Habitat Advocate: Building Biodiversity in Our Community

Join other curious conservation peers for this introduction to designing, building, and stewarding native habitats! This is the introductory class for the series and is required for a majority of the other classes as well as for those wishing to complete a Habitat Advocate Certification. Gain baseline awareness of why conservation landscaping is a multifaceted approach in solving our water, climate, and habitat crises. The scope of the Lancaster Conservancy Habitat Advocate Certificate program will also be shared.

Students will receive a binder of compiled native habitat resources ($30 value).

The Lancaster Conservancy has protected over 10,000 acres of natural lands, which are critically important to supporting biodiversity. Smaller patches of native habitats spread throughout urban landscapes are also essential to creating corridors of habitat – food and refuge – for wildlife. This is why we are offering our Habitat Advocate program at Tec Centro in Lancaster City.

The cost of the Habitat Advocate classes covers instructor fees. If the cost of this class is prohibitive, please reach out to Keith Williams, VP of Engagement and Education, at [email protected].

Elyse Jurgen, owner of Waxwing EcoWorks Co., is a community collaborator working to rebuild ecological literacy and biodiversity through hands-on ecological gardening experiences in South Central PA. She is certified as a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional and Ecological/Permaculture Designer, along with earning an Ecological Gardening Certification from Mt. Cuba Center. She has a master’s degree in Environmental Education, 7-12 Biology Teaching Certification, and participated in Cornell University’s Civic Ecology program.

Elyse works alongside homeowners in a participatory approach to their gardening for wildlife needs, infusing educational opportunities during the design, installation, and stewarding process. She invites homeowners to deeply engage with their land to maximize its potential in enhancing human well-being and supporting dwindling wildlife populations.

Linda Ferich retired from a career in emergency and occupational health nursing in 2013 and became a PA Master Naturalist. She coordinates the Lancaster Conservancy’s Community Wildlife Habitat program, a partnership with National Wildlife Federation. Through this program, Lancaster County has become the first county in PA to become a certified NWF Community Wildlife Habitat.

Linda enjoys doing property assessments to teach how to develop habitat and control stormwater. Linda studies native plants and designs ecological gardens as a certified Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional and student of Mt. Cuba Center’s Ecological Gardening program. She and a few conservation-minded friends formed the Lancaster Native Plant Alliance, a chapter of PA Native Plant Society. The alliance promotes the use of native plants in all landscape settings through collaboration, education, and advocacy.

Keith Williams is the Vice President of Engagement and Education for Lancaster Conservancy.

Keith is an environmental educator, naturalist, writer and photographer. He has a BS in Environmental Biology from Kutztown University and MS in Ecological Teaching and Learning from the Lesley University Audubon Expedition Institute. Keith was the founding Director of Education and is the past Executive Director of the NorthBay Education Foundation, one of the largest outdoor education programs in the US. He has served on the National Social Emotional Learning in Environmental Education Working Group, was appointed to the Maryland Governors Environmental Literacy Committee, and served on the Board of the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education for 12 years.

Note that this introductory course is required as a prerequisite before taking most of the other following classes in the series to ensure all students have a shared baseline of understanding on the topic of wildlife habitat and conservation landscaping. Future classes will build on the information learned in this class.

Attendees ages 16 and over are invited but must be accompanied by an adult if younger than 18.

Refund Policy: If you are unable to attend this event after purchasing a ticket, refund requests must be made at least two weeks before the event.

Cancellation Policy: This event will be held rain or shine, with cancellation a day in advance for severe weather. If the Conservancy reschedules the event, attendees will be emailed and tickets will be automatically moved to the new date. If the Conservancy cancels the event, attendees will be notified via email and refunded.

Photo: Elyse Jurgen

Host or Publisher Lancaster Conservancy