Bio:
Irene Brady Barber manages the Adult Education Program at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens where the emphasis of horticulture lies in the principles of ecological practices and sustainability in order to achieve maximum resilience, regeneration, and biodiversity. Irene has worked and trained in multiple sectors of the horticulture industry, which has enabled her to understand and appreciate the variety of lenses of horticulture policy, practices, and professionalism. As an educator, horticulturalist, landscape designer, registered horticultural therapist (HTR), and program manager, Irene focuses on deepening people’s awareness and appreciation towards plants and the value they hold in whatever context, either on a farm, in a container garden, on a shoreline embankment or in the wild.
Mrs. Barber is the principal of Greenscapes Design LLC, under which she consults and designs for residential and public settings to produce vibrant landscaped ecosystems that actively support clean water and air, biodiversity, and healthy soils.
Why ELA?
“I’m honored to contribute to ELA as a board member and an attendee of educational events produced by ELA. There’s never an end to learning from ecological horticulture and landscape peers as well as from nature. Designing and working with plants consists of embracing environmental science, which is a field of study that is always unveiling discoveries.”
