ANPP congratulates Oliver Garber for his family's gold level Lousiana Certified Habitat located in rural Acadia parish near Iota LA. Oliver documented over 100 species on the property but is confident there are more yet to be identified.
To our knowledge, 16-year old Oliver is the LCH's youngest awardee. Their family's rice farm includes large tracts of gallery forest on Bayou Des Cannes (most of the species) and a few species found on prairie remnants, some with a high coefficient of conservatism. He and his family spend a lot of time outdoors and took an interest in birds. After being inspired by a talk given by Doug Tallamy, Oliver recognized the importance of native plants in supporting ecosystems and began learning more about the species native to their property. He set out last year to plant a 3/4 acre prairie. After tilling, he planted the site with a coastal prairie mix from Native American Seed and has been adding plants with local genetics from Dr. Charles Allen and Dr. Malcolm Vidrine's properties. He plans to burn his prairie this winter. He has also begun a smaller demonstration garden with paths. Oliver has already noticed the difference in plants that thrive closer to their lake compared to slightly upland.
Oliver has also potted small tree seedlings and is starting many prairie plants in seeds from seed. |
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