NARGS Annual Meeting 2018
St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
July 6-8, 2018
"Where Alpines Meet the Sea"
and
Plus Optional Post-conference Tour (sorry, the post-conference tour is fully booked)
Newfoundland Limestone Barrens
July 9 - 16, 2018
Todd Boland, Trip Leader
Welcome to Newfoundland, the far east of North America! Eastern Newfoundland is a land of botanical extremes. There are boreal forest of balsam fir, black and white spruce along with the associated northern woodland plants. We have a multitude of bogs and fens, home to a wide variety orchids and insectivorous plants. And then there are rocky coastal barrens which house wind-swept, contorted trees and plants of an alpine nature more in common with high elevations of the New England Appalachians. We have the largest population of North Atlantic summering humpback whales, some of the largest seabird colonies of eastern North America, and are along the passing route of icebergs calving off glaciers in Greenland. This NARGS venue provides participants with a chance to visit one of the most hauntingly beautiful regions of North America. Newfoundland is truly where alpines meet the sea.
The summer 2018 NARGS meeting will take advantage of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Conference Facility. Accommodations will be available in Macpherson College, opened in 2013, whose private rooms offer modern and comfortable accommodations. Dining areas and lecture theatres are within a couple-of-minutes walk from the College. The University is located in the heart of St. John’s, such that within a few minutes buses and taxis can bring you to the picturesque downtown with colourful row housing affectionately called “jelly-bean row," a plethora of tourist shops and some of the best seafood dining experiences in eastern North America. One of the main highlights from this meeting will be a visit to the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden, an informal garden with 13 themed gardens including rock gardens, crevice garden, alpine trough display, and alpine house.
Our guest speakers hail from the coasts of eastern and western Canada as well as Scotland. The plants discussed will be alpines that can tolerate months of snow and overall wetter climates, with examples from the wild and how they perform in the garden. Day trips will introduce participants to the plants of the eastern Newfoundland coastal barrens and peatlands. Book sales and author signing for the field guides “The Trees and Shrubs of Newfoundland and Labrador” and ‘Wildflowers and Ferns of Newfoundland” will be available. Before the conference, there will be open gardens.
The link for the main registration is http://bit.ly/2n8f834
Each person in a household, family, spouse, etc., must register separately.
The link to accommodations at the Memorial University Macpherson College is http://www.mun.ca/conferences/bookings/nargs2018.php .Once you get to its website, enter the promotion code NARGS2018
Below is a copy of the conference program:
Here is a copy of the registration form, which you may download and mail in:
Here is an overview of the NARGS conference, including the daily hikes:
Sorry, but the post-conference tour is now fully booked. To be put on a waiting list, contact NARGS Tours Committee co-chairs: Jody Payne ([email protected]) or Lola Horwitz ([email protected]).
We invite you to experience the warmth and hospitality of the oldest city in North America!