Nancy Lawson

Plan It Native 2025 Keynote
A World of Discovery: Blending Science and Heart in the Sensory Wildscape

Nancy Lawson is the author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife and Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature. A nature writer, habitat consultant, national speaker, and founder of The Humane Gardener, LLC, she pioneers creative wildlife-friendly landscaping methods. Certified as a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional and volunteer master naturalist, Nancy co-chairs Howard County Bee City in Maryland and co-launched a community science project, Monarch Rx, after discovering a little-known butterfly behavior in her own garden. Her books, garden, advocacy and scientific endeavors have been featured in Science Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah magazine, Entomology Today, Ecological Entomology, and American Gardener. Her most recent book, Wildscape, received an honorable mention in the American Horticultural Society’s national book awards and was a finalist for the 2024 AAAS*/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books.

*American Association for the Advancement of Science