Daan Bleichrodt is on a mission to re-connect urban kids with nature worldwide. He is Chief Tree Planting Officer at the IVN environmental education and leads the Tiny Forest movement in the Netherlands. He is also a consultant and teacher for Earthwatch in the UK, Goodplanet in Belgium, and Ecosystem Restoration Camps. He currently lives in the leafy town of Den Dolder with his wife Kiki and two sons - Mees and Tijn. He has a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management and a master’s degree in business administration and organizational change. Since joining IVN ten years ago, he has learned a great deal about restoring nature and restoring people’s connection to the living world.

Lori Hayes is the Director of Urban Forestry, and District Tree Crew, Districts 5, 6, 7, & 8, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and is a certified arborist through ISA (International Society of Arboriculture). She oversees many projects including the TreePhilly Program, street tree planting, and maintenance. Lori graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Science in horticulture, she is a Penn State Master Gardener, and a lifelong learner. Lori's passion for trees and the urban forest has given her the nickname The Lorax. 

Diane Ehrich owns Collins Nursery, a small retail nursery in Glenside, Pennsylvania which specializes in container-grown native plants from the Mid-Atlantic region. The nursery was founded by John Collins, a Philadelphia landscape architect, and educator.  Diane has continued to fulfill and expand John’s mission of propagating and providing native plants to homeowners, non-profits, and local townships. Diane studied art at Rhode Island School of Design and Boston University and has an MA in art education from New York University. She draws on her experience as a teacher to help educate customers about the benefits of native plants. An enthusiastic gardener, Diane went back to school at Temple University/Ambler to study horticulture in 2004 and soon after, went to work helping John in his backyard nursery. She has worked as a gardener, at a local garden center, and has done ongoing volunteer work with the Friends of High School Park, a native plant restoration project in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. In addition, Diane is a botanical artist and a member of the Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators and the American Society of Botanical Artists.

Richard McCoy has over 30-years of experience in the green industry. He is the visionary behind Richard A. McCoy Horticultural Services Inc., founded in 1995. Since transitioning from conventional to organic landscape methods in 2005, McCoy Horticultural has been offering environmentally and sustainably responsible, landscape design, installations, maintenance, green infrastructure, and organic lawn care.

His work at Stony Wood Garden, a 3.5-acre private woodland garden in Princeton, New Jersey, has been recognized by The Smithsonian Institute's Archives of American Gardens.

Abra Lee is a national speaker, writer, and owner of Conquer the Soil a platform that combines Black garden history and current events to raise awareness of horticulture. She has spent a whole lotta time in the dirt as a municipal arborist, extension agent, airport landscape manager, and more. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University and alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals.

Max Blaustein is an Environmental Scientist with the Philadelphia Department of Parks & Recreation's Natural Lands Management team. His work has focused on the restoration and operation of a historic nursery facility in West Fairmount Park, where he propagates native plants for conservation projects that support the ecosystem function and habitat value of the 5,600 acres of natural areas within the City of Philadelphia.

Robin Rick has been a Woodlands Grave Gardener since 2016 and The

Jordan Foreman grew up in Central Jersey just a stone's throw from Six Mile Run.  He has always loved to hike in the woods, but it wasn't until he was a student at Rutgers University that Ecology became his passion. He was an intern at Rutgers Gardens at the University, and he interned at Central Park in New York City through college. Then, Jordan spent a year as an AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador before he discovered the Professional Horticulture Program at Longwood Gardens with the help of the kind folks at the Delaware River Basin Commission. After finishing Longwood's Professional Horticulture Program, Jordan moved to Durham, North Carolina to become an Arborist for Bartlett Tree Experts. Currently, Jordan is a Foreman and Plant Healthcare Specialist for Bartlett where he continues to inspire people through his passion for plants.

Dale Hendricks has been growing and propagating plants professionally since 1975. In 1988 he co-founded North Creek Nurseries, Inc in order to propagate and grow perennials and grasses with an emphasis on natives and garden selections of natives. In 2009 he founded Green Light Plants, LLC to build carbon-friendly and regenerative landscapes; growing native, woodland, and permaculture plants, organically and joyfully. He has been honored with the American Horticulture Society’s Individual Commercial award and the Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional Award, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society award of merit. He has taught plant propagation at Longwood Gardens and lectures widely.

He served on the founding board of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and as co-chair from 2004-2007. He lives in Landenberg, Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania with his family where he gardens, propagates plants, and grows good soil.

Hasan Malik's fascination with trees has been a constant for as long as he can remember.  With a hand pruners or saw, he readily gave attention to the tree problems he encountered growing up in Northeast Philadelphia.  Hasan is an ISA Certified Arborist and has a degree in Civil Engineering from Temple University.

In 2008 Hasan founded Tree Northeast.  The nonprofit organization plants street and yard trees throughout Northeast Philadelphia, engaging volunteers and residents by greening the community. To date, the organization has planted over 1000 trees and helps maintain them regularly.

Tree Authority started in 2012 with the goal of providing superior tree care in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Region. The nursery began the following year in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Hasan and his wife Tasneem continue to expand the nursery, which now stocks over 200 varieties of fruit, shade, and ornamental trees, including a diverse selection of natives.

The Tree Authority's goal is to give trees the best chance to survive in an urban landscape right from the nursery. The nursery uses best practices to grow strong, healthy trees with virtually no girdling roots, no transplant shock, and the trees have visible root flares.

Visiting the Tree Authority in Perkasie Pennsylvania makes evident Hasan's melding of horticulture and engineering.  His innovations for container types, staking systems, irrigation techniques, and soil mixes consistently translate into healthy vigorous trees.