Local News

Jamestown Garden Club To Hold Annual Symposium

The Jamestown Garden Club will hold its annual garden symposium, with two speakers scheduled for the morning event.

The event is set for Saturday, Nov. 11, at the YWCA Lakeside 185 E. Terrace Ave., Lakewood. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.

Sharon Reed, president of the club, said the symposium is a way for the club to give back to the community.

"We have monthly meetings, and in November we have a bigger event for the community," Reed said. "We don't have a meeting that day but we bring in a speaker and share with other clubs and the public."

The club invites a new speaker every year. Reed said following feedback from other years, the format of the event is also slightly different than before. Last year the event included lunch and three speakers. It was also on a Wednesday, as that is the club's normal meeting day.

Reed said people thought it was a long day and that some people were unable to come who wanted to because of work. So, this year the event is only in the morning on a Saturday.

This year's speakers are David Clark and Jonathan Townsend.

Townsend is the co-owner of Royal Fern Nursery with his wife in Fredonia. He was the manager of Conservation and Restoration at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. He has worked in a number of environmental and biological fields, including environmental education, nonprofit land trusts, academic education and research, environmental consulting, and governmental regulatory agencies.

Clark is a well-known Western New York horticulture professional who wears many hats: educator, floral designer, writer, and speaker. He makes TV appearances and online videos. He teaches a horticulture series at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, and is the warehouse operations manager at Niagara Quality Flowers Inc.

Clark is a certified nursery and landscape professional through the New York State Landscaping Association, and PLANT Western New York.

Reed said inviting the two speakers and holding the event is important for the club.

"We want to share our love of gardening and expose it to the community," Reed said. "We want to introduce ourselves to potential new members and it is a small fundraiser because we do charge admission. There will also be coffee and muffins. Mostly we want to share our love of gardening."

There will also be a bag raffle to buy tickets for and the chance to win some arrangements made at the event.

A registration form is required to attend, which can be found on the Jamestown Garden Club's Facebook page. Reed said people can also email her for more information and email the registration form and checks to Angie Peck-Rodgers, 419 Orchard Road, Jamestown.

Checks will be for $15 per guest and made payable to the Jamestown Garden Club. Registration is limited to the first 100 responses and is needed to be mailed before Nov. 6.