Submission Components - Annual Conference 2027 | ESSENTIAL: The Influence of Public Gardens

Notes on Developing a Strong Proposal

Conference attendees are diverse — employed at botanical gardens, arboreta, cemeteries, zoos, and university campuses, as well as volunteers, students, and corporate members across industries. Member gardens vary widely in budget, staff, location, and acreage. When recruiting presenters, aim for representation across the membership and multiple perspectives on your topic, so gardens of every size can take value from your session.

The American Public Gardens Association is committed to creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected, and appreciated.

Select Your Track

Choose the the 2027 track(s) that best fits your topic. See the Track Guide for full descriptions and sample topics.

Co-Presenters

Have all co-presenter details ready to enter (first, last, email, title, organization). Co-presenters not added at this step will not receive communications or be imported into the speaker portal correctly.

Title

Concise and to the point — should accurately reflect the content of your presentation. (50 character max)

Presentation Description

The substantive case for your session, used primarily by the Program Selection Committee for review and selection. Association staff reserve light editing rights for style and consistency. (2000 character max)

Why This, Why Now

Why does this topic matter to the field right now, and which gardens — by size, budget, region, or type — will find it most useful? How do the speakers selected for this session represent the relevance (e.g. different size gardens, different backgrounds, etc.). This response directly informs how the Committee scores Relevance and Impact, so be specific rather than general. (1500 character max)

Learning Outcomes

What will attendees be able to do differently as a result of this session? Focus on a concrete change in practice or decision-making, not just increased awareness. (1500 character max)

Audience Engagement

Beyond a slide presentation, how do you intend to engage your audience? Attendee feedback has indicated that slideshows presentations with a Q&A are not always the best way to learn and engage in content and networking. (1500 character max)

By submitting a presentation proposal, you will need to agree to the following on behalf of all those listed in your presentation:

1. Compensation: Any expenses incurred to participate in this conference event are the presenters’ responsibility and will not be reimbursed by the Association. This also applies to printed materials as Association Staff will not have the ability to print materials for attendees and presenters while onsite.

2. Event Registration: All presenters must register for the event (min. 1-day for Annual Conference or full symposium registration) or may choose to present and attend only their session.

3. Communications: All presenters will add info@publicgardens.org to their contact list and work with the organization’s IT department to ensure communications coming from the following IP addresses are allowed.

198.207.147.224/27

204.239.0.224/27

216.230.14.224/27

4. Promotion: All presenters authorize the Association to use their names, biographies, and photos on its website and within its e-newsletters and email marketing for the purpose of promoting the Event and presentation.

5. Content: All presenters

a.) affirm copyright ownership of the content within their presentation and affirm that all necessary permissions have been obtained from any individuals or organizations whose material is included in the presentation. Examples include but are not limited to: plagiarism, memes, trademarks, slides, documents, copied and pasted images from Google, Bing, other search engines, and websites, video clips, commercials, gifs, etc.

b.) affirm that their presentation is factually accurate and will not contain any offensive, defamatory, or unlawful materials or assertions, and agree to abide by the Association’s Core Values and IDEA principles as detailed on the Association’s website at www.publicgardens.org.

c.) will refrain from displaying any images or text contradicting the mission of the Association and the professional interests of the Association members and affiliates. Presenters shall refrain from any libel, slander, or disparagement of the Association, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, or members.

d.) will not engage in any type of promotional marketing or selling of any product or service.

e.) understand that the Association reserves the right to stop any presentation that violates the conditions set forth in this agreement.

6. Content & Presenter Changes: No substantive changes in content or presenters are made without prior written approval from Association Staff, Program Selection Committee, or Planning Committee.

7. Photography & Video Recording: Presenters consent to be photographed and video recorded (as applicable) and grants to the Association a royalty-free license to distribute the presentation (including video, accompanying documents, and presentation slides) to its members with appropriate attribution to the Presenter.

8. Transcription: Presenters authorize the Association to use an AI transcription service to create a real-time transcript of the presentation for any lawful purpose in connection with member education, accessibility, the Event and/or derivative materials. The Association affirms that the live transcription service does not record voices.

9. Cancellation: The Association will be notified immediately in writing if an emergency would prevent this session from being presented. In the event an originally listed presenter is unable to attend, the session coordinator will provide a substitute presenter of equal expertise for approval by the Association.

10. Release: Presenters shall indemnify, release, defend, and hold harmless the Association, its directors, officers, members and employees from and against any and all claims, demands, causes of action, losses, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of a third party claim, action, or proceeding, based directly or indirectly on any breach of Speaker’s warranties contained herein, relating to intellectual property rights, or in any other way arising from or relating to Presenters’ performance under this Agreement.

The American Public Gardens Association conferences are recognized for leading the field of public horticulture. We’re looking for the most motivating, inspiring, and innovative educational content. The Program Selection Committee awards top scores to proposals meeting the following criteria:

Purpose — Topic, intent, and learning outcomes are focused, well presented, and thoughtfully articulated. (Presentation Description, Learning Outcomes)
Presenter Rationale — Presenters chosen are appropriately representative of the topic, audience, and intended learning outcomes. (List of Presenters/ Co-Presenters, Presentation Description)
Relevance — Topic and presenters represent a wide range of perspectives, regions, and garden size/budget/mission. (Why This, Why Now)
Audience Engagement — The most appropriate engagement format is identified to allow full exploration of the topic. (Audience Engagement)
Impact — Topic is trending, timely, and highly relevant, with strong potential to catalyze the audience. (Why This, Why Now)

Notification

By early January 2027, you will receive notification of your proposal status. The Association will determine specific days and timeslots for sessions. Your submitted proposal automatically confirms your availability for any session block during June 28–July 2, 2027, the dates of the Annual Conference. If you already have a known time conflict, note it in your submission — date and time accommodations cannot be guaranteed after session selection.

Add Us to Your Contacts
To receive event-related communications, add info@publicgardens.org to your contact list and work with your IT team to allow communications from the following IP addresses:

198.207.147.224/27
204.239.0.224/27
216.230.14.224/27