Native Plant Advocate of the Month: Rebecca Moss

I recall first falling in love with native plants as a child exploring the woods and

fields of family property on Lake Martin Road in Lafayette Parish – the violets,

maypops (Passiflora incarnata), spring spider lilies (Hymenocallis liriosme), the

Louisiana irises, etc! But I never imagined that this love of native plants would

later become my job. When my children went to school, I went back and received

Horticulture degrees from University of Southwestern Louisiana and Louisiana

State University. In 1997, I had the good fortune to be hired to work at the

Wetland & Aquatic Research Center (WARC) in Lafayette with Larry Allain

studying Coastal Prairie. I began learning more about the prairies that once

covered much of Acadiana.

One day, we visited an intact coastal prairie remnant and I was awestruck! It was

breathtaking - so lush, diverse and beautiful!

Through the years, I assisted Larry with the prairie research plots at the University

of Louisiana Ecology Center, various Coastal Prairie remnants in Louisiana and

Texas and with the planting of the first prairie restoration at WARC. Since his

retirement, and with his assistance, I’ve continued to transition much of the

landscape around WARC to prairie and created a large native pollinator garden,

designed by Dona Weifenbach.

I’ve been fortunate to remain at WARC, working on numerous research projects

through the years, focused on Louisiana and Texas Coastal Prairies, coastal

marshes, and bottomland hardwood forests. Currently, I am the WARC Lab

Manager. My contributions to ANPP include serving as a board member and

leading group tours of the WARC prairie restoration plots.