BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.3//EN TZID:America/Toronto X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Toronto BEGIN:VEVENT UID:153@natureguelph.ca DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20270420T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20270420T210000 DTSTAMP:20260903T184922Z URL:https://natureguelph.ca/events/tracing-the-roots-of-native-plants/ SUMMARY:Tracing the Roots of Native Plants DESCRIPTION:Paul LaPorte\, Owner\, Ephemeral Ark Nursery\n\n–\n\nTracing the Roots of Native Plants\, the second presentation in the series\, a vis ual journey through 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history that traces the evolution\, migration\, and adaptation of plants from the fossil record t o the native flora of Ontario. For in-person presentations\, I bring a col lection of plant fossils for participants to explore.\n\nPaul LaPorte is t he owner of Ephemeral Ark Nursery\, specializing in the propagation of Ont ario’s native woodland plants and ecological gardening.  Based in the G reater Toronto Area Greenbelt\, he studies and stewards diverse plant comm unities across a range of ecotypes and microclimates.\n\nPaul is involved in several conservation initiatives\, advising organizations such as Carol inian Canada\, the Canada Wildlife Federation\, the Ontario Invasive Plant Council\, WWF Canada\, and others on biodiversity\, invasive species\, an d ethical seed collection and propagation through the Southern Ontario See d Strategy.  He is a past chair of the Ontario Native Plant Growers Assoc iation and previously served on the Ontario Biodiversity Council. He has a lso served as president of the North American Native Plant Society and vic e chair of the Scugog Environmental Advisory Committee.\n\nPaul is a frequ ent presenter to garden groups\, conservation organizations\, municipaliti es\, and professional associations on ecological gardening and native plan t systems\, with a focus on education\, advocacy\, and collaborative effor ts to advance this work.\n\n \;\n\nPhoto: James St. John ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://natureguelph.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/ 09/Fossil-Conifer-James-St.-John-CC-BY-2.0-.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Toronto X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Toronto BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20270314T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR