People of the Preserve
Voices of Our Volunteers
Judy Hallberg
Judy Hallberg, moved to Bucks County a year ago and became a volunteer propagator a short time later. She is a former art gallery director and resident curator of a timber house built in 1677 and its 12 acres with seven gardens and a meadow. Before she took over the meadow was mowed regularly “and you never saw wildflowers.” She stopped the mowing and became interested in wildflowers. Her first volunteer role at BHWP was at the front desk. Then Judy saw the propagators wearing jeans and gardening gloves and, as she put it, “I wanted to be with them, and now I am. I really enjoy learning, and I really enjoy the people.”
Patsy Wang-Iverson
Patsy Wang-Iverson, a member for many years, became a volunteer propagator in 2016. She came to hear Pat Sutton speak, and was inspired to volunteer. Patsy responded to a propagation ad and has been doing it every other week. “The other volunteers are very welcoming,” she says. A biochemist who has also worked in math and science education, Patsy wants to keep learning and as a propagator she gets that chance — about the plants, planting conditions, locations, and the different types of native plants and what wildlife they attract.
David Shanno
David Shanno, is a retired math professor who still conducts research. He has degrees from Yale and Carnegie Mellon and taught for 41 years in major universities. David began volunteering 17 years ago and discovered it was a wonderful escape. “It’s dirty work, but it makes you feel good,” he says. “Volunteering involves people you want to be with and jobs you want to do.”
Terri Layton
Terri Layton, a native of South Korea and graduate of Villanova University, is a retired accountant. Sixteen years ago she moved into the woods near Lake Nockamixon and “started getting curious about birds and plants and started going to seminars at the Preserve. Terri was drawn to propagation volunteers and found them to be a diverse group. “We talk about anything and everything. After retiring, I was not getting a lot of intellectual stimulation. I live with four dogs, and they don’t talk much,” she jokes. “I feel like I’m part of small community with fantastic talent.”
Jeffrey A. Buckwalter, M.D.
Jeffrey A. Buckwalter, M.D., is a retired ear, nose and throat doctor. He is a new member of the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve board and a propagation volunteer since August of 2015. Jeffrey was drawn to these roles by a longtime fascination with plants and how to replenish them. “The relationships at the preserve, and what one learns about nature, can be a remedy for the human tendency to ‘live too much in the moment,’” he says. “Nature teaches us about the important relationship of things in life, and how insignificant the time a human lives is compared to all of nature.”