Blogger Beth Ginter
May 21, 2025
Turning a New Leaf 2023 photo: Jim Edward
At CCLC, odd numbered years are conference years. Those of you who’ve been involved with our organization for a while know that well before there was a CBLP program, there was Turning a New Leaf. It’s an important part of our commitment to providing quality educational programming for professionals working on green infrastructure and sustainable landscapes. We’re very pleased to continue the tradition of bringing everyone together for our biennial event, the 11th Turning A New Leaf conference, which will be held, for the first time, in Richmond Virginia, on December 3.
Why Turning a New Leaf ? Thesaurus.com shares the following synonyms for this 16th century idiom. The idiom, a phrase or expression whose meaning can’t be understood from the literal meaning of its words, refers to turning the pages in a book, but there are some great conservation landscaping descriptors on this list. These are words that apply not only to our work but to our theme for this year’s conference, which is about intentionally working together to move toward a more sustainable future.
We will have lots more information coming soon, but for now, I wanted to share a few highlights of what we have in store for you:
- Most importantly, Save the Date! Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at the Science Museum of Virginia’s Dewey Gottwald Center, in Richmond.
- The 2025 theme: Chart the Course, Shape the Future: Together for a Greener Good
- Tracks: Thinking Forward, Working Together, Greening the Future
- Our keynote speaker will be forester, Ethan Tapper, author of How to Love a Forest
- Amber Ellis, wearing her Find Your Nature hat, will be the plenary speaker
- We will hold a welcome dinner on Tuesday evening with local speaker, Giles Garrison, from the James River Park System, and plenty of time for networking.
- Join us on Thursday, after the conference, for a field day to see cool projects in Richmond.
- The book sale returns!
- Interesting in sponsoring? Our sponsors make this conference possible. We have several sponsorship options available: https://www.chesapeakelandscape.org/sponsor-turning-a-new-leaf/
- Registration opens in September.
Keep an eye on our website https://www.chesapeakelandscape.org/turning-a-new-leaf-conference/ and social media for updates.
We can’t wait to see you in Richmond!
Beth Ginter is the first Executive Director of the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council. Additionally, she oversees the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) program, a certification effort which provides consistent training and practice standards for landscape professionals working in the Chesapeake Bay region, Ms. Ginter has a Masters degree in Sustainable Landscape Design from The George Washington University. Her limited free time is spent with her family, walking her corgi, and catching up on her reading.
