Janine Kharey is an experienced educator, multimedia artist, Master Naturalist, Master Gardener, and founder of Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge. As the curator of a quarter-acre, 225-species native plant habitat and butterfly sanctuary in suburban East Baton Rouge Parish and the mother of two engineers working on technology to fight climate change, her passion for nature is clear and present in every aspect of her life.
Â
She has rescued several plants in peril along roadsides and at gravel access roads being sprayed with herbicide. She collects plants from areas that aren't in dispute either as public spaces or where the plants would otherwise be killed. Five Downy Lobelia were rescued and seeds given to several growers who have successfully grown healthy plants from the original seeds. The plants and seeds of several other species she collected include Narrowleaf Silk Grass (Pityopsis graminifolia), False Aster (Boltonia asteroides), Prairie false foxglove (Agalinis Heterophyla), Smooth Beggartick (Bidens Laevis), and Carolina Crownbeard (Verbesina walteri and V. euthamia). With a satchel full of paper bags and a magic marker, she and others snap photos of plants for a GPS record and identification, and then collect seeds.
Thank you, Janine, for working on this worthy endeavor!
Comments