I grew up in the Midwest and didn’t really get concerned about the environment until I was in my thirties. Then I started volunteering, first doing administrative work for the Nature Conservancy and then a few restoration projects. All the TNC properties were more than an hour away, however, so I tried signing up for local projects. Then Wildlands Restoration Volunteers formed around 2001, and I’ve been doing restoration with them for 9 years.

I also learned some things about native plants from trying to create a buffalograss meadow in my backyard, with which I’ve had mixed success. It’s right next to a weedy park, so my first piece of advice to anyone restoring a yard is to observe the surroundings. I don’t think my little buffalograss patch will ever be viable because of all the competition next door.

I found your site while searching for land restoration companies and work. Terrific site and ideas. I share them all with you. Restoration of our biodiversity and overall land health ought to be a top human objective. On my own former 40 acres in WI this was my primary goal. Not to extract but to give back and bring back to full health. I put hundreds of hours of labor and thousands of $ into the effort. It was fun and rewarding work restoring eden. Now I’m in the PNW seeking to partner with a landowner to do the same thing out here, and I think I’ve just found one.

So I’m curious as to who you are, your background, what part of the country you live, how you came to be so passionate about land restoration, etc.