My Educational Background: BA Zoology, Univ. Wisconsin; MS Wildlife Ecology, Univ. Wisconsin; Ph.D Animal Ecology, Iowa State Univ.

My teaching philosophy: I believe strongly that our lives are enriched by being educated, that education is not about grades but about actually learning the material, that learning the material means understanding it - not spitting out memorized facts that will be forgotten, and that the way to test whether someone understands the material is to ask meaningful questions.I will expect you to understand the material in my courses and I will do everything I can on my end to teach it effectively.

My interests are: wildlife and wildlife habitat - especially the concept of creating habitat in otherwise developed landscapes; native plants; gardening; music, film and literature; wine-making; photography; and sports.  I manage my own ecological consulting firm and a native plant nursery (Hawthorn Hill). I am a dj at WMNF community radio in Tampa and have directed a House Concert series since 1997 (Our Kind of Folk).  I write a wildflower blog, serve on the Board of Directors for The Friends Of Brooker Creek Preserve, and have published 6 books on native plants and wildlife - four with the University of Florida Press..