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Our Next Networking Event!

Our Next Educational Event

Urban Design Day 2025!

Get To Know The Speakers!

  • Speaker Bio: Andrew Millison is an educator and founder of Oregon State University’s Permaculture Design program where he has been an instructor since 2009. He has travelled the Earth documenting impactful stories of land regeneration on his popular YouTube channel, which boasts over 75 million video views. In his 29-year career in Permaculture, he has designed and consulted on numerous projects throughout the world in different climate zones and spoken to groups large and small around the planet.

    Presentation Title: How Watershed Design is the Answer to Flooding, Drought, and Extreme Heat

    Presentation Description: The systems that support human life are at a breaking point. The intersection of poor land management, ecosystem degradation, development pressures, and weather extremes are testing the resilience of cities, towns and regions through floods, fires, drought, heat, and generally extreme and unseasonable weather events. But this is not beyond repair in most places. We can fix many of our issues by understanding how basic land systems function and applying intelligent design..
    The primary unit of ecological design is the watershed. When we view the landscape from the watershed perspective, then the source of many problems become clear, and hence the solutions. In this talk we will examine the City of Houston from this perspective, specifically addressing flooding and extreme rainfall events, and look around the world at existing design solutions that can guide us to solving some of the problems that Houston and the region face.

  • Speaker Bio: Ted has built a career using principles of ecology to design, build, and maintain urban and rural landscapes to promote plant diversity and restore ecological function. At Maas Verde, our passion is not only to build resilient landscapes but also to engage our communities through education and promoting curiosity. Ted has two degrees from Oregon State University: Natural Resource Management and Sustainability.

    Presentation Title: Landscaping in a Changing Climate: Developing Water Wise, Functional, and Aesthetically Pleasing Landscapes

    Presentation Description: Ted will offer actionable and achievable steps to creating resilient and functioning landscapes in any yard, large or small. Ted will share project examples and research data on rain gardens, improving soil health, increasing plant diversity, and sustainable maintenance recommendations that any homeowner, landscape professional, and City Planner can implement. Our environmental challenges may seem daunting, but making these small changes can lead to having a significant impact on our environment.

  • Speaker Bio: Mary is passionate about the environment and is dedicated to making a positive impact through her designs. Over the course of her career, she has amassed a breadth of experience in delivering complex projects on diverse ecological sites and urban environments alike. As the Innovation and Research Principal at Clark Condon, her role centers on research and the implementation of new practices, protocols, and development trends within the industry.

    Presentation Title: Design Considerations for Resiliency, Stewardship, and Innovation: A Landscape Architect’s Perspective on the Urban Landscape

    Presentation Description: Mary will explore the dynamic relationship between innovation, stewardship, and resiliency within the urban landscape through the lens of a landscape architect. As the Innovation and Research Principal for Clark Condon, a Houston-based landscape architecture firm, Mary has researched and developed creative, forward-thinking solutions that transform urban sites into ecologically focused spaces that serve both people and the environment. Uncover the strategies and proven process behind designing immersive spaces that blend green infrastructure, responsible stewardship of the existing land, programming, and maintenance. She will delve into how to tackle challenges such as stormwater management, the overall health of a landscape, and the dramatic impact climate change is having on landscape longevity. Featuring real-life project examples and creative concepts, this discussion invites the audience to reimagine urban landscapes as thriving ecosystems where site functionality, recreation, and environmental sustainability coexist seamlessly.

Thank You Annual Sponsors!

  • Bering's

  • Clark Condon

  • McDugald Steele

  • Mata Turf

  • The Rice Organization, Inc.

  • Talley Landscape Architects, Inc.

  • Hogue Landscape Services

  • Buchanan's Native Plants

  • Texas Gardener Magazine

  • ArborTrue

  • HomeShow Garden Pros

  • Healthy Soil Organics

  • Joyce Serant Foundation

  • Nature's Way Resources

  • Magnolia Gardens Nursery

  • MicroLIfe

  • Casco Organics

  • F&S Horticultural Services, Inc.

  • Itchy Acres Garden and Art