WildScapes will host its ninth annual symposium, Open the Garden Gate, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Richmond Hill City Center in J.F. Gregory Park. This year’s theme is focused on beaches and barrier islands. Attendees will leave the symposium with a better sense of what makes Georgia’s beaches and barrier islands some of the most critical habitats for native wildlife, as well as why these environments should be cared for and how they can be protected.