7:00 p.m. Refreshments and networking
7:30 p.m. Project announcements
8:00 p.m. Robert E. Grese (pronounced “GRAY-see”) will talk about Green Roofs. He will include his own home green roof in the presentation.
Bob is the director of The University of Michigan's Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, MBGNA, http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/.
A sampling of activities at Matthaei include Azalea bonsai in bloom, the Gateway Garden of New World Plant buzzing with pollinators, Great Lakes Gardens for various habitats such as dune, limestone plain and prairie, http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/see/glg/, and the Medicinal Garden, nature’s pharmacy, http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/see/medgarden/.
A sampling of activities in the Arb include peony garden season, Shakespeare in the Arb, specifically The Tempest, and the Grandmother Tree Walk, a living exhibit that celebrates the beauty of trees and the U of M’s bicentennial, https://umich.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=44fe7dee2cfd47d0acf0571bbe78eea6.
Bob is also a Professor with The University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Theodore Roosevelt Chair in Ecosystem Management. He has taught landscape architecture at U of M since 1986. In 2006, he was recognized as Michigan Leadership Advisor of the Year. Bob studied landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Georgia earning master’s and bachelor’s degrees.
The author of Jens Jensen: Maker of Natural Parks and Gardens, Bob also wrote the introduction to the reprint of O. C. Simonds’ Landscape-Gardening. Bob edited The Native Landscape Reader, http://lalh.org/the-native-landscape-reader/, a collection of articles on nature-based landscape design and conservation by significant 19th and 20th century landscape architects, horticulturalists, botanists, conservationists and others who emphasized native plants.
Recognized for his work in ecologically-based design, ecological restoration, and careful stewardship of cultural and natural landscapes, Bob was made honorary director of Wild Ones, an organization that advocates restoring native plants, http://www.wildones.org/contact-us/honorary-national-directors/bob-grese/. The Ann Arbor chapter of Wild Ones named an award after him. In 2003, he received the first Bob Grese Deep Roots Award.
Bob presented at the Henry Ford Estate Gardens/MGAWC Spring Day and in 2007 he spoke at an MGAWC membership meeting about the MBGNA centennial.
Please note: In an effort to encourage gardeners to sign up for annual MGAWC membership ($15 US a year, October 1-September 30), the board has decided to charge guests $5 with the hope of incentivizing guests to upgrade to become members. UM-D students are exempted from the guest fee.