Climate-Wise Gardening Speaker Series

Saturday, April 18, 2026, 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Tips and Tricks for your Backyard and Your Community

It’s for the birds…and the bees, and the creeks, and the trees, and your neighborhood!

Join Cooperative Extension at the Earth Day Festival on April 18 from 12 to 5pm, for a special collection of speakers and partners who will be covering topics related to home and community-scale gardening techniques for local ecosystem benefits.

Our tabling partners will display various Climate-Wise gardening practices throughout the Ithaca Commons, covering topics like backyard composting (with an appearance from Extension’s very own Master Composters!), soil health, native plants, and more. Community and municipal strategies will be featured as well, including ways to get involved planting trees and caring for our urban forests.

And don’t miss our speaker series! These talks will go more in-depth with opportunities for questions and discussion.

Speakers at the CAP ArtSpace in the History Center, 110 N Tioga St, Ithaca

12:30pm - Stephen W. Kress, speaking about the adaptation of his Gardening for Birds curriculum.
1:30pm - Jeanne Grace, Ithaca’s City Forester, speaking about Tree Selection in a Changing Climate.
2:30pm - Jennie Cramer, Former Extension educator and proprietor of Garden Rhythm, speaking about planting and gardening strategies for flood and drought resilience.

For more details about the Earth Day Festival, visit: https://energy.ccetompkins.org/earthday/