Native Plant Trust, the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants, announced on December 8 that Debbi Edelstein will be retiring as executive director at the end of January after fifteen years of service. The organization is concluding a nationwide search for her successor and is expected to make an announcement shortly. Edelstein has led the 30-person nonprofit since February 2009 and has inspired her team to significant achievements and new initiatives in conservation, ecological horticulture, and education. Edelstein’s many accomplishments reflect her lifelong commitment to making the world a better place. During her tenure, the organization expanded its work to save rare and endangered plants, undertook important restoration projects, developed the first master plan for the 45-acre Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts, and launched the nation’s first online botany courses a decade ago. She also set a research agenda that resulted in the publication of the Go Botany website, four books, and two major research reports, “The State of New England’s Native Plants” (2015) and “Conserving Plant Diversity in New England” (2022).
In addition, she developed a successful new business model for the native plant nursery in Whately, MA, and expanded seed- processing and storage facilities to support the new Northeast Seed Network, a regional initiative led by Native Plant Trust to create a sustainable source of seed to meet the increased demand for native plants in the restoration and nursery sectors.
She is the lead author of Native Plant Trust’s new fifteen-year vision document, which describes the organization’s opportunities—and obligations—in addressing the twin environmental crises of our era, climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
