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Ecological Enhancement
with John Smith, James Lesher, & Sam Stoltzfus
Saturday, August 9, 2025, 9:00am – Noon
The workshop will present principles and a methodology for improving the ecology of a tract of land, transforming an open-ended and potentially overwhelming task into a structured, understandable, and teachable process that can be broken into manageable parts. It is best suited for properties of 10 to 100 acres but can be adapted for smaller or larger sites. The intended audience includes property owners, land conservancies with easements, professionals working with these owners, and anyone interested in developing a sharper eye for natural features and future possibilities.
This approach draws on the work of Aldo Leopold, Doug Tallamy, and others. It is a hands-on workshop—not in the sense of performing labor, but in directly observing areas where this methodology has been applied, with visible results. Participants will also see native shrub species in their mature, recognizable forms.
The methodology follows a five-step process, beginning with identifying a relatively small, ecologically coherent area—typically from 2–3 acres to 20–30 acres. Subsequent steps include observing and cataloging what is present, deciding what to increase, decrease, or introduce, and developing implementation plans with simple planting maps and qualitative evaluation notes. Full details will be described and discussed in the workshop, and are summarized on the ChicoryLane website under Ecological Enhancements and Projects.
The workshop will be led by John Smith, co-owner of ChicoryLane, James Lesher, Land Manager, with Sam Stoltzfus, our trainee in conservation. The workshop is free, but please register, below, if you plan to come; this will help us with planning and preparation of materials. You are welcome to bring a lunch, to hang out following the workshop, and to explore the property.
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