Ct-Botanical-Society.org
Title
Connecticut Botanical Society
Description
The Connecticut Botanical Society web site has been providing information on our state's plants since 2000. The site was designed and is maintained by Janet Novak. She also provided some of the plant photographs. Janet's photos have appeared in Horticulture magazine, Chicago Wilderness magazine, and in the new edition of Peterson's Field Guide to Ferns. Janet currently lives in Philadelphia, where she maintains the web site for the Philadelphia Botanical Club and contributes to the Flora of New Jersey project. As a volunteer for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, she surveys populations of two plants on the federal Threatened list: swamp pink (Helonias bullata) and Knieskern's beakrush (Rhynchospora knieskernii). Professionally, Janet is a scientific editor and head of Helix Editing.
Eleanor 'Sam' Saulys gave the web site its start by donating several dozen digital images of Connecticut plants. Since then, she has donated hundreds more photographs. Her plant photographs have been widely published, and some are on permanent display at Norden Park in Norwalk. Sam frequently leads field trips for the Connecticut Botanical Society. She has distinguished herself in finding and documenting rare plant populations. Both on her own and as a Plant Conservation Volunteer, Sam has surveyed many of the state's rare plants, and she has rediscovered several species that were thought to have been eliminated from the state. Her favorite pastime is to 'get lost' . . . which resulted in some of her best plant finds and which she highly recommends to others.
Other CBS members have contributed photographs: Arieh Tal, Carol Gracie, Carol Levine, and Virginia Magee. Massachusetts resident Arieh Tal has been photographing, studying and growing native plants for close to 20 years. In addition to this website, Arieh's photos can occasionally be found in the publications of several conservation organizations, such as the New England Wild Flower Society, The Nature Conservacy, and The Trustees of Reservations (Massachusetts). Arieh is also actively involved in conservation activities in the New England region (such as the Plant Conservation Volunteer program through the New England Wild Flower Society) and frequently leads field trips and workshops on plant-related topics. The two main focuses of his life - nature conservation and aesthetics - come together in his photography, samples of which can be found at his attractive website: Nature Through the Lens.
