Celebrating Native Plants
DIVERSITY & DISCOVERY
September 11–12, 2026
Highlands Biological Station
Celebrating the remarkable native plant diversity of the Southern Appalachians as we look ahead to Highlands Biological Station’s Centennial in 2027.
Why This Place Matters
The Highlands Plateau is one of the most biologically rich temperate regions on Earth.
Here, ancient mountains, abundant rainfall, and diverse habitats create a landscape where native plants shape entire ecosystems.
Every two years, the Native Plant Symposium draws this community together—a rhythm of return and renewal. As Highlands Biological Station enters its second century, this gathering carries that tradition forward, honoring a legacy of discovery while shaping the future of conservation.
FEATURING
Together, our featured speakers offer three ways of seeing the natural world: through science, through design, and through deep botanical knowledge. David George Haskell, Preston Montague, and Alan Weakley each bring a distinct voice—inviting us to look closer, think deeper, and connect more fully with the landscapes around us.
David George Haskell
David George Haskell is a writer and biologist acclaimed for his lyrical explorations of the living world. His 2026 book, How Flowers Made our World, was described by The New York Times as a “passionate floral manifesto…you feel like cheering”. Haskell is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction, for The Forest Unseen and Sounds Wild and Broken. His book The Songs of Trees won the John Burroughs Medal. He is recipient of an Award in Literature from American Academy of Arts and Letters. Haskell has also written essays and multimedia experiences for The New York Times, Emergence Magazine, and other venues. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a Guggenheim Fellow, and is Adjunct Professor of Environmental Sciences at Emory University, and Professor Emeritus at The University of the South in Sewanee, TN. Haskell lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Preston Montague
Bringing together art, ecology, and the practice of seeing.
Alan Weakley
Guiding our understanding of southeastern plant diversity.
Discover the Plants That Define This Landscape
From spring ephemerals to mountain bog specialists, the Southern Appalachians hold extraordinary botanical diversity.
100 Years of Discovery
For a century, Highlands Biological Station has been a place of inquiry, exploration, and connection to the natural world.
Now, as we stand on the threshold of our Centennial in 2027, this year’s symposium becomes something more—a first note in a longer celebration, carrying forward a legacy of discovery into the century to come.