Today’s ecological restorationists may believe that things have always been the way they are now, with wide acceptance of practices like stewardship workdays, prescribed fire, or dabbing herbicide on cut stumps, but it hasn’t always been so. Join us for reflections on the past 30 years of ecological restoration through the eyes of two recently retired, long-time practitioners who were also instrumental in the formation of The Stewardship Network.

Passing the (Drip) Torch: A Look Back with Dave Borneman and Bob Grese
Webcast Video
Guests

Lisa Brush
The Stewardship Network
CEO & Founder
Lisa Brush has been leading collaborative conservation initiatives in the environmental sector for more than twenty years. In her role as CEO and Founder of The Stewardship Network, she has engaged thousands of professionals and volunteers in identifying community and stewardship needs of the 21st century. She has facilitated the initiation, growth, and ongoing support of networks and collaborations at all scales across the country. Lisa has worked with all volunteer nonprofits to global NGOs; municipal, state, federal and tribal governments; consultants and contractors; students and researchers; private property owners and more. She has facilitated strategic planning sessions, focus groups, citizen task forces, community visioning sessions, and public involvement and feedback meetings with groups ranging in size from four to four hundred. Lisa believes deeply in the power of people to create positive community change and works to support people and institutions in this endeavor.
She has been involved in all aspects of organizational management including: foundation/agency relationships; grant based project funding; budget tracking; contract negotiation, implementation, accountability; staff and board development.
Lisa serves on numerous boards of directors, has a BA in Science in Society from Wesleyan University, an MS from University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, and is a graduate of Michigan State University’s Great Lakes Leadership Academy.
Dave Borneman
City of Ann Arbor
Natural Area Preservation Manager
Dave Borneman retired in February, 2022 after 28 years as the Natural Area Preservation Manager for the City of Ann Arbor and helped launch a series of “Stewardship Field Days” back in the mid-1990s as a way to share ideas and experiences with fellow restorationists and that effort eventually led to the creation of TSN!
Bob Grese
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
Director
Bob Grese retired as the Director of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum after 34 years at the University of Michigan and helped launch a series of “Stewardship Field Days” back in the mid-1990s as a way to share ideas and experiences with fellow restorationists and that effort eventually led to the creation of TSN!