Welcome to
Wildly Native Suburbia!
Hello! I’m Grace, founder of Wildly Native Suburbia and Hamburg New Yorker. I grew up exploring the woods and wetlands here, which shaped my connection to the land and led me into science. After eight years away earning a master’s in Biology & GIS and working across diverse ecosystems, I returned home and saw how invasive plants were transforming our local habitats. At the same time, I recognized the untapped potential in suburban landscapes to support native plants, wildlife, and ecological health. That vision drives my work in local restoration and reconnecting people with the land.
My career has been intentionally interdisciplinary, with roles including research analyst, lab manager, canopy scientist, and invasive plant manager. I’ve worked in ecosystems ranging from the Central Appalachians and Midwestern prairies to the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica and the temperate rainforests of Vancouver Island. Each position has given me a different perspective on how ecosystems function and how people can care for them. I bring this combined knowledge together to create practical, community-focused ecological work rooted in local needs.
I’m also committed to making science more accessible. I’ve mentored more than three dozen high school and undergraduate students, helping them build skills, confidence, and pathways into ecological careers.
I’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re a landowner, student, or community member, feel free to reach out to collaborate, ask questions, or get involved. Connect with me on iNaturalist and Instagram.
Land Acknowledgement
Wildly Native Suburbia acknowledges that we live, work, and care for this land on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, especially the Onöndowa’ga:’ (Seneca Nation), whose relationship with these lands and waters continues today. We also honor the many Indigenous peoples who lived here before and alongside the Haudenosaunee, including the Erie, Wenro, and Neutral peoples.
We recognize that this land was never empty. The forests, wetlands, creeks, prairies, and shorelines of Western New York were shaped through generations of Indigenous stewardship, knowledge, and care. Native plants that Wildly Native Suburbia celebrates and restores, such as oak, milkweed, goldenrod, elderberry, wild bergamot, little bluestem, and countless others, have long been part of Indigenous lifeways, medicine, foodways, ceremony, and habitat.
As we work to restore native landscapes, we acknowledge that caring for the land also means honoring the people who have cared for it since time immemorial. We are grateful to the Indigenous communities whose knowledge continues to guide how we understand reciprocity, biodiversity, and our responsibility to the living world.
May this acknowledgement be more than words. Let it remind us to learn, listen, support Indigenous sovereignty and stewardship, and tend this land with humility and respect.
Take Action
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Learn about the living cultures, history, and stewardship practices of the Seneca Nation and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy through the Seneca Nation and Haudenosaunee Confederacy websites.
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Support Indigenous-led environmental and cultural organizations through donations, volunteering, or attending community events, such as Native American Community Services of Erie & Niagara Counties or the Native Arts + Culture Organization.
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Seek out Indigenous authors, artists, educators, and ecological knowledge keepers through local museums, Indigenous-run bookstores, community events, and the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum.
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Advocate for the protection and restoration of native ecosystems and for Indigenous communities’ rights to care for their lands and waters by supporting Indigenous-led conservation and land stewardship efforts.
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As you plant native species, take time to learn whose land you are on and how those plants have long been connected to Indigenous foodways, medicine, and culture.
Image (left): "Shagbark," acrylic with ink on paper, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Artist: G. Peter Jemison (b. 1945, Heron Clan, Seneca Nation)
Care for Our Common Home
Our work is partly inspired in part by the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, particularly his deep respect for the natural world and belief in care for our shared home.
"The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change." - Pope Francis, Laudato Si', 12
Image (left): Laudato Si' Mural Project
Artists: Chris Chapell and Father Vince Petersen, OFM COnv.