Community Leader
As far back as Ann can remember she’s had an appreciation for plants and gardens. From spilling some popcorn seeds outside as a child and enjoying the surprise seeing them grow into tall stalks, to having house plants in her college dorm room, to enjoying botanic gardens, and maintaining home gardens rather than lawns – Ann has a keen yet superficial interest in plants and gardens. Ann’s awakening, regarding native plants and ecological restoration, came in 2015 when she returned to Michigan from Colorado expecting to see more bees and butterflies. In Colorado, due to water shortages and living in a high mountain desert, she was aware of xeriscaping (low water gardening), appropriate plants for the climate, and eliminating chemicals. She thought the limited number of insects was due to the high altitude and climate, but upon returning to Michigan Ann was astounded to see a lack of insects – a very visible decline in just 15 years. Around that time she read “Bringing Nature Home” by Tallamy and I saw various articles in Michigan Gardener by native plant specialist and artist Cheryl English. A visit to Cheryl’s garden and learning about Wildtype Native Plant and Ecological Services started Anne on her journey. The photo above is from her front garden in July 2022.
Ann is on the Planning Commission and Sustainability and Climate Action Task Force for the City of Royal Oak. In addition, she is an independent consultant specializing in custom program design – listening, training, outreach, strategy. Learn more at BeKindreDesign.com
Ann is happy to join with Adapt Community Supported Ecology to expand the network and get more people involved in ecological restoration, habitat gardening, and native plant literacy.