About the Author

Jim Sirch is a trained Naturalist and Vice President of the Connecticut Horticultural Society. He recently retired from the Yale Peabody Museum. Jim is a UConn Master Gardener and board member of his local land trust. As a trained naturalist, he brings a deep understanding of geology, plants and wildlife and how they interact within a particular ecosystem. Jim is passionate about helping others decrease their lawn and re-wild their yard. He founded the Peabody-Beardsley-Maritime chapter of FrogWatch, a national community science program to identify and track frog populations and co-founded a native plant seed library at his local public library. Jim holds a B.S in Forestry from West Virginia University, a B.S. from Miami University in Science Education; and an M.S. in Environmental Studies Administration from Antioch University. He is honored to be a Sigmund Abeles Award recipient from the Connecticut Science Teachers and Supervisors Association for outstanding science teaching and professional development.