Subscribe to Growing Greener on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon
Even before she graduated from Auburn University with degree in Ornamental Horticulture, Abra Lee had developed a passion for uncovering the history of contributions that African-Americans have made to American horticulture and the role they have played in shaping the American landscape. Currently, she is working on a book on that subject, and in our conversation she shares sketches of some of the remarkable individuals she has come across
Abra herself has had a distinguished 19-year horticultural career; she has served as a County Extension Agent with the University of Georgia, and as horticulturist for the Atlanta and Houston Airports, as well as a free lance writer and educator. Abra was a member of the 2019-2020 Cohort of Longwood Fellows in advanced horticultural and public horticultural management, a prestigious program sponsored by Longwood Gardens to enhance the management and leadership skills of a select cadre of internationally selected horticulturists.
In our conversation Abra also shares some of her memories of growing up in a vibrant African American home gardening tradition and reflects on what she received from her elders. She discusses African gardening traditions that survived the Middle Passage to take root in America and throughout the lands of the African diaspora.
Follow Abra Lee at her website, https://conquerthesoil.com.
