IN A RECENT phone call, Tim Johnson used the phrase “bio-productive gardens,” and it stopped me.
“What does he mean by that?” I thought.
And then he explained: “There are ways to manage our landscapes,” he said, “so that everything that flows through them, from rainwater to birds, leaves healthier than when it arrived.”
“Tell me more,” I replied. And so that’s my topic today with Tim, the new leader of the longtime conservation organization called Native Plant Trust.
In January Tim became chief executive officer at the non-profit, which was founded almost 125 years ago as the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants. Tim, with his extensive background in environmental horticulture and biological science, recently led the Smith College Botanic Garden.
Read along as you listen to the March 18, 2024 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
(Photo of Cercis canadensis, or Eastern redbud, above, from Native Plant Trust; portrait of Tim Johnson, below, by Sam Masinter.)
Margaret Roach: So new job. Getting acclimated? You’ve been I guess since what, late January, maybe, that you’ve been in the position?
Tim Johnson: New job, Week 7. And I do keep saying though, I feel a little bit more like I changed offices than organizations. Native Plant Trust was a close partner when I was at the Botanic Garden, and it’s a team that I’ve really looked up to and been fortunate to have in my professional network for many years.
Margaret: Yeah. Well, and as I said in the introduction,
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