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"Michelle completed 56.5 hours of course work and 485 hours of volunteer work since beginning the [NewYork State Master] program in 2010!
Michelle is passionate about the use of native plants and the ecological restoration of the Niagara Gorge Rim, and much of her volunteer time is focused on these topics. For example, Michelle designs, creates, and manages pollinator habitats in Niagara County, specifically in Niagara Falls and at her home in Youngstown. Her yard is certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and as a Monarch Way Station by MonarchWatch.
As Beautification Chair for Main Street [Business and Professional Association] in Niagara Falls, she planted and maintained 16 annual pollinator container gardens, and won numerous awards for her work. Michelle also created and maintains a Niagara County Native Plant website at www.mdvnaturalist.com (check it out!). She has spent time monitoring and controlling invasive species (hemlock wooly adelgid, knotweed, garlic mustard, buckthorn), and participates in various citizen science monitoring programs including Project Bud Burst and Project Bud Break, Celebrate Urban Birds, pollinator monitoring for the Xerces Society, and the Museum of Science’s FireFly Watch.
Kristi Sullivan, Certified Wildlife Biologist
Co-Director, Conservation Education and Research Program
Director, New York Master Naturalist Program
Cornell Dept. of Natural Resources
B20 Bruckner
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-255-5508
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