By: Phyllis Giffard
Native Plant Advocate Eric Vanbergen began promoting
natives at a very young age.
This month we salute Eric Vanbergen of Lafayette. Eric developed a deep interest in nature and pursued it at an early age. In 2017 he led a volunteer effort to plant a three acre prairie. Vanbergen formed the Ascension High School Prairie Club that is still active today. He worked with mentors, teachers and other students in 2019 to establish another smaller, relatable prairie planting within the school building complex that has become a shining example of what can be achieved using native prairie plants in a designated garden. Eric was selected Youth Conservationist of the Year for 2019 by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. The award was presented in Baton Rouge on September 28, 2020 for his leadership in promoting native plant and coastal prairie restoration at his school, Ascension High School in Youngsville. He is currently a junior at LSU studying landscape architecture.
Eric applied for and received a mini-grant from ANPP for native plants to install in a pollinator native plant garden on the LSU campus. The 18 ft. x 10 ft. bed was planted by volunteers from the LSU School of Landscape Architecture at the Wilson Lab Building March 22, 2022. Keep up the great work Eric, and good luck in your studies promoting native plants at LSU.
From the June 2022 ANPP Newsletter
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