Brief description. The average neighborhood yard looks pretty, but doesn’t support the wide range of wildlife that is crucial to a healthy environment and community. The good news is that yards can be both beautiful and beneficial by incorporating the native plants that support our local wildlife! In this presentation, Ms. Lauren Simpson will share a few handy tips on how to create a wildlife garden at your own home, for the enjoyment of your family and the benefit of your community. She will also bring native wildflower seeds from her own wildlife-habitat garden to share with attendees. Come join us to learn how to transform your own yard into a beautiful wildlife paradise!

Bio. Since early 2015, Lauren Simpson has spent her spare time transforming her Houston home gardens into a pollinator-friendly habitat, currently a Certified Wildlife Habitat (National Wildlife Federation), a Monarch Waystation (Monarch Watch, Waystation No. 10925), and a Certified Butterfly Garden (North American Butterfly Association). She promotes pollinator conservation and wildscaping through state and local presentations, local events, and an educational Facebook community entitled “St. Julian’s Crossing-wildlife habitat” – the name adopted for her family’s Monarch Waystation. Ms. Simpson is a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) and Butterfly Enthusiasts of Southeast Texas, and she actively volunteers in her neighborhood gardening group, the Oak Forest Community of Gardeners. She has also received the Level 1 certification through the NPSOT Native Landscape Certification Program (NLCP) and serves on the NPSOT subcommittee for NLCP Level 4.

Ms. Simpson is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, where she teaches Lawyering Skills and Strategies. She earned her B.A. (cum laude) in French and International Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1988. She obtained her J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Houston Law Center in 1994. She is a spring 2016 recipient of the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award (Instructor/Clinical category) and the spring 2017 and spring 2018 Professor of the Year for Law Center faculty teaching in the part-time program.