Your Yard Is Habitat Conference

The Your Yard Is Habitat Conference is an educational weekend focused on native plants, residential landscapes, and the connections between people and wildlife. Hosted by Deeply Rooted Landscapes in partnership with Brukner Nature Center, the conference brings together gardeners, nature lovers, educators, and curious neighbors for learning, conversation, and community.

Programs explore why native plants matter to birds, insects, and other wildlife and how small, thoughtful changes in our yards can create meaningful habitat close to home.

Tickets are required for Saturday programming.

Conference Details

Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, 2026

Saturday | 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Educational sessions, lunch, and vendors on site during the day

Sunday | 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Public vendor sale

Tickets

Full conference admission (Saturday): $110

About the Conference

Your Yard Is Habitat is designed for anyone who wants to better understand how home landscapes can support the living world around us. The conference brings together educators, designers, and conservation professionals to share practical, approachable ways to garden with wildlife in mind.

Saturday begins with a welcome from Deeply Rooted Landscapes owner Kara Maynard and Brukner Nature Center director Deb Oexmann, followed by a series of educational sessions. Topics include:

• Using native plants to provide food and shelter for wildlife

• Understanding coyotes in our communities

• Designing functional, beautiful native gardens

• Identifying and managing invasive plants

• A guided tree walk on Brukner’s grounds

The day concludes with a moderated interview with a local native plant gardener, offering an honest, real-world perspective on creating habitat at home. Sessions are designed to be practical and accessible, with time built in for questions and discussion.

Who Should Attend

This conference is designed for anyone who cares about the living world outside their door, whether you are just getting started or have been gardening for years.

• Home gardeners and homeowners who want to support birds, pollinators, and other wildlife with practical, realistic changes.

• Nature lovers and lifelong learners who are curious about native plants, local ecology, and how neighborhoods can become healthier habitats.

• Educators, designers, and community leaders looking for ideas to share with students, clients, and neighbors.

No prior experience with native plants is required, just an interest in learning and exploring new ways to care for the places we live.

Location

Your Yard Is Habitat takes place at Brukner Nature Center in Troy, Ohio.

Brukner Nature Center is a nonprofit wildlife education and rehabilitation organization featuring indoor and outdoor exhibits, six miles of nature trails, and woodland, wetland, and prairie habitats. The site is home to more than 50 wildlife ambassadors and offers year-round educational programming for all ages.

Brukner Nature Center
5995 Horseshoe Bend Rd
Troy, OH 45373

Featured Speakers

Conference sessions are led by regional educators, designers, and conservation professionals. 

Maura Boesch
Gardener Interview, Closing Session

Maura Boesch is a retired nurse educator with more than 30 years of experience in health care and higher education. Her interest in native plants began while living on the Mississippi River bluffs in Red Wing, Minnesota, where she became a Master Gardener and volunteered for eight years. After moving to Ohio to be closer to family, she continued her volunteer work as an Ohio Master Gardener. Maura’s current garden began with challenging soil and a small footprint and has grown into a living example of patience, experimentation, and learning with the land.

Courtney Denning 
Designing Habitat: Native Gardens That Work

Courtney Denning has been curious about nature and wildlife since childhood. She studied plant ecology at Ohio University and now designs native plant gardens, leads consultations, and supports education and outreach at Deeply Rooted Landscapes. At home, she grows more than 200 native Ohio plants on less than a quarter acre, showing that even small spaces can have a big ecological impact.

Session Description: Learn how to plan and design a native plant garden that supports wildlife and thrives in your space. This talk covers the why and how of native plants, assessing site conditions, and planning plant placement for both sun and shade. Participants will take home a packet to practice hand-drawing their own garden designs.

Grace Dietsch
Coyotes and the Habitat We Created

Grace Dietsch is the Director of Conservation for Five Rivers MetroParks, where she leads conservation strategy, habitat restoration, and research across more than 15,000 acres of protected land. She has over 15 years of experience in wildlife and natural resource management.

Session Description: Nearly anyone's yard can be habitat for one of the most adaptable creatures in our region, the coyote. Learn about their biology, social structure, behavior, and some of the research surrounding these often-misunderstood animals.

Chris Kline
If You Plant It, They Will Come

Christopher Kline holds a Forest Management degree from Northern Arizona University and a master’s degree in Plant Biology from Ohio University. His growing interest in insects led him to develop and direct the Butterfly Ridge Butterfly Conservation Center in Rockbridge, Ohio, where he and his wife have transformed 21 acres into a butterfly-friendly habitat. The site has seen a 300 percent increase in butterfly populations and documented more than 1,000 moth species. Chris is the author of several books, including Butterfly Gardening with Native Plants and Moths of Butterfly Ridge.

Session Description: Chris will share how plant selection and land management practices at Butterfly Ridge have expanded butterfly populations and benefited countless other species.

Terry Lavy
Invasive Plants: How to Identify and Deal with Them

Terry Lavy is the founder and retired owner of The Conservationist, LLC. He spent the first half of his career in construction before shifting his focus to restoring living landscapes. Through The Conservationist, Terry has converted thousands of acres of turf grass into prairie and wooded lands and has treated thousands of acres of invasive plants. He has worked with clients including ODOT, Five Rivers MetroParks, farmers, and residential property owners. Terry is also a long-standing board member of Brukner Nature Center.

Session Description: Participants will learn to recognize some of the most common invasive plant species in Ohio and explore practical methods for treating and removing them from their properties.

Jason Sullivan
Brukner Tree Walk

Jason Sullivan is a Park Crew Leader for Kettering Parks and Recreation. He grew up in Kettering and brings a wealth of field experience from other park agencies and his work with a privately owned landscape company. Jason is an avid park visitor, trail runner, and skilled photographer, known for capturing wildlife throughout Dayton-area green spaces. At home, he practices conservation and land stewardship by planting native pollinators and raising butterflies to release back into the wild.

Session Description: Enjoy the trails at Brukner Nature Center while learning about the many tree species that grow there. Jason’s wide-ranging knowledge often leads to discussions beyond trees, exploring the broader ecology of the Brukner Woods. The hike will highlight a landscape notably free of Amur honeysuckle thanks to the stewardship of the Brukner team.

Vendors

A curated group of vendors will be on site throughout the weekend, including native plant nurseries and wildlife and nature-focused artists.

Vendors will be on site on Saturday for conference attendees. The public vendor sale will take place on Sunday afternoon.

Native Plant Vendors

Deeply Rooted Landscapes will sell Midwest native trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, and sedges, along with t-shirts and yard signs. Deeply Rooted Landscapes is located in Tipp City, Ohio.

Deep Roots Native Nursery will offer 60 - 70 species of native perennials grown from seed collected in Ohio, and may also offer native plant t-shirts. Deep Roots Native Nursery is located in Salineville, Ohio.

Forage Gardens will sell native plants. Forage Gardens is located in Spencerville, Ohio.  

Keeping It Native Land Management will sell native seed mixes. KINLM is located in Coolville, Ohio. 

Natives In Harmony will offer native seed mixes. Keeping It Native Land Management is located in Coolville, Ohio.

Art and Retail Vendors

Brukner Nature Center operates a Nature Shop featuring books, art, apparel, and other nature-related products.

Dayton Area Wild Ones will share information about Wild Ones and gardening with native plants. Wild Ones is a nationwide organization with a local chapter in Dayton, Ohio.

Midnight Maille Weaver will sell nature-inspired chainmaille jewelry. Midnight Maille Weaver is located in Kettering, Ohio. 

Nora Steele Art will offer nature illustrations, waterproof stickers, and up-cycled t-shirts. Nora Steele Art is located in Sugar Grove, Ohio.

Sense of Healing will sell art inspired by nature, weaving, and watercolor. Sense of Healing is based in Ansonia, Ohio. 

Wild Birds Unlimited will offer backyard bird feeding items and related educational hobby items.  Wild Birds Unlimited has a store in Huber Heights, Ohio, and in Kettering, Ohio.