Plant Symposium 2026
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | 9 AM - 4 PM
Fanshawe Innovation Village | 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd, London
In-Person & Virtual
Over the past decade, Landscape Ontario's annual Plant Symposium has provided a platform for industry leaders from around the globe to share their insights and innovations to the broader horticultural community.
Registration is open to attend the event in person or via an online watch party. LO members, non-members, teachers and students are welcome.
Featured speakers:
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Nadina Galle
Dr. Nadina Galle is a Dutch-Canadian ecological engineer, National Geographic Explorer, and bestselling author of THE NATURE OF OUR CITIES (HarperCOllins, 2024). Internationally, recognized for pioneering the "internet of Nature," she works at the intersection of ecology and technology to design greener, healthier, and more resilient communities.Her work - spanning smart ponds, tree sensors, insect cameras, and global citizen-science campaigns - has been featured by Bloomberg, CNBC, NPR, BBC Earth, and the New York Post. A Fullbright scholar at MIT's Senseable City Lab, Nadina earned her PhD in ecological engineering from the University of Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. She has delivered more than 150 keynotes across six continents, from Google to Tomorrowland, and hosts the Internet of Nature Podcast, showcasing innovators who are rewilding urban life. Recognized by Forbes and Elsevier's 30 Under 30 lists. Nadina inspires audiences with her message that reconnecting people with nature is essential to addressing the climate and health crises of our time.
Session Description:
Can technology help us reconnect with the natural world? In this talk, ecological engineer and author Nadina Galle shares how digital tools are being used to rewild cities - from the global City Nature Challenge to Canada's first Tweeting Trees and playful projects like Text-a-Tree and Email-a-Tree. Through stories of citizen science, smart sensors, and creative campaigns, she shows how horticulture and technology together can transform how we care for - and connect with - urban nature.
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Rebecca McMackin
Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist and garden designer. She writes, lectures, and teaches on ecological landscape management and pollination ecology, as well as designs the rare public garden. She is currently. Lead Horticulturist for the American Horticultural Society, an Associate with the Harvard Divinity School's Thinking with Plants and Fungi Initiative, and Consulting Arboretum Curator for Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY.
Rebecca spent a decade as Director Horticulture of Brooklyn Bridge Park, where she managed 85 acres of diverse parkland organically. Their research into cultivating urban biodiversity and ethical management strategies has influenced thousands of people and entire urban parks systems to adopt similar approaches. She has been published by an featured in the New York Times, Gardens Illustrated, on NPR and PBS. Her garden for the Brooklyn Museum recently won the PPA's Award of Excellence and her TED Talk has been viewed over a million times. She holds MScs from Columbia University and University of Victoria in landscape design and biology and recently complete the Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Session Description:
Gone are the days when a garden could be ornamental alone. We now recognize the impact that our land care practices have on the ecosystems around us, and can see the importance of encouraging biodiversity. Thankfully, we do not need to sacrifice beauty when we invite butterflies and songbirds into our gardens.
Rebecca McMackin has cultivated gorgeous landscapes in the toughest environments possible: urban parks, school playgrounds, and the sidewalks of New York City. She will take lessons from her work at Brooklyn Beidge Park, the Brooklyn Museum, and decades of research to share how those of us who are fortunate enough to care for land, can do it beautifully and ecologically.
Agenda:
| TIME | TOPIC/SPEAKER/COMPANY |
| 9:00 AM | REGISTRATION |
| 9:30 AM |
Welcome / Sponsors |
| 9:35 AM | Presenting Sponsor Remarks |
| 9:45 AM | Horticultural Therapy Panel **Stay tuned for confirmed Panellists** |
| 10:45 AM | Nadina Galle | Internet of Nature: The New (and Quirky) Ways Technology Can Rewild Our Communities |
| 12:00 PM | LUNCH |
| 1:00 PM | Presenting Sponsor Remarks |
| 1:10 PM | Rebecca McMackin | Adventures in Ecological Horticulture |
| 2:15 PM | NETWORKING BREAK |
| 2:00 PM | Closing Remarks |
Event Questions
Connect with Jaleesa RhodenMembership Events Specialist
jrhoden@landscapeontario.com