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2016 Annual Meeting with Dr. Vicki Funk
Annual Member Meeting, Featuring Keynote Speaker Dr. Vicki Funk of the Smithsonian Institution
“Botanical Gardens of the 21st Century: Valuing the Past, Exploring the Future”
Sponsored by the Institute for Healthy Air Water and Soil, and Limbwalker Tree Service
Dr. Vicki Funk, a native of Owensboro, KY and a world-renowned botanist and researcher, will discuss the importance of botanical collections in science, agriculture, education, and the significance of plants in understanding our past and our future on earth.
Introduction and discussion by Tom Smarr, Horticulture Director, The Parklands of Floyds Fork.
Tickets are free for members, $20 for non-members, and $5 for students with a valid ID.
Hor d’oeuvres and refreshments will be provided.
Dr. Vicki Funk is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. She specializes in the systematics of the flowering plant family Compositae (Asteraceae), the home of sunflowers, daisies, and thistles. She is the Director of the Biological Diversity of the Guiana Shield Program, President of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, and recently helped start the Global Genome Initiative for Gardens. She is involved in fieldwork around the world, especially in Compositae hot spots such as southern Africa, the Pacific islands, and the Americas. Her research interests cover systematics, biogeography, biodiversity, phylogenetic theory, and large scale synthetic works. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and nine books. Recent awards include: the Stebbins Medal for the best publication in Plant Systematics/Evolution; the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Murray State University; and the Rolf Dahlgren Prize in Evolutionary Botany from the Royal Physiographic Society, Lund, Sweden.
Dr. Funk was born and educated in Owensboro, KY, received a B.S. and M.S. from Murray State University, a PhD from Ohio State University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the New York Botanical Garden before beginning her appointment at the Smithsonian Institution in 1981.
Tom Smarr is a seasoned professional with two decades of experience in horticulture, botanic gardens, conservation, and organic landscaping. He holds a master’s degree in urban horticulture from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. He has worked for established institutions such as the University of Washington Botanic Gardens in Seattle, WA and New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham, MA. Tom’s most notable work has been leading the management of horticulture at newly urban designed parks starting with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston, MA built on top of the “Big Dig,” and the High Line in New York City built on top of an abandoned mile-and-a-half elevated train bridge. He has recently joined 21st Century Parks in Louisville, KY to work on design and management of horticulture for another modern model park defining the next century of green spaces for our cities. He is committed to the preservation of our cultural landscapes through sensible design, horticulture practices, and public education.