2025 Kurle Memorial Lecture – Sunday February 23

Adam D’Angelo, Savanna Institute

MidFEx is pleased to welcome Adam D’Angelo as our 2025 Bob and Linda Kurle Lecturer. Adam comes to us from the Savanna Institute, a non-profit dedicated to the development and adoption of resilient, scalable agroforestry across the Midwest.

As the Breeding Operations Manager, Adam works with the Tree Crop Improvement Team to transform innovation into application. He is responsible for coordinating data collection, critical field and greenhouse operations, and for performing research to optimize plant life cycles.

Adam received his Master’s degree in Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where his research focused on breeding for flavor and eating quality in table beets. During his undergraduate education at Rutgers University he worked in a lab breeding European Hazelnuts for disease resistance.

He is an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, a banjo player, and is the Director of Project Pawpaw, a crowdfunded research and breeding initiative dedicated to improving North America’s largest native fruit.

Adam is going to speak to the exciting plant breeding initiatives the Savanna Institute is pursuing, as well as discuss how agroforestry approaches can be applied to homestead and backyard gardens.

Date: Sunday, February 23, 2025

Time: 11:00am – 12:30 pm

Location: Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe Il

Kurle Memorial Lecture

The Kurle Memorial lecture is offered annually in honor of Bob and Mary Kurle, conveners of the Midwest Fruit Explorers. Bob was known as one of the top fruit and nut enthusiasts in the U.S. He networked actively with fruit and nut growers all over the world. In the 1970s, Bob’s displays at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show focused the interest of ordinary gardeners on dwarf and semi dwarf fruit trees, hybrid nuts, and promoted growing the best fruit varieties suited to the Chicagoland area. He appeared in Organic Gardening and the Chicago Tribune.