The Plant a Trillion Trees Podcast

Orsolya (Orsi) Lazar is an urban forester, an ISA Certified Arborist and a Pennsylvania (PA) Certified Horticulturalist in Sustainable Landscapes. Her unconventional path to forestry began with a Master’s Degree in Ecology and a Master’s Degree in Molecular and Cell Biology. She has over 20 years of experience in landscape design and management, project management, and education.

Orsi became the first Community Tree Specialist at Pennsylvania DCNR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. She helps shape this growing program to better serve communities by building trust, identifying opportunities, and finding creative solutions to challenges. 

She works...

Jonathan Mullard is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Founder Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology andEnvironmental Management, and a Chartered Town and Country Planner.  He had combined a passion for the naturalenvironment with a career in conservation and spatial planning.

 In the early 1980s, Jonathan worked alongside Max Nicholson, the pioneer ornithologist and environmentalist, on developing an urban woodland strategy for London. This involved setting up a project in Crystal Palace to save a fragment of the Great North Wood. Later, Jonathan cameacross the Capon Tree, one of the few remaining trees fr...

When you ask Basil Camu what he thinks about himself, he'lltell you he is incredibly lucky. He has family he loves dearly, friends and colleagues who inspire him, and every day he gets to care for trees, soil, and flowers. He pursues his purpose and passions as the co-founder of Leaf & Limb, a tree care company in Raleigh, NC, and Project Pando, a non-profit that aims to connect people to trees. He is a Treecologist, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Duke graduate, Wizard of Things, and author of the book From Wasteland toWonder – Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Eart...

Rick Hartlieb and his wife and business partner, Jen, are the proud first-generation farmers behind Castanea Farms in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Their journey is rooted in both passion and persistence, beginning more than 25 years ago when they first met through the Conrad Weiser Area School District’s FFA program.

Rick’s early love for forestry led him to Penn State University, where he earned an Associate of Science in Forest Technology from the Mont Alto campus before completing his Bachelor of Science in Forestry at University Park. His career path soon intertwined with chestnuts—starting in 2005 as a volu...

Natalie Carmolli manages Public Relations for Spring Meadow Nursery and Proven Winners® ColorChoice® shrubs. She grew up in the floral industry and holds a bachelor’s degree in theatrical arts, along with a Certificate of Mastery in tree and shrub identification from Longwood Gardens. An avid gardener and dynamic communicator, Natalie is passionate about sharing her love of gardening with shrubs, whether online, traveling across the country, or in her own backyard.

Mary Tipping has held the position of Curator and Plant Recorder at the Scott Arboretum & Gardens at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, since 2015, after working as the Horticulturist at the Henry Schmieder Arboretum of Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  In her current position, she is responsiblefor curating, recording, mapping, and labeling a vast array of plant collections, which encompass over 11,500 woody plants and thousands of herbaceous plants. 

She is an ISA Certified Arborist® and the PhiladelphiaFlower Show Nomenclature Chairman.  Her plant passions include oaks, beeches, Stewartia, conifers, witch-hazels, deciduous azaleas, and ferns, just to name a few.<...

Ethan Kauffman is the first director of Stoneleigh: anatural garden, where he has led the transition from a private estate to a public garden over the last 8 years.

He developed his love of the natural world by exploring the Susquehanna River Hills in Southeastern Pennsylvania. He cultivated his horticultural perspective over two decades of gardening in the Deep South, including as director of Moore Farms Botanical Garden, where he also led the transition from a private pleasure garden to a public botanical garden.  Drawing on influences from both regions, he enjoys creating a garden experience at Stoneleigh th...

Trinity Pierce is the Chicago Region Trees Initiative senior stewardship manager at The Morton Arboretum. She collaborates with community organizations and members toincrease awareness and foster action through plantings and ongoing care in order to grow a more diverse, more abundant, and more equitably distributed urban forest. A Certified Arborist, she holds a Master of LandscapeArchitecture from the University of Michigan with a background in history, ecological restoration, and urban green space reconciliation.

Katherine Mills, General Manager for Munstead Wood, is anexperienced heritage professional with 14 years in the National Trust. Having run some of the charity’s most significant and popular properties, including Nymans, West Sussex, and Polesden Lacey, Surrey, UK; Katherine was responsible for the final purchase and acquisition of Munstead Wood in April 2023. 

Since acquiring the property, Katherine has recruited a team of individuals to care for the house and garden, as well as develop plans for restoring Gertrude Jekyll’s home, providing future access, and securing its long-term future.

Jehane Samaha is the National Urban Nursery Specialist with the US Forest Service. She develops trainings and networking for both urban foresters and nursery growers to improve tree stock quality, enhance connectivity in the urban nursery pipeline, and promotes climate-adaptive genetics for urban trees.

Jehane is based in Philadelphia, serves on the board of UC (University City) Green, and previously worked at PHS (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society) and the Morris Arboretum.

She is an ISA Certified Municipal Arborist® through the International Society of Arboriculture, and completed a master’s thesis at UBS (University of British Columbia) on...

Della Fetzer is a biologist and entrepreneur. Her company, Rebel Cultures, partners with foresters, farmers, conservationists, greenhouses, and universities to develop low-cost and biodiversity-conscious propagation solutions for seed-scarce plants, and plants that can't be efficiently propagated from seed by using new approaches to tissue culture.

Jamie Biddle is the founding partner and CEO of VerdisInvestment Management, a single-family office. He sets the strategic direction of the firm, and overseas investment activities, operations, and finance. Jamie is behind portfolio construction, manager sourcing and selection, due diligence,and risk management. He is an active member of the Investment Committee.

Jamie brings more than two decades of investing and operating experience, across asset classes and industries. Prior to forming Verdis Investment Management in 2004, Jamie was President and CEO of Orcom Solutions. Orcom was an outsourced customer care and billing service for electric, gas and water...

Linda Langelo is a Colorado State University Extension Horticulture Specialist and host of the Relentless Gardener Podcast. The five counties under her care are in Northeast Colorado, where she assists homeowners and professionals with horticultural issues. She created a Facebook page titled, Garden the Plains to reach a broader audience with the help of Master Gardeners. The Master Gardener Program in the Golden Plains Area covers demonstration gardens, school and library programs, community gardens, and more.

During her 40 years in horticulture, she has worked in both private and public horticultural institutions. As Assistant Director of Horticulture at...

Jay Worth started working in the Green Industry in college to earn money between semesters. He started mowing lawns for a landscaping company and then moved to a full-service landscaper. While attending University in Florida, he alsoworked on a palm tree farm and fell in love with the trees.

 During the Great Recession in 2009, he was recruited to sell lawn care door-to-door. Having no other job options, he took the offer. This was the beginning of his full-time career in the Green Industry.

After several years he took a break to work in media sales b...

Kevin Zuidervliet is owner and grower at Octoraro Native Plant Nursery, in Kirkwood, Pennsylvania. His diverse professional experience and passion for horticulture began while traveling and working on organic farms in Australia and New Zealand. He leveraged his skills in an AmeriCorps VISTA position managing a community garden. Kevin continued to hone his plant knowledge at Shaffer Landscapes, in Middleburg, Pennsylvania before earning a place in the Professional Horticulture Program at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. At Longwood, Kevin gained in-depth experience in woody plant propagation and management, later transitioning to a full-time Nursery horticulturist role.

K...

Bestselling author Randi Minetor writes for the Birdfinding and Best Easy Bird Guides series for Falcon Guides/Globe Pequot Press and is the author of Backyard Birding and Butterfly Gardening for Lyons Press.

Her most recent book, The Complete Language of Birds, is an encyclopedia that unites classic illustrations, science, folklore, and mythology about more than 400 bird species around the world.

Randi writes for Birding Magazine, is a regional report editor for North American Birds, and has served for three years as president of the Rochester Birding Association in New York State.

Angelique Robb graduated from Louisiana State University in Petroleum Engineering, working in the oil industry for many years in the USA and the UK.  

In 2008, she qualified as a landscape designer and launched a design and build company, Papillon Designs and Landscaping Ltd in Scotland, UK. Since then she has built up the company into a national award-winning practice. She is passionate about the industry and helping it 'raise the bar.'

In 2021, living in the USA again, she launched a media company to educate and inspire landscape professionals in the design + build + maintain disciplines in...

Celine Colbert is Pennsylvania’s Tree Canopy Coordinator, dedicated to enhancing urban forestry and promoting sustainable tree management across the state. As a Board Certified Master Arborist with a background in forestry, Celine collaborates with local governments, organizations, and communities to implement effective tree planting and maintenance programs offering technical assistance, grant matchmaking, and tools such as the DCNR (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) TreeKeeper.

Jessica (J.J.) Käthe is the resiliency planting coordinator within the Climate Forestry & Carbon Unit at NYSDEC (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation).

J.J. is seeking input from agencies and organizations across the state for the New York State Reforestation Plan. The plan will act as a roadmap to achieving the Climate Act Scoping Plan goal of establishing 1.7 million acres of new forest by 2040.

She has experience working with invasive species management, greenhouse operations, volunteer coordination, data processing, and emergency preparedness from work in non-profit organizations in the private sector, and at t...

Tim Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer at the Native Plant Trust in Framingham, Massachusetts. He leads the organization’s 45-acre Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts; the Nasami Farm, a native plant nursery in Whately, Massachusetts; and the expanded seed-processing and storage facilities to support the new Northeast Seed Network. The Network is a regional initiative led by the Native Plant Trust to create a sustainable source of seed to meet the increased demand for native plants.

Johnson has an extensive background in environmental horticulture and biological science from his long-standing career in conservation and bo...

Dr. Anna Paltseva is a distinguished urban soil scientist and educator, currently serving as a professor in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue University. She earned her Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Paltseva’s research focuses on urban soil contamination, particularly heavy metal pollution, and its impact on urban agriculture, ecosystem health, and public well-being. Utilizing advanced technologies, such as portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF), she works on innovative soil remediation strategies in urban environments.

Beyond her academic work, Dr. Paltseva is a prolific speaker, author of multiple peer-reviewed papers, an...

Carlos Alvarez has been a part of the PowerCorpsPHL (Power Corps Philadelphia) team since March 2015 when he started as a crew leader supporting a group of young people completing various environmental sustainability projects in the City of Philadelphia. Since then, he has held many roles mainly focusing on developing the programs technical skills training. He enjoys working with program members onsite and taking advantage of every learning opportunity that presents itself during the various projects they are assigned.

Currently, Carlos is the Director of Social Enterprise Operations overseeing the installment and operation of the Philadelphia Reforestation Hub-Urban...

Dan Lambe has committed nearly two decades of work to help solve some of the biggest issues facing people and the planet through trees. After being named CEO in 2022 after 19 years in leadership roles at the Arbor Day Foundation, Lambe launched an initiative to accelerate the nonprofit’s impact by planting 500 million trees with a focus on forests and neighborhoods with the greatest need. The ambitious goal, set to replicate the number of trees planted in the Foundation’s first 50 years in only five years, has helped spur remarkable growth within the organization and expanded the Foundation’s global reach...

Matthew Aghai is a climate tech executive with 20 years of professional experience spanning public, private, and academic ventures in reforestation and natural resource management across the globe.

He currently serves the teams at Mast Reforestation and its subsidiaries but also enjoys a variety of extracurricular functions including advising and speaking on environmental and sustainability topics, nature-based and technological solutions for greenhouse gases (GHG) mitigation, and opportunities to develop durable economic pathways for stewards and skilled workers in the fight against climate change.

Jessica Turner-Skoff is Longwood Garden's first Associate Director of Science Communications. She champions Longwood’s leadership in plant science and interprets Longwood’s scientific resources for multiple communication channels and audiences. Jessica is an internationally recognized, award-winning science communicator who is professionally trained as a conservation biologist. She came to Longwood after making significant contributions in science communications at The Morton Arboretum, serving as a Botany in Action Fellow for three years at Phipps Conservatory, and teaching science communication at collegiate and professional levels.

Jessica holds a Ph.D. in Biology from West Virginia University, an MS in Co...

Annaliese Bischoff is a Western Massachusetts artist and landscape architect. For the past decade, she has been collecting drawings and etchings of trees by Frank A. Waugh, founder of the Landscape Gardening Program at what is today the University of Massachusetts Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning.

Annaliese received a bachelor’s degree in art from Brown University and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She began her academic career at Kansas State University, where Waugh had studied a century earlier. She taug...

Marshall Green is a fourth-generation owner and the dedicated nursery manager at Primex Garden Center in Glenside, Pennsylvania. After growing up around Primex, Marshall attended New England Culinary Institute and pursued a career as a chef in Philadelphia. In 2014 Marshall came home to Primex where he settled in as the woody plants buyer and nursery manager. As the woody plants buyer, Marshall is well attuned to current plant trends and is always looking for the next ‘it’ plant. You can easily spot him in the nursery, typically donning a wide-brimmed straw hat, eager to help and share his extensive know...

Patricia Gallagher is Professor Emerita of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University. She earned bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and geological sciences from Rutgers University, a master’s in civil engineering from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. Her research expertise centers on geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering and sustainability.

At Drexel, Trish taught courses in civil and environmental engineering, geology, and sustainability.  Her course in sustainability, titled “Incorporating Sustainability Principles in Design” was inspired by her desire to teach design from a holistic, regenerative perspective that restores ecologica...

Khomchalat Thongting (Kom) is a visionary entrepreneur hailing from a working-class background, who has dedicated 29 years to building a thriving computer and IT consulting business with a team of 45 professionals.

With a passion for sustainability and a drive for global impact, Kom has expanded his horizons by delving into the bamboo industry, cultivating 95 acres of bamboo and intercrops while conducting valuable seminars and workshops for local communities. KOM’s recognized expertise includes International Biochar Initiative (IBI) and carbon management skills, making him a true leader in both business and environmental stewardship. He is the co-founder of the Wo...

Ben Shardlow is the Board Chair for the Creative Enterprise Zone, a place-based non-profit organization dedicated to attracting and supporting creative people and businesses in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

As an urban planner and designer focused on complex public spaces, Ben has worked on developing innovative programs to grow the urban tree canopy in challenging sites for over a decade. In the largely-industrial Creative Enterprise Zone, Ben launched the 100 Trees Initiative, a slow and steady approach to planting and caring for trees that seeks a sweet spot between the scale of operation – a small non-profit can manage and the...

Basil Camu loves trees. And soil, wildflowers, insects, bats, fungi - basically everything to do with terrestrial ecosystems. He is fully committed to caring for this beautiful planet. He is a Treecologist, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Duke University graduate, and Wizard of Things at Leaf & Limb. Though trees are his passion and profession, he also loves tending to the native flowers in his garden, growing Piedmont Prairies, and propagating plants from seed. Some of Basil's favorite pastimes are hanging out with his wife and sons, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, powerlifting, hiking, and sprinting. His next favorite things in life are...

Sandy and Julia Shettler are a mother-daughter team with Tree Action Seattle, which advocates for Seattle's trees at the neighborhood level and at City Hall.  

Sandy is a medical social worker with a background in public health. She focuses on the physical and mental health benefits of living near trees, and the need to bring these benefits to deforested and underserved urban communities. Julia is an electrical engineer by training and works in climate tech. She is deeply interested in preserving the natural environment as a common-sense solution to climate change.

Tree...

Erica Kratofil is Co-Executive Director for The Giving Grove, where she helps lead a national network of urban community orchard and food forest programs. As a social worker, Erica is passionate about community vitality and the many ways that urban orchards benefit both people and the planet.

Erica is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has a master’s in social work and nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked previously in education, food security initiatives, and community-based housing programs. She also served as a social work field ins...

Amy Stewart is the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, and several other popular nonfiction titles about the natural world. She’s also written several novels in her beloved Kopp Sisters series, based on the story of one of America’s first female deputy sheriffs and her two rambunctious sisters.

Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide and have been translated into 18 languages.

She lives in Portland with her husband Scott Brown, a rare book dealer who can usually be found at his shop, Downtown Brown Books.

You...

Dr. Glynn Percival is the Senior Arboricultural Researcher at the Bartlett Tree Research and Diagnostic Laboratory. Dr. Percival primarily focuses on how environmental stress (drought, heat, and waterlogging) influences tree growth and susceptibility to pest and disease attacks. He is the author of more than 100 scientific papers, magazine articles, and book chapters, and is an honorary lecturer at the University Reading and the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew in the UK.

Cyrus Copeland, a writer and nonprofit pioneer, planted his first tree as a tribute to his father—a red oak on the grounds of Valley Forge. Year after year he returned to the tree. But it wasn’t until Cyrus traveled to the West Bank and witnessed the deep relationship between Palestinians and their olive trees that an idea sparked: Could planting trees bring prosperity and balance to a high-conflict region? Collaborating with the Palestinian Farmers Union, he launched Treedom for Palestine, harnessing the power of the olive tree as a catalyst for change.

Copeland’s dedication to civ...

Dr. Christine Carmichael is the award-winning founder and principal of Fair Forests Consulting, LLC, which she began in July 2019. She is also the best-selling author of Racist Roots: How Racism Has Affected Trees and People in Our Cities—and What We Can Do About It.

She holds a Ph.D. in Forestry with a specialization in Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change and holds a Graduate Certificate in Community Engagement from Michigan State University. Dr. Carmichael has published research explaining why 25% of Detroit residents eligible to receive a free street tree between 2011-2014 chose to decline thi...

Marielle Drennan is the owner of Champion Tree, a full-service plant healthcare company based out of King of Prussia, and servicing the Main Line and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania. Marielle is an ISA Certified Arborist® and a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Certified Pesticide Technician. Prior to forming Champion Tree, Marielle worked on her husband's pruning crew for several years.

She is a passionate collector of David Austin and antique roses, as well as a Pennsylvania Big Tree enthusiast. Marielle is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia where she majored in Mass Communications and d...

Cliff Drouet is a Forester with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) which is a federal agency under the Department of the Interior. Cliff is working with the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI). The program restores old surface mine sites throughout Appalachia by planting native seedlings and establishing wildlife habitats. This reforestation program was started in 2004 by OSMRE and it has evolved into a highly successful program with good seedling survivability and growth. Having native trees growing on old mine sites greatly improves air, water, and soil quality while providing wildlife habitat and recreation benefits on...

John Perlin is a Professor and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Physics at University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization.

 Perlin says, “It is my hope that this edition of A Forest Journey will make clear the imperative humanity faces because losing our forests would not merely be the end of nature, it could mean the end of us.”

Originally published in 1989, the book’s comprehensive coverage of the major role forests have played in human life …….earned its recognition...

Neelam Patil, M.Ed., MFA, is a Climate Literacy and Science Teacher in the Berkeley public school system.  She was awarded TIME Innovative Teacher of the Year 2022 by TIME Magazine based on her work teaching children they can do something about climate change. Ms. Patil spearheaded the planting of the first Miyawaki schoolyard forests in North America in Berkeley, California.  While teaching her students about deforestation, they wanted to do something immediate and impactful. They demanded, ‘Let’s plant trees!’, and the rest is history. 

Ms. Patil has been an educator since 2000. Her work specializ...

Robert Lundgren has a Bachelor of Plant Science and Fine Arts minor from the University of Delaware, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked at landscape architecture firms, Olin and Andropogon and is now at Penn working as the University Landscape Architect within the Facilities & Real Estate Services Division, shepherding a variety of landscape projects on the 300-acre campus arboretum. He is an artist, an award-winning designer, and an avid naturalist. His responsibilities at Penn include research, campus planning, tree care and management, garden design, ecological and environmental initiatives, and maintenance protocols.

...

Dave Muffly has been planting trees (especially oaks) in the Bay Area and other California locations for more than 30 years. Dave began his tree career when he received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, at Stanford University. Moving from engineering to ecology, Dave managed native oak plantings at Stanford with the non-profit Magic, in a project that has yielded more than 4,000 established oaks in 40 years. Dave then branched into fruit trees, and urban tree plantings, with a special focus on street trees.

Dave subsequently became a Board Certified Master Arborist and designed/oversaw the 101 Freeway Soundwall planting a...

Daniel Hinkley is a plantsman, author, lecturer, nurseryman, and horticultural consultant.  He earned a B.S. in Horticulture and Horticulture Education from Michigan State University and an M.S. in Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington.  His first garden, Heronswood, near Kingston, Washington is now owned and operated by the Port Gamble SKlallam Tribe and is open to the public throughout the year. 

Dan's current garden, Windcliff, is just a few miles from Heronswood. It sits on a high bluff overlooking the Salish Sea.  For forty years, Hinkley has traveled the globe to similar climates to obse...

Mr. Al Key has been involved in the green industry for 30 years as an owner of DeepRoot Green Infrastructure, LLC. Together with his partners, he co-invented the SilvaCell® and has received several patents for his inventions which address trees and stormwater management in the urban setting. He has written for a wide range of publications, including the Journal of Arboriculture and Civil Engineering News. As Vice President, he established a representative network nationwide, set up major distributorships, and has been instrumental on projects such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center, and the MIT S...

Doug Oster is Pittsburgh’s GardenGuru and is host of the popular radio show The Organic Gardener on KDKA radio every Sunday morning. He writes a gardening column for The Green Voice, the newsletter for Pittsburgh Earth Day.

Oster appears on KDKA-TV’s Pittsburgh Today Live as a contributor. He’s also the host of the Talking Trees podcast for the Davey Tree Expert Company along with starring and producing In Doug’s Garden, a weekly television show for CBS/KDKA Streaming.

Oster is proud to work as a consultant for Farm to Table of Western...

John Grimshaw has been interested in plants his entire life, as both gardener and botanist. He holds a first class degree in botany and a doctorate in the ecology of the forests of Mt Kilimanjaro from Oxford University. His Tanzanian connections remain important, and he’s proud to be an honorary elder of the Maasai community of Lerang’wa, Tanzania. African plants remain an important botanical interest, but he is fascinated by all plants and has grown a huge diversity in his gardens. He has travelled widely to see plants growing in habitat. His first book was The Gardener’s Atla...

Richard McCoy is a 30-plus-year green industry professional, American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) Northeast Regional Representative and owner of Richard A. McCoy Horticultural Services Inc. established in 1995 and incorporated in 1998 as a conventional landscape company.

McCoy’s company began a transition to become one of New Jersey's first completely organic, ecological, and low-impact land care companies in 2005. Currently, McCoy Horticultural offers organic lawn and land care solutions, native plants, and green infrastructure design and installations. McCoy’s off-the-grid battery electric landscape maintenance is powered by a prototype self-designed solar trailer, and he uses autonomous robotic lawn mowing. 

Mark Richardson is the Director of Horticulture for the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston, Massachusetts. He leads a team of horticulture staff and oversees a living plant collection that spans sixteen distinct garden spaces, two conservatories, and over 100 acres of surrounding woodlands and wetlands. He has a passion for ecological horticulture and native plants, and he lectures on various topics including “How to Kill Your Lawn.” He is the co-author of the book Native Plants for New England Gardens (Globe Pequot, 2018).

Tim Boland is the Director of the Polly Hill Arboretum on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, West Tisbury, Massachusetts. Tim moved with his wife Laura and two children to the Vineyard in 2002. Before his move to the Vineyard, he was Curator of Horticulture at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.  A plantsman with wide-ranging interests, he is a nationally recognized author, photographer, and lecturer.

Tim has an undergraduate degree in Landscape Horticulture and a master’s degree in Botany and Plant Pathology from Michigan State University with a specialization in Plant Ecology and Systematics.  

Tim st...

Jason Ross is the Managing Publisher of Wood Central - the world's largest news platform for forest-based news!  Wood Central has more than 170,000 users, with over 75% of users under 45, and 47% under 35! We cover all the news on the Wood Central website, across all media channels that interest our users, with fresh content from across the world updated all day, every day.

So whether it's the next generation of mass timber buildings, the carbon power in our lithium batteries, or even the use of Cold War technology in monitoring carbon stock across the world's forests - scroll over t...

Alec Charais is one of the most passionate people in horticulture today. Having grown up on a family farm, his love for plants grew into a rewarding career that today finds him collaborating with breeders and agents across the globe, searching for trees and shrubs that will beautify the outdoor living experience for everyone.  

At Bailey Nurseries, a family-owned fifth-generation nursery with growing operations in Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, and Georgia, Alec leads the marketing and product development functions across the company. This includes successful consumer brands including First Editions® Shrubs & Trees, Endless Summer® Hydrangeas, and Easy Ele...

Hal and I talk about some of the highlights of the podcast thus far. We think you will enjoy the overview if you have never listened to our podcast before. Below you will find a short list of some of the podcasts that you might want to listen to or relisten to – to see how our guests are making a dent in the climate crisis by their positive actions. We are grateful to all of our guests for sharing their amazing work! And we thank our listeners for tuning in and for all of your wonderful comments and suggestions.

Seth Lieberman co-founded Quiet Clean Philly; an all-volunteer organization dedicated to phasing out gas leaf blowers in the City of Philadelphia.  Seth’s activism and articles on the harms of gas leaf blowers have been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY’s Studio 2 and Radio Times, Channel 6 ABC Action News, The Chestnut Hill Local, The Weavers Way Shuttle, Planet Philadelphia, and The Jewish Exponent.  Seth is also active as part of a national network of municipalities seeking healthier and more sustainable communities through changing how we think about lawncare.    When not volunteering, Seth runs Leadership Breakthroughs, a leadership and strategy development...

Ron Kinney is the production manager at Monrovia’s Oregon nursery. Ron has a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California State Polytechnic University and has been in the industry for more than 30 years. Part of his role as production manager includes responsibility for tree production, both in containers and in-ground field production, at Monrovia’s California and Oregon nursery facilities. 

Ron and his wife also manage and operate a 20-acre Hazelnut orchard in Oregon.

Ari Miller is the director of design at Hinge Collective in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a public interest design firm that puts community engagement and public participation at the forefront of their practice.

As both a landscape architect and arborist, Ari has always advocated for the integration and restoration of natural systems in urban design. Over the course of his 17-year career, Ari has worked as an arborist at Morris Arboretum, as a green roof design specialist at Roofmeadow, and has also led large-scale civic design projects at OLIN Partners. At Hinge, he uses this experience to help communities...

Steven Kiiskila is the Crop and Growing Team Manager at Arbutus Grove Nursery, located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Each year his team grows 15 million container seedlings composed of 18 or more species, primarily for reforestation throughout Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. He has been involved in reforestation his entire career; from collecting seeds to organizing and monitoring tree planting programs, although his primary focus has been growing seedlings at various nurseries throughout British Columbia. While employed as a Seedling Reforestation Specialist, he advised nurseries and tree seed orchards on growing practices. In this...

Joe Lamb, founder of the Borneo Project, is a writer, activist, and arborist living in Berkeley, California. His poetry and essays have appeared in Earth Island Journal, The Sun, Caliban, Wind, Orion, and other magazines. His work is also included in the anthologies The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: A Poetry Anthology, Robert Bly et al editors, and Veterans of War/Veterans of Peace, Maxine Hong Kingston editor. 

Joe has degrees in biology, ecology, and film. He has taught biology and ecology in the United States and in Mexico. He worked as a field organizer o...

Mark Krawczyk is an applied ecologist, educator, and grower with a background in permaculture design, agroforestry, natural building, traditional woodworking, and small-scale forestry. He co-owns and operates Keyline Vermont LLC, teaching, designing, and consulting for farmers, homeowners, and homesteaders.

Since 2008, Mark has taught over 30 Permaculture Design Courses and been a specialist guest instructor in dozens more. He holds Diplomas in Permaculture Design and Education from the Permaculture Institute of North America. He and his wife also co-manage Valley Clayplain Forest Farm - 52 acres of field and forest in New Haven, Vermont, USA.

Asha-Lé Davis joined the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) as Trees Specialist in 2021 to pursue her passion for empowering people to grow tree canopy in their communities. Since joining, she has helped grow the PHS Tree Tenders program in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties to over 60 active groups who have planted 3,000+ trees. She recently took on the role of facilitating the educational workshops within the program. Prior to her work at PHS, Asha-Lé was introduced to the necessity of healthy urban tree canopy through her work with TreePhilly. Asha-Lé is a PHS Tree Tender leader in her own community, Eas...

Paul Hickman is the founder of Urban Ashes a pioneering company that advocates for urban wood utilization. The company transforms fallen urban trees into valuable local resources. Urban Ashes designs, develops, and implements urban wood utilization for infrastructure in collaboration with municipalities, local organizations, and businesses to support the local community.

In addition to salvaging urban wood, Paul’s organization provides meaningful employment and business opportunities to formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted youth. This commitment resonates throughout the community, promoting safer and healthier neighborhoods through the People and Trees connection. 

Paul is also...

David Teuschler is the Chief Horticulturist for Devil Mountain Wholesale Nursery. He established the nursery’s propagation program and currently directs the propagation and inventory teams for the company’s sixteen locations across California. David has worked in the nursery industry for three decades, including many years at Valley Crest Tree Company. While there, he served as Plant Health Care Manager for the Specimen Tree Division, Account Manager in the Estate Gardens Division, and, most notably, Chief Arborist for the Apple contract grow, responsible for growing over 7,000 trees – half from seed – for installation at the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA. Davi...

Matthew Aghai is a dedicated reforestation expert, applied scientist, and executive leader at Mast Reforestation. He currently serves as the VP of Research and Development at Mast Reforestation, General Manager of Cal Forest Nurseries, and Advisor to Silvaseed Company. His recent work focuses on scalable solutions for mitigating climate change through the development of new initiatives to modernize the reforestation supply chain and connect reforestation initiatives with natural capital markets. Matthew has been featured in several national publications for his work and real impacts, including a National Geographic article discussing national seed limitations, Mongabay articles discussing his team’s pi...

Kim Shearer is the Curator of Living Collections and Manager of the Haerther Charitable Trust New Plant Development Program at The Morton Arboretum. In her role as curator, Kim focuses on the development and maintenance of resilient living collections that provide a germplasm resource for researchers and plant breeders seeking to address the issues of climate change; while also working with the conservation community to identify priorities that can be addressed through collections curation and research. As Manager of New Plant Development Kim works with plant breeders and the nursery industry to select, evaluate, and develop new plants for...

Kristen Pullen completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at Rider University. After university, she took an internship position at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The internship focused on all research aspects of the public garden from tissue culture to new plant evaluation and selection. Kristen has been with the new product department at Star® Roses and Plants since 2011. She previously managed domestic and international trialing of woody plants before accepting her current role as Woody Ornamental Portfolio Manager where she coordinates the development, launch, and market evaluation of all new trees, shrubs, and edible plants. Kristen a...

Lars Peter Jensen is originally from Denmark and arrived in the U.S.A. in 2003 and settled in Brevard County Florida where he lives with his wife and three children. Lars is the head of sales, marketing, and business development and part owner of the Blackmore Company.

Blackmore has been instrumental in the horticulture industry for more than 50 years. His company holds a patent for the Air Tray® technologies system which is what drew Lars to the company. 

As a systems person. Lars has a simplified but analytical approach to nursery production. His philosophy includes thes...

Kathy Jentz is the editor and publisher of the award-winning Washington Gardener Magazine, based in Washington, DC. She is also the editor of three plant society journals: the Water Garden Journal (IWGS), The Azalean (ASA), and Fanfare (Daylily Society Region 3). Jentz hosts the popular GardenDC Podcast, which was recently named Best DC Podcast. She is also co-author of The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City and her latest book is Groundcover Revolution. Her mission is to turn your thumb green.

A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and...

Kristin Ohlson is a writer from Portland, Oregon. Her new book Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World – which the Wall Street Journal calls “excellent and illuminating”--probes the mutually beneficial relationships among living things that undergird the natural world.  Her last book was The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet, which the Los Angeles Times calls “a hopeful book and a necessary one…. a fast-paced and entertaining shot across the bow of mainstream thinking about land use.” She appeared in the award-winning d...

Nykia Perez Kibler, co-founder of Philly Tree People (501c3), is an ISA Certified Arborist® with a Master in Environmental Studies degree with a focus on Environmental Biology from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). She also has a Master in Liberal Arts from Penn, a Certificate in Landscape Plants from Temple University, a Master of Library & Information Science from The University at Buffalo, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine Art Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. Her two capstones from Penn were: “Philly Tree People: A Case Study on the Formation of a Non-profit Community-based Tree Planting and Tre...

Since April 2016, Craig Roncace has been the Urban Park Manager for the University of Pennsylvania. The Urban Park Department consists of five shops, each with its own Supervisor, and 58 staff who represent two unions. The Urban Park operation covers campus landscaping/maintenance, athletic field management, Penn Park, all hard surface maintenance, and the campus-wide waste/recycling program.

Before Penn, Craig worked in multiple roles as the Grounds/Area Manager for Temple University, at both their Ambler and Main Campus locations.

Craig was first introduced to the landscaping world by way of the golf course. He...

Markku Koivisto keeps an ear to the ground and an eye to the sky, connecting the needs of organizations around the world with the power of drone data. As Chief Business Development Officer, he combines analytical expertise with a can-do attitude to ensure GLOBHE delivers the right data to the right customer at the right time. 

While a young industry, Markku brings many years of experience in developing drone operations around the world. Connecting to GLOBHE’s mission of making an impact on our planet, Markku has also contributed to peacekeeping missions as well as worked within the...

Andrew Conboy enjoys sharing his passion for trees and their many benefits with anyone who will listen. He is an ISA-certified arborist who most recently worked on the Urban Forestry team at the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia. In 2020, he created Colonial Canopy Trees, a non-profit organization that leads ecological restoration efforts in the greater Philadelphia area. In his free time, Andrew creates videos about environmental topics and shares them on social media. Through his work, he hopes to inspire people and change the way we view and value our natural lands, native plants, and wildlife. He studied Environmental Science at...

Bio for Rick Thaler

Rick Thaler was born and raised in Rochester New York. He tried going to college, but he didn’t stick with it.  After looking for a job he was inspired by the Whole Earth Catalogue (WEC) and began to explore carpentry. His exploration of the carpentry trade led him to  Corrales, New Mexico. It was in Corrales that he decided to resume his studies and attended the University of New Mexico but after one semester he dropped out again and started working in construction, building adobe houses, doing carpentry work, and making furniture. He wa...

Jeff Lowenfels is a humorous and entertaining lecturer. He is a reformed lawyer and author of Timber Press' award-winning and bestselling books, Teaming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to The Soil Food Web and Teaming With Nutrients: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition and completing the trilogy, Teaming With Fungi, The Organic Grower’s Guide to Mycorrhizae and Teaming With the Bacteria; The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Endophytic bacteria.

Hannah Lewis is the author of Mini-Forest Revolution: Using the Miyawaki Method to Rapidly Rewild the World, published in June 2022 by Chelsea Green. A French translation of the book was released in January 2023 by Editions Eyrolles in France. Hannah has a Master of Science in Sustainable Agriculture and Sociology from Iowa State University and a Bachelor of Art in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College. She lives in Minneapolis, where she works for the non-profit Renewing the Countryside to build sustainable local and regional food systems and to plant mini-forests.

Following several years working in heavy industry, Steve Ebner’s love affair with wood began in 1981 when he started working as a carpenter in Philadelphia. After twelve years of carpentry experience, he started his own furniture shop which would lead to the creation of Manayunk Timber, Inc., the premier urban sawmill in Philadelphia.

 Manayunk Timber processes lumber reclaimed from Philadelphia industrial-era factories built from the 1880s through the 1920s and local trees that are no longer viable, due to disease, storms, or construction. Beginning in 1985, Steve began purchasing 300- to 500-year-old timbers from the demolition sites of the...

Roby Babcock is the Marketing Director at Iseli Nursery, a wholesale dwarf conifer and maple grower located in Boring, Oregon. Roby has a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Oregon and a Master of Science in landscape architecture from the University of Arizona. After graduating from the University of Arizona, Roby managed an 11-acre cactus and tree nursery and did freelance design. When he returned to his home state of Oregon a decade later, he took a position at Portland Nursery and served in a variety of roles, including coordinating the displays and managing their...

Carey Russell is a naturalist, photographer, and founder of The Dendro Lab. He founded The Dendro Lab, a platform to foster a broader public awareness of dendrology, and is the author of the soon-to-be-published Tree Identification for Everyone (And Why It Matters).  As a photographer, he is the author of The New Arcadians: Photographs from Scout Camp and the upcoming photobook The Winter Forest.  While as a filmmaker, he has worked with director, Terrence Malick, as an associate producer and editor of The New World;  assisted cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki on The Tree of Life;  and directed and photographed the 10-part documenta...

Leslie Berckes is the Executive Director of the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA). She brings over a decade of experience in urban forestry to the organization, having served as the Executive Vice President and Des Moines Program Director for Trees Forever, a Midwest-based non-profit. Leslie is an ISA Certified Arborist and holds a master’s degree in Public Policy with an Environmental Policy emphasis from the University of Northern Iowa in addition to a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.

Jennifer Alger is President of Far West Forest Products and has been working with urban salvaged woods for over 25 years. She is the director of the Urban Wood Network Western Region, a membership network that connects tree managers, arborists, lumber producers, and makers to connect all links in the urban wood supply chain.  She is also the founder of USRW Inc., which developed the first-ever Urban Wood Standards for North America. These Standards will be a game-changer for the industry and for the first time allow Chain-of-Custody and certification for urban wood, known as USRW Certified Urban Wood. She h...

Paul Cox is the Vice President and Principal at Environmental Design, Inc. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and attended the University of Houston to study international business and the Spanish language. Paul is a certified arborist through the International Society of Arboriculture, and he is credentialed as a consulting arborist.

His experience in the tree industry includes contract negotiations, tree preservation, plant health care, project management, and tree relocation to name a few. Paul’s responsibilities have included high-profile sites which include the National September 11th Memorial in Lower Manhattan, the Flight 93 Memorial in...

Michael Taylor is an experienced Nursery Manager and Grower passionate about helping nurseries improve plant quality and workflows. He is currently working on projects across North America that increase tree production capacity for reforestation, urban forestry, plantation forestry, and wildfire restoration.

Michael does consulting work with the Blackmore Company which comes up with “solutions designed for the advancement of agribusiness.” The company’s automated machinery addresses tree seedling root issues while improving the overall quality of the seedlings.

A self-proclaimed tree nerd, Michael enjoys diving deep into the physiology and morphology of plants to understand their...

Anthony Sebastian Buscaino was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and is a third-generation Italian American. His ancestral roots are from Sicily and Calabria.

During his summers attending university, he worked with a horticulturist as a gardener in various parks, church grounds, residential properties, and rooftop gardens. During his studies, Anthony became intrigued with horticultural therapy. Through a Directed Studies Program at Temple University he participated in an internship at New York City’s Rikers Island Prison Complex for the Horticultural Society of New York’s GreenHouse Program.  Anthony acted as an instructor working directly with incar...

Tom Smarr is the Executive Director at Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens in Devon, Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree in Urban Horticulture Studies from the University of Washington in Seattle. He has worked for established institutions such as the University of Washington Botanic Gardens in Seattle and the Native Plant Trusts’ botanical garden “Garden in the Woods” in Massachusetts. Tom’s most notable work has been leading horticulture at newly opened urban parks such as the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston; the High Line...

Kristin Biddle is a horticulturalist, Trustee, and Chair of the Horticultural Committee at Andalusia Historic House, Gardens, and Arboretum. Biddle earned a degree in Horticulture from Temple University, Ambler, Pennsylvania, and brought her passion for gardening to several public gardens, including The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Wave Hill, The Mt. Cuba Center, and Historic Bartram’s Garden. She then served as a trustee on the boards of The Mt. Cuba Center, Bartram’s Garden, and The Ambler Arboretum. Biddle has worked at Andalusia since 2005 and focuses on maintaining its historic gardens, manages the Garden Volunteer Program, and sometimes gets to gard...

Merissa MacDonald is a Certified Arborist through the International Society of Arboriculture and the Southwest Tree Program Coordinator at Bartram's Garden, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In her work, she leads a cohort of high school urban foresters and encourages them to explore green Industry jobs from arborist to landscape architect and any job in between. Her work also includes community organizing around tree plantings in collaboration with partners at PHS (the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society). The goal is to increase the current 8% tree coverage rate of Southwest Philadelphia, with a focus on the neighborhood just outside Bartram’s Garden. Merissa has a...

Sara Street is the green guru of First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania. As the manager of Williamsport’s local nature preserve, Rider Park, she fills the roles of forest ecologist, wildlife biologist, environmental educator, working maintenance foreman, volunteer coordinator and more.

With degrees in landscape architecture, ecological restoration, park management, and landscape technology, Sara brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role. As the steward of nearly 900 acres, she is responsible for encouraging forest health and longevity, managing invasive plants and pests (like spongey moth and hemlock elongate scale), and planting native plants to en...

Rebecca Johnson is an ISA Certified Arborist and a true arborholic. She is addicted to helping trees and the people who care for them. Rebecca regularly provides education to fellow arborists and the general public. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Chapter of ISA as its president and is a private consulting arborist, teaching homeowners about proper tree care. Rebecca has been involved with the Certified Arborist prep courses since 2011 and was part of the cadre responsible for bringing the Certified Arborist prep class to Austin, Texas in 2015. She currently coordinates the Austin class.

Ethan Olson is the owner of Walburn Run Nursery located in Brockway, Pennsylvania. His main plant focus at his nursery is on fruit and nut trees along with berried shrubs and edible herbaceous plants. Presently, Ethan spends the majority of his time growing and collecting the American chestnut (Castanea dentata). His mission is the preservation of a diverse chestnut germplasm in hopes of getting this once-great species back into the environment as a productive component of the northeastern forest ecosystem. Ethan has a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Temple University and is an avid outdoorsman.

With more than 14 years in the horticulture and arboriculture industry, Rob Shaut joined Casey Trees, an Urban Forestry non-profit, in March of 2018. He has contributed to the operational efficiency and the expansion of their scope of work. Thanks to the leadership of Rob, Stormwater Low Impact Development and Best Management Practices are now an integral part of the Casey Trees portfolio, along with tree installation, pruning, and maintenance. Previously, Rob completed the two-year Professional Horticulture Program at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, studied at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and received a Bachelor of Science from Clemson University in business...

John Perlin is a Professor and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of the newly released edition of A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization.

Perlin says, “It is my hope that the new edition of A Forest Journey will make clear the imperative humanity faces because losing our forests would not merely be the end of nature, it could mean the end of us.”

Originally published in 1989, the book’s comprehensive coverage of the major role forests have p...

Sarah C. Low is a business management consultant, ecologist, and educator. Sarah has been a change-maker in municipal governments, federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations. She is the Founder of Tacoma Tree Foundation, an organization formed to help grow a greener, healthier, and more connected Tacoma. Sarah is now the principal and owner of Strategic Nature, LLC, which specializes in helping organizations and individuals make meaningful changes.

Hugh Weldon gained early knowledge of horticulture working on vegetable farms in Ireland – his home country. He earned a horticulture certificate from the practical experience he gained which led him to a supervisory position with a landscape nursery with 30 staff members. He was in the position for 5 years. Hugh then worked as a foreman in a flower and bulb nursery for two years where he continued to broaden his horticulture background.

He emigrated to the U.S., for greater opportunities in the horticulture industry in 1993 and worked with an arborist learning all aspects of tree care, planting, pr...

Mayor Tim Schultz has been a resident of Hatboro for over 20 years. Devoted to his community, Tim has served in the capacity of Borough Historian, a member of the Hatboro Tricentennial Committee, Chairman of the Hatboro Holiday Parade, and the President of the Greater Hatboro Chamber of Commerce.

Mayor Schultz also joined the national Mayors for Monarchs program in 2020 dedicated to improving pollinator survival across America.

Tim is also the proud owner of Bright House Creative Services, LLC, and loves being behind a camera. In addition to his photography business, Tim is a Realtor at...

Ashley Miles is the Administrative Production Assistant at Ruppert Nurseries and has held other positions such as In-House Salesperson and Inventory Manager. Ashley has been with Ruppert since 2013. She has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Ashley is also a Certified Professional Horticulturalist. Ashley is an enthusiast of the natural world. Trees have inspired her both personally and professionally and she is grateful that trees have been the focus of her career.

and 

Kelly Lewis is the General Manager of Ruppert Nurseries. Kelly was raised i...

Jill Rose is the State Forest Pathologist with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Bureau of Forestry since September 2019. Previously she was the Forest Health Programs Manager and State Forest Pathologist for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Plant Industries Division for 17 years.

Jill’s studies included an Associate Degree in Wildlife Technology from Penn State University from the DuBois campus and a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Sciences from the University of Idaho. Jill also holds a Master of Science degree in Plant Pathology from Washington State University.

Steve Shreiner is the president and founder of Schreiner Tree Care established in 1986. He is a Master Arborist, and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified. Steve has proven successful in developing long-standing client and vendor relationships, many of which are twenty-five-plus years strong. He also enjoys working with clients who care about their trees, landscape, and the greater community. Shreiner has served on various local arboreta, environmental education, and business boards.

Sir Tim Smit KBE (Knight of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) studied Archaeology and Anthropology at Durham University. This began a lifelong passion for regeneration and putting his passion and energy into his work. He has followed his occupations embracing his many interests from Archaeology through music to wreck diving, Rare Breed animal husbandry, and building restoration. In 1990 he ‘discovered’ and then restored ‘The Lost Gardens of Heligan’ with John Nelson and remains a director. Heligan is now one of the UK’s best-loved gardens having been named ‘Garden of the Year’ by BBC Countryfile Awards in March of 20...

Nan Sterman is a California native, garden expert, garden designer, author, botanist, and award-winning communicator. Nan has long been dedicated to the transformation of planted landscapes from overly thirsty and resource-intensive to climate appropriate and sustainable.

In addition to designing gardens, Nan works hard to connect plants to people and the planet. Some examples of that work include:

· Her award-winning public TV show, A Growing Passion which Nan hosts, produces, and writes. Forty-eight episodes air on KPBS TV in San Diego, on CREATE TV, and are available online at www.AGrowingPassion.com.

· Nan’s mo...

Anthony Tresselt is a certified arborist, arboricultural safety consultant, trainer, and 30-year student of arboriculture and tree climbing.  He is a lead instructor with Arboriculture Canada (ArbCan) Training and Education. As a part of the amazing ArbCan team, he travels, educates, facilitates, and writes helping to spread the word about safe, efficient arboriculture.

Anthony’s mission as an arborist, leader, educator, and human is to have a positive impact of growth and achievement on everyone he interacts with whether in person, through books and articles, or through online media. To quote his mentor and philosophy professor, Dr. R...