The Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium was started in 2009 by Rick Manning, L.A., and Dan Segal, Owner of The Plantsmen Nursery.  The purpose of our symposium is to educate professionals from various fields, as well as enthusiastic homeowners and gardeners, about native plants in the wild, and their role in sustainable landscapes.  While there is a growing movement to embrace sustainable landscapes worldwide, the appropriate use of native plants in these landscapes often remains tangential, as knowledge of native plants is often inadequate. 
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Similar long-established symposiums in other regions of the US have been successful in raising awareness of native plants, and raising the confidence of an entire region of professionals and enthusiasts in their use of these plants.  Our ambitious goal is to do the same for Upstate New York.