Creating Climate-Resilient Landscapes

Full-day Workshop for horticulture professionals

Held on February 28th in 2025

Creating Climate Resilient Landscapes poster

The Creating Climate-Resilient Landscapes Workshop was designed to educate, inspire, and connect landscape professionals and enthusiasts with like-minded organizations in the Okanagan. The event was not exclusively for landscape professionals – any keen horticulturist, master gardener or home landscaper was welcome to attend.

It was a very informative and successful event bringing so many like-minded people together.

Climate resilience must include water conservation and resistance to fire, using plant materials that have adapted to ever more frequent and intense drought and heat, as well as extreme cold.

Expert presenters (scroll down for bios) with experience in the Okanagan climate discussed the following topics:

  • The principles of xeriscape for landscape professionals (Optional Breakfast session)
  • The changing Okanagan climate and the need to embrace xeriscape
  • New xeriscape plants and nursery industry updates
  • Tree root defects and management at planting: A hands-on, interactive session
  • The Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) program
  • Inviting pollinators and creating meadow landscapes
  • Drought-tolerant tree selection
  • Regenerative landscaping
  • FireSmart landscaping
DATE: February 2025 TIME: 7 am – 5:00 pm LOCATION: Coast Capri Hotel OXA offered this full-day workshop at the low price of $55 thanks to the tremendous support from our partners– Okanagan Basin Water Board, the City of Kelowna, and the City of Kelowna Fire Department. Industry sponsors are Sawchuk Developments, Foxglove Nursery and the Kelowna Rotary Club. Coffee and lunch provided.

WORKSHOP AGENDA

7:00 am– Principles of Xeriscape– Applied principles for landscape professionals. This is an optional session presented by Sigrie Kendrick, Executive Director of OXA and master gardener. Attend this early session if you would like to learn or refresh your knowledge of the Seven Principles of Xeriscape. Please RSVP for this session when purchasing your ticket. A complimentary continental breakfast will be provided. 8:00 am– Arrive and check inat the registration desk. Many of the presenters, sponsors, and partners will have tables and be on hand for conversations and questions. 8:30 am–  WELCOME REMARKS– Okanagan Xeriscape Association 8:45 am– Anna Warwick Sears – Okanagan Basin Water Board – The changing Okanagan climate and the need to embrace xeriscape 9:00 am– Ashlee Hignell,Foxglove Nursery – New xeriscape plants and nursery industry updates 9:45 am– COFFEE BREAK– join us for a coffee break and visit the tables to chat with our presenters, sponsors and partners 10:15 am– Gordon Hiebert, Cabin Operations – Regenerative landscaping 11:00 am– Ed Hoppe, City of Kelowna – Water Quality – Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program (QWEL) 11:30 am– LUNCH BREAK – complimentary lunch will be provided in the foyer of the meeting rooms 12:30 pm– Mario Lanthier, CropHealth Advising & Research – tree root defects and management at planting: A hands-on, interactive session to learn techniques that optimize tree survival 2:00 pm– Stephanie Aitken, Climate-Resilient Landscapes: Meadows, Pollinators, and Native plants 2:45 pm– COFFEE BREAK – join us for a coffee break and visit the tables to chat with our presenters, sponsors and partners 3:15 pm– Robert Hogue, Pegasus Horticulture – Drought-tolerant tree selection 4:00 pm– Dennis Craig, Kelowna Fire Department – FireSmart landscaping 4:45 pm:Wrap up and door prizes– please stick around to win gifts from: Waterkind, XEN Nursery, LifeSpace Gardens, SiteOne Landscape Supply, Bylands Nurseries and Kel-Lake Garden Centre.

During the coffee and lunch breaks, join the following organizations to ask questions and network: City of Kelowna– Planning, Neighbourwoods & QWEL, Kelowna Fire Dept & FireSmart, Foxglove Nursery, XEN Nursery, OXA and OBWB’s Make Water Work program.

WORKSHOP PRESENTERS

Sigrie Kendrick
With roots in both Australian rose breeding and Saudi Arabian desert living, Sigrie Kendrick’s unique perspective on gardening and water conservation led her to become a Master Gardener in 2014. Inspired by Gwen Steele, co-founder of the Okanagan Xeriscape Association, she joined the OXA board in 2015 and became Executive Director in 2019. She shares her vast xeriscape expertise through her ‘Gardening with Nature’ column in multiple publications, on CBC broadcasts across British Columbia, Xeriscape 101 classes through OXA, and presentations on the Principles of Xeriscape.
ANNA WARWICK SEARS

ANNA WARWICK SEARS

Okanagan Basin Water Board

Anna Warwick Sears is the Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board, focusing on water management and sustainability. She holds a PhD in population biology from UC Davis and serves on several environmental commissions, including the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control and the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission. Based in Kelowna, she enjoys outdoor activities throughout the Okanagan region.
MARIO LANTHIER

MARIO LANTHIER

CropHealth Advising & Research

Mario has been working in the horticulture industry all his life. His company, CropHealth Advising & Research, offers consulting services related to Plant Health Care to public agencies, landscape companies and nurseries in British Columbia and Alberta. For many years, Mario has joined on-going research to improve nursery production practices in order to deliver better root systems.
DENNIS CRAIG

DENNIS CRAIG

FireSmart

Dennis Craig is the Assistant Fire Chief of Mitigation & Prevention for the City of Kelowna, with over 8 years leading community FireSmart initiatives. He has been deployed to multiple large wildfires with BC Wildfire Service supporting structure protection and defense programs. Prior to joining Kelowna Fire Department in 2024, Dennis was Fire Chief in Peachland for 11 years where he led a movement to get the Districts Leadership team on board with making changes to multiple bylaws and entrenching FireSmart principles into the common practices of the municipality.

ED HOPPE

ED HOPPE

City of Kelowna

As a professional chemist with a long history of environmental monitoring and testing, Ed has worked with consultants, municipalities, regional districts, and health authorities to provide solid water quality data. For the past seven years, he has been dedicated to serving the City of Kelowna, leading a department that includes customer service, water conservation, lab services, cross-connection control, and water metering. His primary focus is developing strong customer relationships through communication and education to manage and understand water use, reduce unnecessary water loss, and embrace a water-conscious lifestyle.
GORDON HIEBERT

GORDON HIEBERT

Cabin Operations

Gord Hiebert is a land designer and environmental manager at Cabin Operations and has over 20 years of experience working in the environmental, regenerative agriculture, and construction sectors. He has designed and implemented regenerative and ecological systems for Indigenous Peoples, agricultural, residential, commercial, institutional, non-profit, and government organizations. With a focus on sustainable water management, Gord’s experience has allowed him to work in natural environments throughout British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon.
ASHLEE HIGNELL

ASHLEE HIGNELL

Foxglove Nursery

Foxglove Nursery With a background in residential and commercial landscape maintenance in the interior and the coast, Ashlee’s passion has been promoting the right plant for the right place, with an emphasis on native and drought-tolerant plant and tree selections. When not managing operations at Foxglove Nursery, Ashlee can be found enjoying the outdoors with her family, or with her nose stuck in a book.
STEPHANIE AITKEN

STEPHANIE AITKEN

Urban Systems

Stephanie co-owned and operated a local landscape design-build company (Seed and Sparrow Design) for the past six years. The company focused on developing and implementing climate-resilient strategies throughout the Okanagan. With a focus on helping communities increase their resiliency and respond to a changing climate, she recently joined Urban Systems as a Landscape Consultant. She is looking forward to scaling up her work and impact with the support of a larger team.
ROBERT HOGUE

ROBERT HOGUE

Pegasus Horticulture

Robert Hogue obtained his Masters degree in environmental horticulture at University of California, Davis in 2003, under the supervision of Dr. David Burger. The topic of his thesis was “Physiology of Drought Stress In Urban Landscapes”. Robert’s undergraduate degree in Plant Science at University of Alberta was in plant pathology, and vegetable crops. His current interest is finding tree and shrub species suitable for the Okanagan to enhance biodiversity.

Many thanks to the tremendous support from our partners and sponsors:

PARTNERS:

  • Okanagan Basin Water Board
  • Make Water Work
  • City of Kelowna Fire Department
  • FireSmart

SPONSORS:

  • Sawchuk Developments
  • Foxglove Nursery
  • Rotary Club of Kelowna