Christine Ventura, Living Collections Fellow

I grew up in a rural area of Connecticut, the granddaughter of a turkey farmer who maintained many acres of oak-hickory forest, which had been in our family for generations. Behind the house there were hay fields, a pond, and what once was a chestnut forest. This somewhat isolated area was the cradle of my interest in plants, forests, and ecology.

My early background in horticulture includes work as a propagation specialist at Canterbury Horticulture in Canterbury, CT and as the nursery manager at Nason’s Apples in Dayville, CT. Most recently, I was the horticulturist/research assistant at Yale University’s Marsh Botanical Garden, where I supported research efforts, growth chamber and greenhouse operations, maintenance of the teaching collection, and managed the integrated pest management program.

The primary focus of my fellowship is to create a new plant introduction program for the Arboretum. This initiative will make the some of the Arboretum’s most exiting accessions available to the horticultural trade and the public. Initiatives such as research of clonal propagation methods for recalcitrant taxa, re-acquiring and propagating important and historic Arnold Arboretum lineages, and performing propagation research related to the Campaign for the Living Collections will also be within this fellowship’s purview.

I am privileged to be engaged in support of the Arboretum’s endeavors and to have the opportunity to learn from the talented team of professionals and leaders here.