The Great Lakes Gardens were established in 2013 to showcase a diverse array of natural communities and their associated plants that are native to Michigan and the Great Lakes region. The gardens serve as an important place for the general public and university community to learn about these natural communities and be inspired to care about their protection and stewardship. In addition to the educational and inspirational benefits to conservation, the gardens play an important role in the ex situ conservation of numerous uncommon and rare native plants and the insect fauna that rely on them. Challenges to curating and caring for the Great Lakes Gardens include acquiring and establishing representative native plants, maintaining adequate interpretive signage (especially plant labels), and controlling nonnative plants.

Michael Kost serves as the associate curator at University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum and as a lecturer in the School for Environment and Sustainability. As a curator, he focuses on natural areas stewardship planning and making data on living collections accessible for teaching, learning, and research. Before joining U-M, he served as the lead ecologist and a senior conservation scientist with Michigan Natural Features Inventory at Michigan State University, where he focused on documenting and describing natural communities and rare species, as well as identifying key sites for biodiversity conservation and management. In this role, he coauthored over 80 publications, including three books on the natural communities of Michigan.

Kelsey Museum Flash Talks are 15-minute Zoom lectures by Kelsey curators, staff members, researchers, graduate students, or guests talking about their recent research or current projects. Each presentation is followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. Flash Talks are free and open to all visitors. They take place at noon on the first Friday of every month.

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https://umich.zoom.us/j/94263457873

Meeting ID: 942 6345 7873
Passcode: Kelsey