sevilla Browne
When:        9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where:      Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:         $120 members, $150 non-members (pre-registration required)

Habitat loss is the number one cause of declining wildlife populations. In this class instructed by conservation biologist Carole Sevilla Browne, you will learn why gardening for wildlife is as important as it is rewarding. She will explain how, by incorporating certain native plants and gardening practices, you can create welcoming habitat in your garden to attract more birds, butterflies, pollinators, and other wildlife, conserve natural resources, and encourage biodiversity.  In the classroom and in the gardens, Carole will provide examples for creating a lively (and lived-in!) garden habitat.

Carole Sevilla Browne is the author of the Ecosystem Gardening blog and website and founder and managing editor of the team blogs Beautiful Wildlife Garden and Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens.  A conservation biologist by training, she has spent more than 20 years as a consultant designing, installing and maintaining wildlife gardens for people who want to share their space with birds, butterflies, frogs and toads, bats, reptiles and amphibians, and yes even insects! She firmly believes that conservation begins in your own backyard and is passionate about teaching people to become stewards of their properties.

Friday & Saturday, July 27 &28, 2012
Natural Communities of Maine with Ted Elliman
When:    10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and local field destinations
Price:     $100 members, $120 non-members (pre-registration required)
Co-sponsored with the New England Wild Flower Society

A truly comprehensive understanding of native plant materials must necessarily include an understanding of how native plants behave in their natural habitats.  In this two-day introduction to the natural communities of Maine, ecologist Ted Elliman will introduce students to several of Maine’s characteristic assemblages of plants, their defining physical environments, and the natural processes that affect them.  In the classroom and in the field, students will learn the differences between community types such as salt marshes, red-maple swamps, northern hardwood forests, bogs, and floodplain forests.  Ted will also cover some of the common plants that occur in each natural community type, and what plant adaptations are a key to competing successfully in the various communities.  The primary reference for this course will be Natural Landscapes of Maine: a Guide to Natural Communities and Ecosystems by Susan Gawler and Andrew Cutko.  Bring a lunch, sturdy shoes that can get wet, and your sense of adventure for this not-to-be-missed learning experience.

Ecologist Ted Elliman is currently Vegetation Management Coordinator for the New England Wild Flower Society, where for the past five years he and his dedicated corps of volunteers have located, documented, and controlled invasive species in natural areas for land trusts, conservation organizations, and state agencies across the New England landscape.  In his present position he also conducts botanical inventories, rare-plant and natural-community documentation. Previously, Ted worked as a contract ecologist for the National Park Service and several other agencies doing rare-plant and natural-community surveys and invasive management projects on the Appalachian Trail (from Maine to Pennsylvania) and the Boston Harbor Islands.   He has been a natural history tour guide to western China for the last 15 years.

Friday & Saturday, September 21 & 22, 2012
Sustainable Horticultural Practices with Irene Brady Barber
When:    9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:     $120 members, $150 non-members (preregistration required)

Our landscape practices affect the balance of our ecosystem above and below the soil surface and the quality of our waters.  In this intensive two-day course, you will learn how to apply ecologically safe gardening practices to existing landscapes and garden beds. Topics covered will include different methods of composting and other eco-friendly soil amendment techniques, alternatives to pesticides and herbicides, responsible acquisition of native plant materials and other techniques that follow practices that have a low impact on our natural surroundings.   

Irene Brady Barber is currently both a landscape designer for Cosmic Stone & Garden Supply and a seasonal horticultural educator at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  With a background in communications: human behavior and horticulture practices and design,  Irene is presently working to complete a professional certification in the field of horticultural therapy, which is the focus of much of her teaching at the Gardens.

Thursday-Saturday, October 18, 19, 20, 2012
Selecting Native Plants for the Maine Garden: Woody Plants with Justin Nichols
When:    9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and local field sites
Price:     $120 members, $150 non-members (pre-registration required)

The use of native woody plants in a horticultural setting will be the topic of this combination classroom and in-garden course for second-year certificate students.  During the final class in this two-year program, staff horticulturist Justin Nichols will introduce students to native trees and shrubs to use in different horticultural settings based on their habitat preferences in nature. Recommended species, cultivars and sources of materials will be covered. To see authentic examples of woody plants in natural and landscaped settings, Justin will take the class on short forays into the Gardens and locally.

Staff Horticulturist Justin Nichols has been professionally maintaining gardens for 20 years, the last three here at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  He is a NOFA-certified Organic Land Care Professional.  He also has a master’s degree in education, and enjoys teaching horticulture to people of all ages.