The Plant a Trillion Trees Podcast

Jason Lubar has been employed at Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania as the Associate Director of Urban Forestry for over twenty years. His career has focused on educating a wide audience about trees and natural resources. He teaches professional-level arboricultural courses, presents at international conferences, and supports Morris Arboretum’s educational mission by providing a wi...

Tom Knezick is the General Manager of Pinelands Nursery & Supply.  He became interested in the agricultural and the nursery industry as a child when he planted his first pussy willow at age 2. As 2nd generation nurseryman, his parents Don & Suzanne Knezick started the nursery in 1984. Tom’s primary focus is bringing a business-minded approach to growing, selling, and marketing native...

Megan Barstow is the Conservation Officer at Botanic Gardens Conservation International. She began her career as a Global Tree Search Intern, compiling species lists of trees and their country-level distributions towards the publication of BGCI's GlobalTreeSearch Database before moving into a role as a Conservation Officer within BGCI. This new role led to her producing International Union for Con...

Neil Pederson is a Senior Ecologist at the Harvard Forest who studies the dynamics and long-term development of forests from individual trees to trees across regions and subcontinents. He is especially interested in the response of trees as they interact with climate and as they interact amongst themselves. Neil conducts basic and applied research to help develop ecologically-based, long-term fore...

Jennifer Santoro is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment (GEV) at Villanova University, where she teaches courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Environmental Science. Jen is originally from northern New Jersey where she grew up learning about trees from her dad. She studied Environmental Science at Hamilton College and received both a Mast...

Allison Brown holds a Ph. D. in Botany from the University of California, Davis where her research focused on the significance of mycorrhizal fungi in tidal salt marshes. She has taught courses in Plant Pathology at Temple University – Ambler Campus and Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and she is currently teaching Biology at Delaware Valley University.  Fungi often take cente...

Susan Downing Day is a Professor of Urban Forestry in the Department of Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and Program Director for the Bachelor of Urban Forestry.  Susan’s research focuses on managing urban soils to enhance tree growth and longevity in the context of environmental challenges such as stormwater mitigation and land developme...

Ari Miller is the director of design at Hinge Collective, a public interest design firm that puts community engagement and public participation at the forefront of their practice. As both a landscape architect and arborist, Ari has always advocated for the integration and restoration of natural systems in urban design. Over the course of his 17-year career, Ari has worked as an arborist at Morris...

Bill Logan (William Bryant Logan) has spent the last five decades living with trees, as a writer, arborist, and teacher, first in coastal California and the Sierra Nevada, then for the last thirty years in the regenerating forests of New York. Logan is founder and president of the Brooklyn-based tree company Urban Arborists. His firm trains and cares for the pollards and aerial hedges in front of...

Dr. Tony Kendle is a horticulturist, educator, and researcher. He is the co-author of Urban Nature Conservation: Landscape Management in the Urban Countryside and the new book A Wonder In the Garden . Both books review the importance of urban and garden biodiversity. After working for a local government parks department, Tony studied horticulture at the University of Bath. This lead to further stu...

Pandora Young is a Senior Horticulturist working in Longwood Garden's Outdoor Landscapes since 2005. The areas under her care are Peirce’s Park, a historic arboretum dating back to 1798, and Peirce’s Woods, a 7-acre art-form garden featuring plants native to the eastern United States.  She is also an instructor for Longwood’s continuing education program, teaching courses on native and edible...

Sara Fern Fitzsimmons has worked with The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) at Penn State University (PSU) since 2003, assisting chestnut growers and researchers throughout the Appalachian Mountains.  Born and raised in southern West Virginia (Hinton), Sara studied Biology at Drew University in Madison, NJ.  She then received a master’s degree in forest ecology and resource management...

John Holback’s environmental experience started as a child helping his dad cut invasive vines from the trees in the woods around their home. He learned a broad array of conservation efforts as a young adult in AmeriCorps and continued to build his skills while volunteering and working as a field coordinator with the Friends of the Wissahickon in the Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

Corey Bassett is a Ph. D. student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where she is researching urban forest management and ecosystem services. She has worked and lived across the United States, where she has managed statewide urban and community forestry programs and performed arboricultural consulting and municipal tree care. Beyond her current research ar...

Dr. Jun Yang is a Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University, China. He received his Ph. D. (2004) in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California at Berkeley. His specific interests include urban ecology, urban forestry, and ecological remote sensing. He has published more than 100 scientific papers. He serves as an associate edito...

Andrea Whitely is a garden consultant, designing and implementing new gardens, garden renovations, and garden maintenance in Perth, Australia. Andrea is probably best known publicly for her work on 720 ABC radio with Sabrina Hahn as The Soil Sisters . Sabrina and Andrea hosted the very popular call-in program answering gardening questions for four years. They traveled together around Western Austr...

David Hewitt has been working with plants, animals, soils, and water for more than twenty-five years, starting when he began working on small farms in upstate New York.  He has served in a variety of roles at a number of Philadelphia institutions, including the Wagner Free Institute of Science, and as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and a research associate in the Department of B...

Max Paschall is the Native Plants Coordinator at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, managing the nursery and native plant sales. He is an ISA certified arborist, fourth-generation horticulturist, and founder of Shelterwood Forest Farm - an experimental land stewardship project exploring the intersection of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and climate resiliency. His work focuse...

Alan M. Jones is President of Manor View Farms in Monkton, Maryland. He was born in London, England, and immigrated to the United States in 1984. Prior to attending Pershore College of Horticulture, Alan gained horticultural experience by working at The Royal Gardens, Windsor Castle, and the Savill Gardens, Valley Gardens, and Heather Garden in Windsor Great Park. After graduating from Pershore Co...

Today’s Show is a special edition highlighting the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s (PHS) Philadelphia Flower Show. We have two special guests Sam Lemheney and Tim Iffel . Sam Lemheney is the Chief of Shows and Events at PHS and directs the strategy, planning, and execution of all events including the annual Philadelphia Flower Show where over 250,000 visitors from around the world experience...

Jason Lubar has been employed at Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania as the Associate Director of Urban Forestry for over twenty years. His career has focused on educating a wide audience about trees and natural resources. He teaches professional-level arboricultural courses, presents at international conferences, and supports Morris Arboretum’s educational mission by providing a wi...

Konstanze Fabian is an ISA Certified Arborist and ASCA Consulting Arborist. She holds a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Temple University and graduated with a master's degree in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania.  Konstanze has over twenty years of experience in the Green Industry. Native to Germany, she began her career as an urban forester working with the tre...

Alex Smith is the owner of Division Street Landscaping, which is entirely staffed by ex-offenders. Alex started his journey while he was incarcerated. While serving a 30-year prison sentence for carjacking, assault, and handgun violations he was part of a group of guys who petitioned the warden for permission to start a horticulture program in prison. He became a Master Gardener behind bars and th...

Jim Duggan leads the marketing and sales operations for Rootmaker Products Company, Inc. He oversees directing the sales organization and developing digital marketing programs to build the adoption of the Rootmaker growing technology.  Jim Duggan is responsible for the strategic leadership of the sales and marketing department within the business and contributes to the overall growth strategy...

Carol Wagner is a long-time horticulturist at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania a suburb of Philadelphia. A life-long resident of Southeast Pennsylvania, she graduated from the Professional Gardener Program at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. She takes great pride in the history and plantings at Haverford, especially the College's great-grandchild of the Penn Treaty Elm...