Berks Ag Event Calendar
Find your next event here, from credit courses to weekend family fun! This calendar is a community effort to benefit farmers and non-farmers alike! Browse events by photo tiles, list, or calendar view. Search by titles, topics, audience or other criteria. Click the event title for more details on each event.
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Annual Shade Tree Symposium to Focus on Managing Tree Health
March 25 - March 26
The 59th Annual Shade Tree Symposium will be held March 25-26, 2024 at the Lebanon Valley Expo Center in Lebanon, PA. In addition to providing continuing education for arborists, urban foresters, and other green industry professionals, the in-person meeting will include networking opportunities and a trade show. This symposium, hosted by the Penn-Del Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), will feature speakers presenting on a variety of tree care topics focused on ensuring healthy trees in the landscape.
Keynote speaker Dr. Nina Bassuk, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, will give two presentations, one on remediating trashed soils for tree health and another on-site assessment and tree species selection. Also considering soils, Dr. Chris Fields-Johnson of the Davey Institute will discuss biochar as a soil amendment. Dr. Chris Riley of Bartlett Tree Experts will present on the impacts of landscape diversity on pest management, while Dr. Chad Rigsby of Bartlett Tree Experts will discuss the challenges facing conifers and their health in our landscapes.
Breakout sessions will include more focused presentations related to plant heath care, tree climbing skills and safety, and business, municipal, and utility arboriculture topics. Highlights include presentations and demonstrations on the use of drones for invasive species management as well as limb walking and positioning techniques to use while working in a tree canopy.
Attendees at the symposium can visit the trade show to talk with over twenty vendors showcasing a range of tools, equipment, and supplies.
Pre-conference events will be offered on Sunday, March 24. These include written and practical exams for various ISA arborist certifications. Sandy Feather, Ruth Benner, and Tim Abbey, all Penn State Extension Educators with the Green Industry Team, will lead a pest walk, which offers ISA CEUs and pesticide credits.
All sessions of the symposium have CEUs assigned for ISA Certified Arborists and pesticide credits are being offered for a number of sessions.
More information and registration can be found on the Penn-Del ISA website.
If you have a change to an already submitted event or need to cancel and remove your event on our calendar, please contact DepartmentofAg@CountyofBerks.com