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SUMMARY:2026 Spring Fever Symposium
DESCRIPTION:SEED STORIES\nJoin us for our biggest education event of the year! We have an incredible lineup of speakers to pack this day with gardening goodness\, all about seeds. Pre-registration is required. Open to the public… all are welcome!\n \nApril 11th\, 2026; 9am-3pm\nLunch and refreshments provided with registration.\n \nREGISTER HERE\n \n\nSchdeule:\n \n\n9:00 am – Doors Open9:30 am – Opening Remarks9:40 am – Maddy Stevenson: Seeds With a Story10:40 am – Break10:55 am – Vivian Bernau: Writing the Next Chapter of Our Seed Stories12:10 pm – Lunch12:55 pm – Marcus Jansen: Behind the Breeding2:10 pm – Break2:25 pm – Fatima Najar: Iowa Arboretum & Gardens Top Performers3pm – Adjourn\n \n \nPresentation Descriptions:\n \nSeeds with a Story – Maddy Stevenson\nIf a seed could speak\, what story would it tell? Would it whisper about the perfect growing day\, or proudly recall the cultures and cuisines it has shaped? Join Maddy as she shares plants encountered in her travels and the surprising\, resourceful roles they play. Discover how these plants influence diets\, brighten gardens\, and sustain communities across the globe.\n \nWriting the Next Chapter of Our Seed Stories – Vivian Bernau\nEvery seed has a story. And researching\, crafting\, and sharing those stories has been at the very heart of Seed Savers Exchange’s mission since its founding more than a half-century ago.  In this presentation\, Vivian will take a deep dive into why stories are such an important part of saving and stewarding seed varieties. She will share some of Seed Savers Exchange’s most interesting and inspiring seed stories and walk attendees through the organization’s accession policy—including why a documented seed story plays such a critical role in whether a seed donation is accepted into the Seed Savers Exchange Collection. Vivian will wrap up her presentation by showing how every gardener and seed saver can add their own chapter to a seed history by selecting and cultivating specific varietal traits.\n \nIowa Arboretum & Gardens 2025 Top Performers – Fatima Najar\nAfter three rigorous seasons\, the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens Trial Program selected the first perennial Top Performers that began the program in 2023. The Trial Program Coordinator\, Fatima\, will go over the climatic patterns in Central Iowa for 2025 and the four perennials that proved to be the most resilient for Central Iowa’s landscape.\n \nBehind the Breeding: The Journey of Developing New Garden Plants from Seed – Marcus Jansen\nHave you considered what it takes to make some of your favorite plant varieties available to you? In this session\, we will peek behind the curtain of plant breeding\, exploring how new garden plants are bred\, developed\, and launched into the market. From perennial and annual ornamentals to cut flowers and vegetables\, we will explore how seed is produced and plants are evaluated for gardeners in Iowa and gardeners around the world. Through this presentation\, we will highlight some of the people that make these plants possible and some of the gardens that make it all worthwhile.\n \nAbout the speakers:\n \nVivian Bernau\nVivian Bernau brings a lifelong passion for agricultural biodiversity and a wealth of experience in plant genetics to her new role as director of preservation at Seed Savers Exchange (SSE). She has devoted her career to safeguarding crop diversity and ensuring that seeds—and the stories they carry—are preserved for future generations. Before joining SSE\, Vivian served as lead scientist and maize curator for the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Plant Introduction Research Unit. There\, she managed one of the nation’s largest maize germplasm collections\, developing innovative\, data-driven strategies to maintain and distribute thousands of unique varieties to researchers and growers worldwide.\n \nVivian earned her doctorate in horticulture and crop science from The Ohio State University\, where her research explored drought tolerance and local adaptation in chile peppers of southern Mexico. Her commitment to global food security has taken her beyond U.S. borders\, including research collaborations with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia\, where she studied crop wild relatives and strategies for conserving genetic diversity.\n \nMarcus Jansen\nMarcus Jansen\, MS (He/Him) was raised in Quincy\, Illinois and is an alum of the Iowa State University Department of Horticulture. He now lives and gardens in Batavia\, Illinois and is a Product Manager for PanAmerican Seed of Ball Horticultural Company. In this role\, Marcus oversees the Pro Landscape Performer Program and manages a portfolio of annuals and perennials in the PanAmerican Seed assortment\, working to bring new plant varieties to growers and gardeners all over the world.\n \nMaddy Stevenson\nMaddy Stevenson is the Horticulture Technician at the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens. She plays a key role in designing and maintaining beautiful garden spaces for members and guests to enjoy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Iowa State University and brings a diverse range of experiences to her role. Maddy started working in garden centers near her hometown of Story City\, Iowa. During her time at ISU\, she studied and shared horticultural practices as far away as Uganda and India. Maddy is excited to share her love of plants and create gardens that inspire people.\n \nFatima Najar\nFatima Najar has been with the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens Trial Program for three years\, and wasinvaluable in helping start the program. Fatima grew up in Sioux City\, Iowa later going to Iowa Stateto pursue her bachelor’s degree in Forestry. Before joining the arboretum\, she worked as a field techniciancollecting data on native prairie plants and their importance to pollinators\, and on a special project with Botrychium (moonwort).\n \nAs Curatorial Assistant\, Fatima serves as a liaison between the public and horticulture industry while also collecting evaluation data on every perennial and shrub variety every two weeks. She does incredible work balancing those responsibilities with care of the garden and managing outreach. Fatima is passionate about conservation and sustainability\, and loves to communicate those interests to diverse audiences.
URL:https://iowaarboretum.org/event/2026-spring-fever-symposium/
LOCATION:Iowa Arboretum & Gardens\, 1875 Peach Avenue\, MADRID\, IA\, 50156
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://iowaarboretum.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Spring-Fever-Symposium-Banner-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="David McKinney":MAILTO:mark.schneider@iowaarboretum.org
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