Past Presentations

Horticulture Educator, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

For over three decades, Andrea DeLong-Amaya has been living her life’s mission to honor the natural world through presenting and teaching
classes about the horticulture, ecology, and importance of native plants in planned landscapes. Her regionally best-selling book, the Texas Native Plant Primer (Timber Press), was released in March of 2025.

The Weston Ranch Foundation is a suburban sanctuary where prairie and wildlife thrive through habitat conservation and sustainable agriculture to benefit our community in Central Texas. The foundation was formed in 2003 to foster relationships with higher education institutions, non-profits, inspirational groups, and the community. We are currently working together with Texas Lutheran University, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Texas State University to better understand our natural capital and to support the teaching missions of the universities.

Deedy Wright, our resident expert, describes the plants that will be for sale at the Fall Plant Sale.

Rachel Sarlls is the regional urban ecologist with the Texas A&M Forest Service for the San Antonio region. She graduated from Sam Houston State University with a bachelor’s degree in plant and soil sciences. She is an ISA Certified arborist with specialized qualifications in tree risk assessment and Oak Wilt management. She has worked as an arborist in the Houston region, managing work from tree removals and pruning to fertilization and planting. Rachel has a passion for empowering communities through education and outreach to help people understand the vital role trees play in urban environment and how to effectively care for them.

“From red and gold hues in the Fall to bright swaths of wildflower color in the Spring, Texas seasons manifest most vibrantly through the growth of our native flora. Utilizing native plant species in Texas landscapes encourages more biodiversity, healthier soil, and holds immense value to our native fauna, including pollinators. In this presentation, ERA highlights the benefits of some of our most breathtaking and instrumental native plants that are suitable for a range of conditions from soggy to crispy, revealing how these plants are used in rain gardens, and other landscapes, in Central Texas. Bring diversity home by growing native!”

Matt Buckingham is a naturalist, photographer, and protected species biologist based out of Lufkin. Matt received a bachelors in wildlife management from Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in 2007. In 2011 Matt graduated from SFA with a masters in biology with an emphasis on ecology and evolutionary biology. For his thesis, Matt studied the bird communities of Iguazu National Park, Argentina. Matt has a long history of working as a biologist with various species including American alligators, Neotropical migrant songbirds, Snowy Plovers in the Texas panhandle, and secretive marshbirds in the Chesapeake Bay. Matt previously worked as a conservation biologist for Bayou Land Conservancy, a land trust in the Houston area and as a biologist Texas Department of Transportation, where he worked on endangered species conservation, road ecology research, finding innovate ways to reduce impacts to wildlife from road construction activities, and developing solutions for wildlife/vehicle conflicts. Matt also worked as a biologist for the U.S. Fish and WIldlife Service with federally listed, proposed, and review species. Matt currently works for Ecosystem Planning and Restoration, LLC, where he works on research, conservation, and mitigation projects. Matt also works as a freelance photographer and author, and his images and articles have been published in a variety of magazines. Matt lives in Lufkin with his wife and son and spends as much time as possible exploring the Pineywoods around their home and beyond.