Joined Wild Ones: March 20th, 2008
Board Term: 2023-2026
Serves on:
Contact Wild Ones: [email protected]
Chapter: Wild Ones Partner at Large
Favorite Native Plant: Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
About:
Ken is a professor at Concordia College in northwestern Minnesota, where he teaches courses in environmental studies and political science. He also serves as director of community engagement and chairs the President’s Sustainability Council. For 12 years, Ken has led sustainability work at Concordia, including the development of the college’s first-ever Climate Action Plan. He has also successfully secured two major sustainability-focused external grants, the most recent of which supports the Resilient Moorhead initiative. Resilient Moorhead, which he co-founded in 2019, brings together stakeholders to promote collaborative efforts to increase community resilience in the city of Moorhead. One focus of this group has been to promote the planting of native pollinator gardens across the city. It is a special passion of Ken's to turn parts of his yard into native plant gardens. He has also planted a demonstration garden on city property, and lead numerous teams of his students in advocating for eco-friendly landscaping. He's originally from Rhode Island and has lived in four states and four countries, including years living in Taiwan and China, which sparked in him a deep interest in facilitating cross-cultural understanding and working for equity.
What inspired you to become involved with Wild Ones:
I love seeing, experiencing and creating gardens that provide the things that insects and birds need to thrive. And these gardens make life better for humans, too.