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CONFERENCE SPONSORS and SUPPORTERSAamazon Natural Resources Consulting, LLC

Allison KruegerAmerican Roots

Better Finds Bill Schneider

David Borneman, LLC Designs by Nature

Good Earth Landscape InstituteHidden Savanna Nursery

Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities AuthorityMichael Klug

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc.

Michigan Native Plant Producers AssociationMichigan State University

Michigan State University ExtensionNative Connections

Paul Olexia

2011 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

Chair ............................................................................. Esther Durnwald

Co-Chairs................................................ Robert Krueger, Chad Hughson

Theme & Ideas........................................................................ Tom Small

Advertising & Promotion .............................................. Esther Durnwald

Audio-Visual/Technical .................................... Darwyn Heme, Val Reed

Exhibitors/Vendors ................................... Kathy Johnson, Joyce Janicki

Drawing/Door prizes.......... Trish Hacker-Hennig, Susan Baldyga-Grubb

Grant Awards ................................... Maryann Whitman, Robert Krueger

Registrar ............................................................................... Jean Weirich

Website............................................................................ Chad Hughson

Program Cover Design .............................................................. Gail Guth

Program Booklet............................................................ Esther Durnwald

Conference Photographer................................................ Kathy Johnson

Mission Statement…By increasing awareness and knowledge, the Wildflower Association of Michigan encourages the preservation and restoration of Michigan’s native plants

and native plant communities.

WELCOME24th Annual

Michigan WildflowerConference

WAM BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Robert Krueger, PresidentBig Rapids

Chad Hughson, 1st Vice PresidentKalamazoo

Trish Hacker-Hennig, 2nd Vice PresidentOrtonville

Ruth Vrbensky, SecretaryOrtonville

Jean Weirich, TreasurerGrand Ledge

Susan Baldyga-GrubbPortland

Esther DurnwaldPortland

Darwyn HemeGrand Ledge

Ray RustemMason

Tom SmallKalamazoo

Maryann WhitmanRochester

2010 WAM Board of Directors

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The Wildflower Association of Michigan traces its

roots back to March of 1986¸when an exploratory

meeting was held during Agriculture and Natural

Resources Week at Michigan State University. Eighty

individuals from various organizations and agencies,

including Michigan Department of Transportation,

Michigan State University Department of Parks and

Recreation, and Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc., gath-

ered to discuss wildflower-related programs, chal-

lenges and potential, and to formulate a plan.

Professor Louis F. Twardzik, MSU, was chairperson and

Kim Herman, MDOT, was recorder of this group. The

interest generated at this first meeting warranted form-

ing a Wildflower Alliance. Additional meetings

were held throughout the remainder of that

year.

The first Michigan Wildflower

Conference was held March 24,

1987 during ANR Week. After

this conference, the group for-

mally organized, creating

bylaws and electing officers.

Harry Doehne, founding mem-

ber of Michigan Wildflower Farm,

presided as interim president.

Elected officers were Glenn Goff,

President; Kim Herman, Vice President;

Betty Dick, Secretary; and Robert Welch,

Treasurer.

Because attendees at the 1988 Michigan

Wildflower Conference noted an increasing interest in

the availability of native Michigan seed, and a lack of

commercial growers, the first Wildflower Seed

Growers Workshop was held during the 1989 confer-

ence. As an outgrowth of this workshop, the

Wildflower Association of Michigan received funding

to prepare a Wildflower Production Position Paper,

presenting the results of a survey on the potential

usage of wildflower seed in Michigan. The WAM

Seed Committee published this report and sent it to

the Michigan Department of Agriculture in January of

1990, documenting the current and future status of

Michigan native wildflower seed production and rec-

ommendations. The outgrowth of this interest in

native Michigan seed and plant production resulted

in the formation of the Michigan Native Plant

Producers Association (MNPPA) in 2000.

The Michigan Wildflower Conference, held annu-

ally in March, includes the WAM annual meeting and

two days of workshops and seminars featuring knowl-

edgeable speakers with expertise in proper princi-

ples, ethics and methods of landscaping with native

wildflowers and associated habitats on various levels

of understanding, from novice to professional. The

conference has been host to other groups interest-

ed in native plants, including the Michigan

Invasive Plant Council, Wild Ones and

the Stewardship Network.

During the conference, WAM

sponsors a concurrent Educators'

Workshop to help teachers plan

and develop outstanding out-

door educational facilities,

improve grant-writing skills, and

get feedback on individual proj-

ects. At the conference's grant

awards luncheon, educational grants

are awarded to qualifying facilities.

Operation Wildflower, the Michigan

Garden Club's cooperative effort with the Michigan

Department of Transportation to plant native wild-

flowers along Michigan's roadsides, received WAM

support while it was active. A newsletter,

Wildflowers, is published quarterly and features

articles on native Michigan wildflowers, habitats,

legislative updates, book reviews, upcoming

events, and related stories. An official website,

www.wildflowersmich.org, presents the latest

information about WAM activities, along with a

wildflower library and links to other helpful web

sites. The Wildflower Association of Michigan

received 501(c)(3) status in 2001.

Wildflower Association of Michigan ~ Our History

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JANET MARINELLI

Principal, Blue Crocus Consulting and former Director atBrooklyn Botanic Garden, B.A., English, State University ofNew York at Buffalo, M.A., English, University of Virginia.

A popular international lecturer and prolific author, Janet isthe recipient of many awards for her contributions, writingand editing magazine articles and books.

Among numerous projects dealing with native plants andsustainable landscaping issues Janet worked specifically withthe U.S. Botanic Garden and the Lady Bird Johnson WildflowerCenter to create Landscape For Life, an educational websiteand workbooks that present the technical specifications of theSustainable Sites Initiative. She is a columnist for PublicGarden magazine, founding editor of Urban Habitats journal,editor of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's The Climate ConsciousGardener (2010) and serves on the Sustainable Buildings andLandscapes and Native Plants professional sections of theAmerican Public Gardens Association.

KEYNOTE PRESENTERS

Janet Marinelli

SCOTT RUSSELL SANDERSBrown University, Ph.D. as a Marshall Scholar at CambridgeUniversity and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Englishat Indiana University.

Among Scott's twenty books are novels, collections of sto-ries, and works of personal nonfiction. His memoir, A PrivateHistory of Awe (2006), was nominated by the publisher for aPulitzer Prize and his latest book is A ConservationistManifesto (2009). For his writing, Sanders has won theAssociated Writing Programs Creative Nonfiction Award, theJohn Burroughs Essay Award, the Lannan Literary Award, theMark Twain Award, the Indiana Authors Award, as well as fel-lowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the NationalEndowment for the Arts. His work has appeared in such mag-azines as Orion, Audubon, and The Georgia Review, and it hasbeen reprinted in The Art of the Essay, The Norton Reader, andmore than a hundred other anthologies, including the annualBest American Essays. His writing examines the human placein nature, the character of community, the relation betweenculture and geography, and the search for a spiritual path. Heand his wife, Ruth, a biochemist, have reared two children intheir hometown of Bloomington in the hardwood hill countryof Indiana's White River Valley.

Scott Russell Sanders

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7:30-8:30 Registration and Refreshments - Red Cedar Room

Sunday Morning General Sessions: Big Ten B/C

8:30-8:40 Greetings and Announcements

8:40–9:40 Keynote AddressSCOTT RUSSELL SANDERS, PHD. Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Indiana University How do children bond with nature, especially in a society that places more and more barriersbetween humans and the wild world? Scott Sanders will read selections from his books illus-trating how this bonding occurred in his own life, through the influence of parents and teachers,through reading, and through his direct contacts with nature. How can we nurture in childrenand ourselves a love of the planet, its rivers and mountains and woods, and all of its creatures?

9:40–9:55 Break

9:55-10:55 Shorelines That Work: Native Plantings Heal Erosive Water Landscapes and ProvideImpressive Visual Appeal – BOB KIRSCHNER, Curator of Aquatic Plant and Urban LakeStudies and Director of Restoration Ecology at the Chicago Botanic GardenLakes and ponds face an onslaught of stressors that threaten to compromise both their beauty as wellas their ecological integrity. Fortunately, a partnership is emerging between aquatic ecologists andhorticulturists to revisit traditional societal pressures to have neatly manicured turf lakeshores, andinstead develop environmentally sensitive landscape strategies that enhance both the aestheticappeal and ecological function of our aquatic systems.

10:55-11:05 Break

11:05-11:50 Michigan's Private Forestland Resource - “Threats, Trends and Challenges” RICK A. LUCAS, Forester with Osceola-Lake and Mecosta Conservation District and con-tributing editor to Michigan Forests magazine Michigan's forests are extensive, covering more than half of its land base. As more and more restric-tions are placed on how our public lands are to be used, the responsibility to meet societies needsfall upon the private sector. Michigan's private forestland resource is faced with several challenges thatthreaten to degrade the ecological, economic, and recreational value of the land. If these valuableforestlands vanish we all lose!

11:50-12:00 Break

12:00-1:45 Grant Awards Lunch - Big Ten ROBERT KRUEGER, Ph.D. Education Grant ChairmanMARYANN WHITMAN, Education Grant CoordinatorWAM Grants will be awarded at this luncheon. Winners will have an opportunity to sharedetails about their winning projects.

1:45-2:00 Break

AGENDA ~ Sunday, March 6, 2011

THANK YOU FOR TURNING OFF YOUR CELL PHONE.

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AGENDA ~ Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sunday Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

2:00-3:00 BIG TEN B

The Refuge Gateway: A story of Sustainable Restoration in the Detroit and DownriverCommunity ALLISON KRUEGER, Landscape Designer, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (DRIWR)The DRIWR is America's only International Wildlife Refuge and is dedicated to protecting coastal wetlandhabitat surrounding the Detroit River. Within the refuge lie the Humbug Marsh Unit and the adjacentRefuge Gateway property. Humbug Marsh is the last mile of undeveloped shoreline on the US mainlandof the Detroit River and the Refuge Gateway is a former industrial site. This is the story of the massiverestoration project underway to restore ecosystems and increase recreational opportunities available onthe properties

BIG TEN C

“Here They Come Again, a Sight and Sound Refresher of Our Frogs and Toads”STEPHEN ALLEN, President, Geum Services, Inc. Spring is really here when plants start to bud out, red-wing blackbirds and turkey vultures appearand the wooded ponds, swamps, and pond edges come alive with calling frogs and toads. Thisprogram will provide images and voices to remind us of the selection of amphibious frog andtoads that share this diverse landscape with us. Steve will share where to find them, when theystart calling and tips to remember what they sound like.

3:00-3:15 Break

3:15 – 4:15 BIG TEN B

Michigan No Child Left Inside Program Update RAY RUSTEM, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marketing, Education andTechnologyThe MNCLI Program is encouraging our children, educators, parents, guardians and mentors tohelp mend the child-nature connection. Learn what this movement is doing now in its 4th yearof activity.

BIG TEN C

Wildflowers of the White Pine Trail RALPH P CREW, DO, OphthalmologistIt began with Ralph's bike riding the White Pine Trail in Mecosta and Osceola counties. As hetook notice of the unique flora he began making a photographic record and this resulted in hiswebsite, www.wildflowersofthewhitepine.com for all to enjoy. Ralph will share from a layman'sperspective how he is using his growing appreciation for Michigan's native flora in his own land-scape and to educate others.

4:30–5:30 RED CEDAR ROOM

Annual Meeting and Social HourJoin us for a brief WAM Annual Meeting followed by the opportunity to socialize with speakers andfellow WAMMERS.

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7:30-8:30 Registration and Refreshments - Red Cedar Room

8:30-9:40 Attend General Session in Big Ten B/C - Scott Russell Sanders Presentation

9:45-10:30 Michigamme Room, Ground Floor LevelUsing Native Plants in the School CurriculumMichelle Serreyn, Interpreter, Metro Beach Nature Center

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-11:45 Planning, Planting and Using a School Garden - Roundtable and Q & AJean Persely, Macomb School Garden InitiativeJon Gray, Waldon Middle School

12:00-1:45 Grant Award Luncheon

1:45-2:00 Break

2:00-5:00 Michigamme Room, Ground Floor LevelMichigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support Ecosystems &Biodiversity (for 3rd grade and up). This workshop features an introduction to 10units on Michigan ecosystems that are correlated with the Grade Level ContentExpectations. We will do several of the activities, and modifications for various gradelevels will be discussed. Each participant will leave with the curriculum guide and a kitof supporting materials.

Educators Workshop AGENDA ~ Sunday, March 6, 2011

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AGENDA ~ Monday, March 7, 2011

MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS

7:30-8:30 Registration and Refreshments - Red Cedar Room

8:30-8:40 Greetings and Announcements

8:40-9:40 BIG TEN BMichigan's Threatened & Endangered Species - Understanding the Laws andTerminology BOBBI JONES SABINE, RLA, Aamazon Natural Resources Consulting, LLCThis workshop will explain the State laws that protect our rare plants, as well as clearing upsome persistent myths about species protection in Michigan. Terminology and classifications willbe explained, as well as the processes for obtaining information and official reviews, clearances,and permits.

BIG TEN CButterflies and Moths: Attracting them to your BackyardILSE GEBHARD, retired research Chemist, Nature Enthusiast and active member ofSouthwest Michigan Land Conservancy, Kalamazoo Nature Center, Michigan BotanicalClub and Kalamazoo Chapter of Wild Ones Illustrated with colorful photos of butterflies and moths found in a rural Kalamazoo Countybackyard, this presentation covers the structural features of butterflies and moths and how totell them apart. It covers their similar life cycle and a general overview of habitat requirementsto attract them to your yard, with attention to caterpillar food plants.

9:40-9:50 Break

9:50-10:50 BIG TEN BNative Plants and Their Soil Food Web Partners MICHAEL J. KLUG, PHD., Retired Professor of Microbial Ecology, MSU, Director at KBS andcurrent co-President of the Kalamazoo Area chapter of the Wild Ones Soils and their associated food webs are the keels for arks of sustainable plant and animalcommunities. Native plants, unlike their highly cultured relatives, devote major resources totheir below-ground root system. Their overall photosynthetic activity and root architecture arepartners in a complex soil food web. Mike will focus on the interactions between microbes,plants, animals and the physical structure of soils in both native and non-native communities.He will also discuss the impact of human activity on soil food webs.

BIG TEN CWhy restore a prairie? CAROL ROTTMAN, PHD., Social Welfare, Case Western Reserve University, Author andTeacher At the beginning of our restoration project, we seldom asked “Why?” We wanted to be goodearth-keepers on newly acquired acreage in Western Michigan. We speculated that if nativeMichigan tall grasses and wildflowers returned to the land they would enrich the earth andprovide habitat to birds and beasts. We are only beginning to understand why and howrestoration of land also restores the folks who live there.

10:50-11:00 Break

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AGENDA ~ Monday, March 7, 2011

1:15-2:15 BIG TEN B/C

Keynote AddressBeyond Pandora: Landscape Design in an Age of Extinction JANET MARINELLI, Principal, Blue Crocus Consulting, Author, and former director atBrooklyn Botanic GardenIn her whirlwind tour of the past and future of landscape design, Janet explores how thePrairie Style helped lay the groundwork for modern sustainable design, and how discoverieson the frontiers of science and current cultural trends, from assisted migration to biomimicry,are converging in a new landscape aesthetic that redefines the relationship between peopleand the rest of nature.

2:15-2:35 Break

2:35-3:35 BIG TEN B/C

Panel on Local Genotypes vs. Cultivars CHAD HUGHSON, owner Hidden Savanna Nursery; BILL SCHNEIDER, owner Wildtype Nursery; RAY FAHLSING, Manager MDNR, Parks and Recreation Division's Stewardship Unit; and DR. ROBERT SCHUTZKI, MSU Associate Professor, Department of Horticulture.Listen and participate in what is sure to be an informative and lively discussion regarding thegenotype issue.

• • • •

AFTERNOON SESSIONS

11:00-11:50 BIG TEN BFungi in the ArkPAUL OLEXIA,Professor of Biology, Emeritis, Kalamazoo CollegeFungi are rather ubiquitous in terrestrial habitats, including forests, prairies, desert, compostpiles, and occasionally in your refrigerator. Because they spend the majority of their lives hid-den from view while permeating their substrate, they are not well known. But that does notdiminish their significance in ecosystem processes. This talk will explore some of the rolesplayed by fungi in nature and in your garden.

BIG TEN CReclaiming Your Land from Autumn Olive JERRY LINDQUIST Grazing & Crop Management Educator, Michigan State University ExtensionJerry will share his experience and lessons learned in attempting to control and eradicate oneof our most invasive plant species in Michigan.

11:50-12:50 Break

12:00-1:00 Luncheon – (Big Ten A)Recognition Awards and Door Prize Drawing.

1:00-1:15 Break

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Frederick W. Case, Jr.February 16, 1927 - January 12, 2011

Fred was a fellow Michigander, well known teacher, and botanist. We are indebted for hiscontribution of dedication, enthusiasm and knowledge in so many aspects of life, but espe-cially his appreciation of Michigan’s unique flora. Fred was a presenter at WAM’s 1st confer-ence in 1987 and four conferences following, the last being in 2005. We are all better for hav-ing known Fred and he will truly be missed.

Bill grew up in Michigan, and “like most kindergartners did the lima bean germinationthing with a paper towel. I was blown away and basically have been doing the samething over and over again ever since.” Bill earned his undergraduate degree from MSUand then moved to California where he worked for an biotech firm in Palo Alto, fol-lowed by traveling overseas. Upon returning he realized that plants he assumed werenative, in fact were not, as he saw many of them in their native habitat overseas. Hedecided to try to learn the native flora starting with oaks, which he did by finding var-ious species and collecting the seed, which he then grew along the side of the house.Growing natives has been an obsession for Bill ever since. Bill met his wife, Francesin California. They moved to New York, where while Frances attended graduateschool and Bill worked on an organic farm and then at Cornell Plantations. Uponreturning to Michigan, Bill received his MLA from the University of Michigan, SNRE-

Landscape Architecture Program. His business, Wildtype Design, Native Plants & Seed LTD., was established in1996, and provides ecological design & consulting services for public, commercial and residential projects focus-ing on restoration and preservation of native landscape. Wildtype also operates a nursery growing over 250 speciesof native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses. Bill has been a tremendous advocate for native plants in Michigan.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION ~ Bill Schneider

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2010 WAM Grant Recipients Bill Cullina and Groupies

STEPHEN W. ALLENPresident, Geum Services Inc. GSI provides environmental consultation, site evaluation,biological inventory & monitoring and open-space verifica-tion on low-impact developments. Founded in January of2005, GSI conducts native plant consultation, installationand management, RainGarden and LakeScaping creation,prairie habitat installation and management with low-main-tenance wildlife habitat design. Coordinating and enablingvolunteer employee programming to further stewardshipgoals on corporate and municipal lands is a specialty.

RALPH CREWDO Ophthalmologist, Ohio University, Crew Eye Center,PrincipalRalph is a member of such professional organizations as theAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology and the MichiganOphthalmologic Society. Actively involved in overseasmedical missions, he has made many trips to third worldcountries where he performs eye surgery. He enjoys bicy-cling, observing nature and photography.

RAY FAHLSING Manager, MDNR Parks and Recreation Division'sStewardship UnitRay earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from PurdueUniversity, where he studied Forestry and WildlifeManagement and received a Master of Science degree inWildlife Biology from Texas A&M University. He was respon-sible for the creation of the Michigan State Park StewardshipProgram, a program designed to focus much needed man-agement attention on the cultural and natural resource needsof Michigan State Parks.

ILSE GEBHARDRetired Research ChemistIlse received a BA degree in Chemistry from KalamazooCollege and a MS degree in Chemistry from the University ofCalifornia Los Angeles. She has been on the Board ofDirectors of the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo and is anactive member of the Southwest Michigan LandConservancy, the Kalamazoo Nature Center and local chap-ters of the Michigan Botanical Club and Wild Ones. Sheparticipates in a number of Citizen Science projects likebluebird trail monitoring and counting birds at feeders andin the field, as well as monarch butterfly related research forthe Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, Project MonarchHealth, Monarch Watch and Journey North and South. Ilsehas written natural history essays for newsletters of variousorganizations.

CHAD HUGHSONOwner, Hidden Savanna NurseryChad Hughson is the co-owner, with his wife Kristin, ofHidden Savanna Nursery. The nursery propagates and sellsover 220 species of Michigan native forbs, graminoids, andshrubs. It is located on 33 acres at the western border ofKalamazoo county in southwest Michigan. Chad and Kristinare restoring the acreage to its pre-settlement community ofmixed oak savanna. Chad has been propagating nativeplants from local remnants since 1999 and relishes the chal-lenges of germinating rare and difficult species. Chad grad-uated from Michigan Technological University with a BS inChemical Engineering, and is always seeking to further hisknowledge in the fields of plant propagation, botany, ento-mology and ecology; he is also an avid herpetologist.

BOB KIRSCHNERCurator, Aquatic Plant and Urban Lake Studies andDirector of Restoration Ecology at the Chicago BotanicGarden in Glencoe, Illinois. Bob received degrees in aquatic biology and ecology fromthe University of Illinois. For 21 years he worked at theNortheastern Illinois Planning Commission on water resourcepublic policy and outreach, as well as scientific studies ofurban lakes. Eleven years ago, Bob joined the staff at theChicago Botanic Garden - seeing this public venue visitedby over 800,000 each year as an ideal opportunity to engagevisitors' curiosity about environmentally sensitive landscapedesign options for lakeshores.

MIKE KLUG B.S. Chemistry, South Dakota State University, M.S. andPh.D. degrees in Microbial Physiology, University of Iowa Mike did post-doctoral studies at the University of Illinois.He joined the faculty in the Department of Microbiology andPublic Health (now Microbiology and Molecular Genetics)and the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) in 1971. During his33 year tenure at Michigan State University (MSU), he servedin a number of capacities beyond his role as a faculty mem-ber, teaching Microbial Ecology. He was an AssociateDirector and Director of KBS. He taught Microbial Ecologyon the MSU campus for over 30 years and contributed to thedevelopment and teaching of a Biogeochemistry course atKBS. Upon retirement he and his wife Carol moved to an 80-acre wooded and grassland landscape in Barry County, theyare managing a 39-acre native grassland on their and areestablishing additional native gardens. Mike and Carol arecurrently co-Presidents of the Kalamazoo Area chapter ofthe Wild Ones.

2009 SPEAKER PROFILES

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2011 SPEAKER PROFILES

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ALLISON KRUEGERLandscape Designer, Detroit River International WildlifeRefuge, International Wildlife Refuge Alliance Bachelor'sAllison earned her Bachelor of Science Degree fromMichigan State University and a Master's in LandscapeArchitecture from the University of Michigan. Allison hasbeen an WAM conference attendee in recent years and isthe daughter of WAM's, President.

JERRY LINDQUISTGrazing & Crop Management Educator, Michigan StateUniversity ExtensionJerry has served in various agricultural education roles withMichigan State University Extension for 28 years based inOsceola County. He consults with crop, dairy and livestockproducers as well as landowners wanting to improve theirlands for wildlife. He graduated from MSU with BS and MSdegrees in Agriculture and Natural Resources Education. Heand his family raise beef cattle and horses on their farm inOsceola County.

RICK A. LUCASForester serving the Osceola-Lake and MecostaConservation Districts Rick is contributing editor to the Michigan Forests magazineand author of “At Your Service” column. He is a certified nat-ural resource management plan writer, certified AmericanTree Farm System Inspector and Member of the Society ofAmerican Foresters; Michigan Forest Association; MichiganTree Farm Program; National Woodlands Association;Commemorative Bucks of Michigan; Pheasants Forever;Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association; and Quality DeerManagement Association

PAUL OLEXIA Professor of Biology, Emeritis, Kalamazoo College Paul is a Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy PastPresident as well as a Stewardship volunteer (weekly in sea-son), Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones Past President, Secretary,and is currently on the Community Projects, ProgramPlanning, and Hospitality Committees.

RAY RUSTEM MDNR, Marketing, Education and TechnologyRay graduated from Michigan State University with aBachelor's and master's degree in Fisheries and Wildlife

Management. He also completed teacher certification train-ing in biology and physical sciences. Ray worked withMichigan United Conservation Clubs for 9 years as a fieldrepresentative and as a Wildflower and Fisheries specialist.He has been with the DNR for 22 years, joining as a WildlifeEducation specialist, and then supervising the NaturalHeritage Program. He has also worked on Project WILD, nat-ural education curriculum and Conservation StewardsProgram, Michigan's No Child Left Inside Program and is aWAM Board member.

BOBBI JONES SABINEPresident/Managing Member of Aamazon NaturalResources Consulting and Registered LandscapeArchitect Bobbi has a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Design anda Master's degree in Landscape Architecture from theUniversity of Colorado. Bobbi has over 21 years of naturalresources consulting experience specializing in wetlandand protected species regulatory issues. She is VicePresident of the Ottawa County Parks & RecreationCommission, past State Vice President of the MichiganBotanical Club, past Director of the Owashtanong IslandsAudubon Society, and President of Counterpart, a localbusinesswomen's group. In her spare time, she belongs totwo dinner clubs and a book club, takes Appalachian clog-ging lessons, and herds a loose-knit motley group of Irishsession musicians called Tiki O'RIley. She regularly plays fid-dle at pubs in Grand Rapids and Conklin with her husbandBob of 37 years.

BILL SCHNEIDERSee Special Recognition page

ROBERT SCHUTZKI Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1988; M.S., RutgersUniversity, 1979; B.S., Cook College, Rutgers University,1976. MSU Associate Professor, Department ofHorticulture

2011 SPEAKER PROFILES

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Cheryl Tolley & Vern Stephens Kim Herman & Phyllis Higman

Dan & Steve Keto

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PROGRAM BOOK SPONSORS

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EXHIBITORS

American Roots

Better Finds, LLC

Hidden Savanna Nursery

Loda Lake Sanctuary/Michigan Garden Clubs

Mary Ann's Michigan Trees and Shrubs

Michigan DNR

Michigan Natural Features Inventory

Michigan Nature Association

Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association

Monarch Butterfly Conservation

Native Connections

Oakland Wildflower Farm

Wild Ones

Wild Ones - Flint River Chapter

WildType - Red Cedar Chapter

EXHIBITORS & VENDORS

VENDORS(Be sure to check them out!)

Black Cat Pottery Cheryl English

Cleverlotus Melanie Boyle

Etc. Designs Renate Favour

Flower Sisters Barbara Saalfeld and Linda Musolf

French Garden Creations Coleen French

MCG Graphics Marie Colby Gougeon

Michigan Audubon Society Wendy Tatar

Stonescapes Garden KeepersSue Konyndyke

Watercolor Creations and MoreElaine Sandborn

Wild Ones Book Sales Maryann Whitman

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MICHIGAN NATIVE PLANT PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION (MNPPA) MEMBER DIRECTORY