The Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery is the recipient of a significant grant from the A.J. & M.D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust. The grant will support the Mount Auburn Wildlife Action Plan 2014, the culmination of the single and multi-year wildlife planting initiatives the Cemetery has implemented in the past. The Action Plan looks ahead to the future of Mount Auburn’s habitat enhancement initiative and will incorporate innovative perspectives and techniques to enhance the Cemetery’s biodiversity and quality of habitat for a range of species.

The grant will fund a three-day meeting of experts (see list below) who will identify and prioritize Mount Auburn’s future projects for wildlife habitat enhancement, in addition to improving the Cemetery’s capacity as an educational resource and natural sanctuary.

The panel of experts will include: Craig Halvorson, Landscape Architect, Halvorson Design Partnership, Boston, MA; Scott Fisher, Vice President, Restoration Division, and Andrew Bohne, Vice President, Landscape Architecture Group, New England Environmental, Amherst, MA; Chris Leahy, Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology, and Jeff Collins, Director, Ecological Extension Service, Mass Audubon, Lincoln, MA; Joseph Martinez, PhD., Curatorial Assistant, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Bryan Windmiller, PhD., Director, Grassroots Wildlife Conservation, Concord, MA; Patrick Cullina, Principal, Patrick Cullina Horticultural Design & Consulting, New York, NY; Larry Weaner, Principal, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, Glenside, PA; and Brooks Matthewson, ornithologist, photographer, lecturer, writer, Newton, MA.