Looking Forward to a Livelier Landscape: Indigenous plant-based landscapes. The best is yet to come…
Wood Lake Nature Center, 6710 Lake Shore Dr S, Minneapolis, MN, 55423 Map
Live Stream Available
Public Welcome Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking Drinking Fountains
Presenter | Alan Branhagen, Executive Director, Natural Land Institute in Illinois
We are members of Wild Ones because we need Nature close by to enrich our lives. This program provides some additional ideas about how we can capture the spirit of our place and bring more nature into our landscapes. Insects run the world after plants. Learn about some keystone plants to nurture more insects and create a more sustainable landscape. Know maintenance that embraces Nature to create a flourishing ecosystem: what does it take to have a diversity of bees, butterflies and moths at one’s home? Lastly, have faith in a seed, understand that plants migrate and know if you plant it they (nature!) will come. Let’s have fun and bloom where we’re planted!
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alan Branhagen is Executive Director of the Natural Land Institute (NLI) in Rockford, Illinois: one of the nation's first land trusts. Founder, George Fell, started the legally protected concept of nature preserves beginning with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission 60 years ago. NLI is responsible for protecting over 18,000 acres of natural land, mainly in Northern Illinois.
Alan was Director of Operations at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum from 2017-2023 where he managed Horticulture, Plant Curation, and Natural Resource Management as well as its facilities of the 1,200-acre site.
Alan has a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University. He is an all-around plantsman and naturalist, specializing in Birds, Butterflies, Botany, and Planning and Design with Nature. He’s authored 3 books: The Gardeners Butterfly Book, Native Plants of the Midwest and The Midwest Native Plant Primer.