The Indiana Arborist Association will be hosting a virtual conference from Jan. 26-29, 2021, in lieu of its 73rd annual in-person meeting.The virtual event will offer a diverse group of speakers and topics in order to engage professionals, volunteers, managers and decision-makers alike.
“As our organization gathers virtually together in 2021, we have the opportunity to reimagine our industry learning events during this pandemic,” Indiana Arborist Association chapter administrator Lindsey Purcell said. “This year, our annual conference will be held over the span of 12 days with a diverse menu of topics and speakers via our virtual platform. We are hopeful this virtual offering allows more involvement and connection from a greater audience of professionals, volunteers, managers and decision-makers. Through a menu of speakers, each registrant can select particular sessions or all of them. It will be a great opportunity to learn from the best.”
Highlights of the conference include presentations by internationally known speakers like Dr. Ed Gilman and Dr. Duncan Slater among others. Gilman is a professor emeritus in the department of environmental horticulture at the University of Florida, whose work focused on hurricane tree research, tree root management, tree pruning and landscape water management. Slater is a senior lecturer in arboriculture at Myerscough College in Lancashire, England, who specializes in teaching tree management and urban forestry, including the skills of tree and shrub planting, identification, management of pests and diseases of wood plants and tree risk management.
The conference agenda includes 27 sessions, ranging from an urban forestry update from Carrie Tauscher, state community and urban forestry coordinator with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, to topics such as tree biomechanics, tree inventories, tree appraisal, tree mortality, pest management and creating pollinator habitat.
Several Purdue affiliated individuals will be speaking during the conference:
- Janna Beckerman, Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology
- A Reality Injection: An Injunction Against Fungicide Injection for Tree Disease Management
- Fred Whitford, Purdue Pesticide Programs Director, Clinical Engagement Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology
- Driving Across Railroad Crossings: Stop, Watch, Listen, Stay Alive
- Is the Product on my Shelf Still Good?
- Cliff Sadof, Professor of Entomology
- Extreme Pest Management
- Kyle Daniel, Purdue Nursery and Landscape Outreach Specialist
- Understanding and Controlling Difficult Landscape Weeds
- Identifying, Treating and Planting a Tree with Root Defects
- John Bonkowski, Plant Disease Diagnostician, Botany and Plant Pathology Extension Administrator
- Diseases of Shade Trees in the Midwest
- Lindsey Purcell, Urban Forestry Specialist
- Foundations of Tree Appraisal
- Case Studies in Tree Appraisal
Registration is available online. Cost is $129 for IAA Members (current membership required for 2021) and $169 for non-members.
The Indiana Arborist Association is a chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. Follow the IAA online and on Facebook.
