Who We Are

Our Vision

We envision natural landscapes in the Hudson Valley that have well-developed forest understories supporting healthy natural systems.

We envision a community in which members are passionate defenders and active stewards of our forests.

We envision local forests that are made up of locally-sourced species which reflect the genetic diversity of the region’s wild populations.

Our Values

Nature – We believe nature has an intrinsic value and we work “to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community.” (Aldo Leopold)

Engagement – We involve community members and environmental leaders in our work. We display our passion for our work and build that sense of engagement in others.

Integrity – We ensure that the plants we grow are from responsibly harvested seed and that their provenance is maintained. We strive to improve the ecological integrity of the native habitats that we work in. We treat everyone with respect.

Diversity – We work to protect and improve the diversity of our local ecosystems. We are inclusive in our words and actions. We embrace diverse viewpoints and seek involvement of community members from a variety of backgrounds.

Sustainability – We practice sustainable use of materials. We ensure that seed collection does not negatively impact the survival of the population. Successfully restored sites will ultimately be self-sustaining. We build passion within our volunteers to continue our efforts. 

Collaboration – We develop mutually beneficial partnerships among local groups and organizations. We strive to reach decisions via consensus.

Meet our board of directors. Click on the plus sign on the right to expand each director’s biography.

Dr. Linda Rohleder recently ended a position as Director of Land Stewardship at the New York – New Jersey Trail Conference where she built the Trail Conference’s Invasives Strike Force volunteer program starting in 2011. By 2021, the program had trained over 400 invasives-mapping volunteers who collectively surveyed more than 1,500 miles of hiking trails for invasive plants. She organized more than 100 invasives-removal workdays and ran a seasonal conservation corps crew for seven years to remove invasive plants in parks across southern New York and northern New Jersey. Dr. Rohleder was also the founding coordinator of the Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) in New York leading it for almost ten years. She grew the partnership to over 50 organizations and agencies, and led the development and implementation of regional strategy for invasive species management in the Lower Hudson. In addition, Dr. Rohleder led a volunteer group to create and maintain the Trail Conference’s native plant gardens from 2016 through 2021 and conduct restoration projects at sites on New York and New Jersey state park lands.

In 2013, Dr. Rohleder received her PhD in Ecology from Rutgers University, where she studied the effects of deer on forest understories. While attending graduate school she worked as a seasonal park resource assistant in Monmouth County, NJ, and taught beginning Biology labs at Rutgers and Wetland Plant ID for Rutgers’ Wetland Delineation certification series. Dr. Rohleder has also spent more than 20 years creating native plant wildlife habitat on her own properties both in New Jersey and New York.

Joyce deVries Tomaselli brings a unique combination of experience in corporate strategic marketing management, non-profit program management, volunteer leadership and a life-long love of gardening.

Joyce recently retired from Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County (CCEDC) as the Community Horticulture Resource Educator and manager of the Master Gardener Volunteer program. She led local and regional education initiatives on many gardening topics including the benefits of compost in soil, identification of invasive species and promotion of ornamental alternatives, sustainable home gardening, and management of forest pests including Spotted lanternfly, Beech Leaf Disease and Jumping Worms. Projects focused on training and encouraging volunteers to be local citizen scientists (“boots on the ground”) to improve our environment.

Previously she was a Senior IBM Business Development and Marketing professional specializing in Business Partnerships, leading projects for strategy and offering management, channel enablement, solutions development and demand generation.

Steve is a botanist who recently retired from 31 years as the chief botanist for the New York Natural Heritage Program where he explored natural areas all over New York state inventorying and studying its rare plants. He is an author of the online New York Rare Plant Conservation Guides and the New York Rare Plant Status Lists. He is the founder of the Adirondack Botanical Society, coordinator of the Adirondack Orchid Survey, and served for 30 years on the board and executive committee of the New York Flora Association where he led workshops and field trips. He was the coordinator of LIISMA, the Long Island Invasive Species Management Area, for six years and continues to assist iMap, the DEC invasive species program, and the statewide PRISMs, with botanical expertise. He has a bachelor’s degree in forestry from SUNY ESF and a master’s degree in plant taxonomy from the University of Florida where he became internationally known for his work on the American bamboo genus Guadua. After a few years as a plant explorer and curatorial assistant at the Smithsonian Institution botany department, he was the botanist and assistant director of the Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens near Houston, Texas where he began a rare plant program under the auspices of the Center for Plant Conservation. That experience with rare plants led him to the job of chief botanist position in New York. He continues to study New York’s flora from his home in Schenectady County.

Sona Mason has been involved with native plants for over two decades, beginning in her home country of South Africa, where she discovered the undervalued beauty of indigenous plants, and began incorporating local flora into her private gardens, both there and later in the USA. She has promoted and championed the appreciation of native plants in numerous presentations, workshops and excursions over 20 years, and currently is restoring native habitat at a 150-acre private property in Putnam county New York. She holds Bachelor degree from Columbia University and a Masters degree in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University.

Mei Wu, spends her time rehabilitating a small suburban forest remnant. As a landscape architect, she has worked in both urban and pristine sensitive ecological landscapes. State of licensure: NY

Elinor Hart is a lifelong resident of Blooming Grove, NY.  Growing up near the apple farm her grandfather owned and operated helped instill a deep connection to the land.  As a member of a family of teachers, and though her own educational endeavors, she has also developed a keen interest in education.

Eli’s volunteer activities have all related to these passions of education and conservation. The Orange County Land Trust, the Hudson Highlands Nature Center, Taft Elementary School Running Club, Orange County Planning Board, the Town of Blooming Grove, and The Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess Counties are all organizations she has supported, volunteered for, and, for some, led through involvement as a board member. 

In her various roles, Eli has gained knowledge and experience with the governance and operations of non-profit organizations and advocating at the local and state level alongside elected officials for conservation efforts. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Moravian University and a Master of Education degree from Kutztown University.

Rich is a retired Landscape Architect. He received his degree in Landscape Architecture from Rutgers University. He began his professional career at a civil engineering firm where he gained significant knowledge of site planning, environmental assessment, and site feasibility analysis for a variety of land use projects.

In the middle of his landscape design career, he took a different route for a while. He became interested in native plants during the early years of the movement. He established Wild Earth Native Plant Nursery in Jackson, NJ and ran it for approximately thirteen years. During this time, he learned from experience how to germinate and grow over 300 species of native plants – wildflowers, ferns, grasses, shrubs and trees. His customers included homeowners, regional parks and preserves and environmental restoration projects.

After closing his nursery, Rich worked for more than a dozen years in the design department of Monmouth County Park System in New Jersey as the Chief Landscape Architect. He co-led several volunteer work days for the New York – New Jersey Trail Conference to lay out and install native plantings at the Trail Conference’s headquarters and state parks restoration sites.

Rich continues to periodically conduct various consultations with clients regarding landscape design, natural restoration, environmental quality assessment and natural playgrounds. In his spare time, Rich enjoys making rustic garden structures, and dabbling in archaeology, genealogy, and geology.