Don graduated from Western Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture and a minor in Biology. He worked in Urban Forestry for 31 years, 29 as Village Forester for the Village of Wilmette, Illinois, a north shore community on Lake Michigan. Since Wilmette’s urban forest was predominantly native oaks, he was instrumental in preserving and protecting the Villages native oak forest and planting over 6,000 trees. Many of which are native oaks. After retirement, his interest in native plants turned to pollinator gardens. He considers himself an evangelist, sharing the gospel, the good news, of planting pollinator gardens to help our hurting pollinators. He is a board member of Wild Ones of Door Peninsula and the Native Seed Coordinator for the Sturgeon Bay Seed Library.