January 2024 (Click the title to view the program YouTube video)
Having nature close by enriches our lives. This program provides ideas on how to bring more nature into our landscapes while capturing the spirit of your place. Insects run the world after plants: discover some keystone plants to nurture more insects and create a more sustainable landscape. Learn about maintenance that embraces nature to create a flourishing ecosystem: what does it take to have a diversity of bees, butterflies, and moths in your yard? Lastly, have faith in a seed, understand that plants migrate, and know if you plant it, they will spread.
About the speaker: Alan Branhagen is the new (since July 15, 2023) Executive Director of the Natural Land Institute in Rockford, Illinois, one of the nation’s first land trusts and whose founder, George Fell, started the concept of legally protected nature preserves 60 years ago. NLI has been responsible for protecting more than 18,000 acres of natural land, mainly in Northern Illinois.
Alan was Director of Operations at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul (America’s 15th largest public botanical garden) from 2017-2023 where he managed Horticulture, Plant Curation, and Natural Resource Management of the 1,200-acre site. From 1996-2017 Alan was Director of Horticulture at Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s botanical garden where he was in charge of all horticulture and site planning as well as resource management of the 915-acre site.
Alan’s career began at the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County in Rockford, Illinois, where for almost a decade he was in charge of all forest preserve planning, development, and management. He was part of the beginning of the Klehm Arboretum which launched his public horticulture career. Alan’s career has come full circle back to Rockford.
Alan has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University. He is the author of 3 books: The Gardeners Butterfly Book, Native Plants of the Midwest, and The Midwest Native Plant Primer.