About Mike's Work
Mike is currently serving as Chair of the Environmental Horticulture Department at Santa Barbara City College, where sustainable horticulture, ecological restoration and ethnobotany are emphasized. Mike recently received his PhD in ethnobotany from Miami University (Ohio), working with the Miami Nation, in both Oklahoma and Indiana, to document their traditional uses of wild plants, and the traditional harvesting of common milkweed and dogbane. His research is part of a tribal cultural revitalization effort.
Prior to his PhD research Michael conducted academic and professional research centered mostly on the protection and restoration of public lands in California and Nevada. His master's research involved rare plant conservation and restoration in the San Bernardino National Forest, and later worked as a botanist and restoration specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, managing a native plant nursery and coordinated Forest-wide habitat restoration projects.
In 1997 Michael and his wife Elisabeth created and implemented a sustainable agriculture program for Q'eqchi' Mayans in eastern Guatemala, based partly on traditional Mayan agriculture and ecology. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Santa Barbara, California.