Article by: Denna Nachlinger
Photos: Blue Flower Arts
Camille Dungy is an award-winning poet, acclaimed essayist, and critic. Her book, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, was named book of the month by Hudson Booksellers, received the 2024 Award of Excellence in Garden and Nature Writing from The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, and was on the short list for the PEN/Jean Stein Award.
Camille blends memoir, poetry, photography, and maps to describe her family’s work to create a more diverse, sustainable, and community-oriented environment, starting with the mostly native pollinator garden they plant in their own yard. In this talk she’ll discuss some of the ways literature, gardening, and community engagement help her harness the twinned powers of hope and resilience as we work to build safer and more equitable spaces all around us.
Camille’s keynote address is an inspiring start to our two-day conference. Plan It Native hosts 21 concurrent sessions, with topics ranging from native landscaping design and maintenance, wildlife conservation, large landscape establishment and management, to building resilience and community. Our exhibit hall will feature over 15 native plant and ecosystem partners. You will get the chance to chat with experts and learn about their organizations and missions.
We are hosting Plan It Native on the campus of Kauffman Legacy Park, at the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, and the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center. Register now for Plan It Native and be prepared to leave feeling more inspired and equipped to play your part in restoring native habitats than ever before.
Camille will host a book signing at our conference, and Deep Roots will have her book available for sale. As you await Plan It Native, learn more about Camille by visiting her website here.
We’d like to thank all our 2026 conference sponsors! Their support is invaluable to the conference and impactful to our native plant community.
Bur Oak Sponsors
Black Cherry Sponsors
Prairie Willow Sponsors
Sugar Maple Sponsors
Might your organization be interested in sponsoring Plan It Native 2026? Click here for more information.
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