Highlights• Manages 140+ acres of native woodland and prairie at the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens• Manages 40 acres of gardens as the Curator of the Iowa Arboretum• Managed landscapes across 80 acres as a Horticulture Specialist at the Denver Zoo• Over two years of intensive research on annuals in growth chambers and greenhouses as part of graduate research• Coordinated gardens with over 1500 varieties of perennials while collecting phenology, growth, and survival data• Coordinated extensive perennial trials as part of Colorado State University’s Flower Trial Program As part of his graduate degree, he learned how precisely controlling the growing environment can make plants behave however a grower wants. This included education and research in plant environmental stress physiology, light, temperature, and gas exchange to influence plant growth in both growth chambers and in the greenhouse. During his time at the university, David spent 8 semesters teaching over 500 undergraduate students’ introductory horticulture, plant propagation, plant identification, and pest/disease identification. He then worked for the Denver Zoological Foundation as a horticulture specialist, where he managed landscapes across 80 acres of public gardens and animal enclosures. As part of his experience, David began an intensive pest management program in the DZF tropical conservatory by hand rearing beneficial insects. This work, combined with undergraduate entomology coursework and a certificate in Hymenoptera identification, lead him to rigorously research pollinators, predatory insects, and common horticulture pests. David has since relocated to the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens where he now supervises the management of 20+ acres of restored tallgrass prairie, 100+ acres of native hardwood woodland, and 40 acres of gardens and arboretum. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Horticulture with an emphasis in Controlled Environment Horticulture where he learned critical thinking and research skills especially in the subject of plant physiology and environmental stress physiology. David’s research focused on measured growth responses of annual bedding plants to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations, as well as any photosynthetic acclimation that may have come as a result of high carbon dioxide. He also interned for five years as an aid to Colorado State University Horticulture Extension learning skills in outreach, adult education, and educational program building.
