Designing Small-Scale Native Landscapes

Speaker: Hanna Miller and Amy Phillips, The Conservation Foundation

Be Salt Smart and Protect Your Native Landscaping: Winters in Northeastern Illinois bring the challenge of dealing with snow and ice, which generally means using salt. While we need to keep everyone safe, salt is very damaging to both our natural and built environments. Once salt goes down, it doesn’t go away. Excess salt harms plants and soil, degrades our rivers, wetlands and groundwater, and damages vehicles and buildings. Part of the Conservation@Home Professional Training series, this webinar provides the opportunity to learn from the Salt Smart Collaborative about practices that use less salt as well as salt-tolerant plant selections you can use to protect your home or business while not sacrificing safety during the winter.

Speakers: Kate Shields and Kristen Park, The Pizzo Group

Proven Plants for Small-Scale Native Gardens: Held in partnership with The Pizzo Group, this webinar highlights effective native plants for landscape design by looking at the ecosystems where they naturally thrive. By focusing on each species’ “happy place” — it’s ideal soil, moisture, light, and plant community — we show how matching plants to their native habitats boosts resilience and long-term success. Part of the Conservation@Home Professional Training series, the session with experts from Pizzo Native Plant Nursery emphasizes the importance of regionally adapted plants in creating sustainable, biodiverse landscapes.

Speaker: Kelsay Shaw, Possibility Place Nursery
Time: 12:00 — 1:00pm

Native Woody Plants for Urban Spaces: Part of the Conservation@Home Professional training series and held in partnership with Possibility Place Nursery, join Possibility Place Nursery owner and botanist as he highlights native trees and shrubs perfect for small-scale urban spaces. Native plants are often treated as an all-or-nothing option or confined to a narrow list of “acceptable” species. But the world of natives — especially woody plants — is far more versatile and exciting than traditional plant lists suggest.

In this webinar, Kelsey Shaw will break open old assumptions and show how native plants can thrive in a wide range of landscapes and design contexts. You’ll learn how to move beyond rigid species lists and single-use ideals, and instead plan intentionally for the places where natives naturally excel. Discover how thoughtful selection and strategic placement can elevate your projects, better serve your clients, and strengthen local ecosystems.

Speaker: Amanda Arnold, PlanIt Landscape Perspectives, LLC
Time: 12:00 — 1:00pm

Small-Scale Native Landscape Design: Part of the Conservation@Home Professional training series and held in partnership with PlanIt Landscape Perspectives, LLC, join designer and business owner Amanda Arnold as she showcases her eco-focused, resilient native plants gardens.

This webinar introduces the essentials of designing with native plants to create healthier, more resilient landscapes. Participants will learn how to choose the right species, plan effective layouts, and avoid common “native no-nos” that can hinder success. The session also shares practical tips and tricks for planting and maintaining native gardens. Ideal for beginners and seasoned designers alike, this webinar offers clear guidance for thriving with native plants.

Whether adding showcase plants to an existing landscape or starting from scratch, understand native plant communities that work for different site conditions, how site conditions affect plant selection, which plants are proven winners, and what to expect as gardens mature.

Facilitators: Amy Phillips and Beth Peluse, The Conservation Foundation
Time: 8:30am — 12:00pm
Location: Downers Grove Civic Center, 850 Curtiss St, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Small-Scale Native Landscapes with Conservation@Home: Demand for sustainable, resilient landscapes is surging as homeowners and small businesses look to highlight the beauty and ecological value of native plants. Yet even seasoned landscape professionals don’t always have the specialized knowledge or resources needed to confidently design, install, and maintain native-focused projects.

Part of the Conservation@Home Professional training series, The Conservation Foundation and the Village of Downers Grove are offering a free training series to equip small-scale landscape designers and contractors with practical tools they can immediately put to work. Through a combination of focused recorded webinars and a hands-on, in-person workshop, participants will explore design strategies, maintenance best practices, and real-world solutions for integrating native gardens into their service portfolio.