Fall Study Day
Saturday, October 31th, 2026
10:00 am – 3:45 pm
H.R. MacMillan Space Center, 1100 Chestnut St., Vancouver
Registration is $70.00 for members, by sending an e-transfer to danaatvhpg @ gmail.com before Oct. 24, 2026.
Non-members and at the door tickets will cost $80.00.
Please note: it is VERY IMPORTANT to put the name(s) of the attendees in the notes section of the e-transfer.
We actually do read this section and need this information ESPECIALLY if the legal name of the sender of the e-transfer is different from that of the attendee.
If you prefer to pay by cheque, please ensure it’s made out to VANCOUVER HARDY PLANT GROUP and mail it to: Elizabeth Taylor, 3642 West 1st Avenue, Vancouver, V6R 1H2 by Oct. 20th, 2026.
SPEAKERS
James Alexander-Sinclair – Ledwell, United Kingdom
Gardens that have changed my life
Tales from the trenches, all the things you didn’t know about the Chelsea Flower Show
James began his career as a landscape contractor in London before moving to the English countryside in 1992. James is also a well known writer, contributing to many of the British horticultural publications (Gardens Illustrated, English Garden, Country Life, The Garden etc) and has been voted the Garden Media Guild Garden Journalist of the year. Anyone who has seen James on stage will attest that he is a lively and engaging speaker much in demand on the lecture circuit in the UK and North America.
James has been a Royal Horticultural Society gardens judge since 2006, Chair of the Chelsea. Flower Show selection panel and has also judged gardens in USA, China and Japan.
In 2011 he was elected to the Council of the RHS and served 10 years, he continues to be very involved with the society and is both a Vice President and an ambassador for Garden Design. In 2022 James was awarded the prestigious Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture.
In 2016 James created a garden at the Scottish Spinal Injuries Centre for the Horatio’s Garden charity, he continues to oversee the garden and in 2021 accepted a role as trustee.
You can learn more on his website: jamesalexandersinclair.com
Carol Pasternak – Toronto, Ontario
Preaching beyond the choir – how to excite your community to grow native plant gardens
Carol Pasternak, MBA, Llb is an author, photographer and sought after Motivational Nature Speaker. She has been raising butterflies and other creatures on her dining room table for 40 years.
In this presentation, Carol will give you the knowledge and tools to bring your community into the native plant movement. You will learn 15 ways to inspire your neighbors to grow native plants, and not because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the most fun thing to do.
Carol is a fervent follower of the American Ecologist Doug Tallamy who is one of the founders of Homegrown National Park, a nonprofit organization promoting habitat restoration and biodiversity on public and private lands through the planting of native plants and removal of invasive species.
For 14 years, Carol has dazzled international audiences with spectacular photographs and videos featuring the lives of backyard insects. Her humour and infectious passion have earned her the GOAT designation time and again.
You can learn more on her website: monarchcrusader.com
Elizabeth Elle, SFU, British Columbia
The Weird and Wonderful Sex Life of Flowering Plants
Dr. Elizabeth Elle is Professor of Biological Sciences and Director of Environmental Science at Simon Fraser University. An ecologist by training, Elizabeth’s research has ranged from the evolution of plant mating systems to the ecology of interactions between plants and other organisms: mycorrhizae, herbivores/predators and especially pollinators.
An avid gardener, Elizabeth’s current research links gardeners’ attitudes and practices to the bees in their backyards.
Elizabeth loves bringing together her backgrounds as an ecologist and her experience as a gardener to provide accessible, science-based information to garden clubs and natural history societies. Her current research links gardeners’ attitudes and practices to the bees in their backyards.
You can learn more on her website: ElizabethElleEcology.ca