Portfolio

This guide highlights a selection of plants—trees, shrubs, and herbs—that were found on the Valencia Campus of College of the Canyons in 2014. It was developed with contributions from students in my Organismal and Environmental Biology class, who documented many of the specimens featured within. Thanks to a grant from the COC Foundation, multiple copies of the guide were printed and served as valuable educational resources for biology classes.

Over the decade I spent teaching as an adjunct faculty member at College of the Canyons, the stunning array of birds I encountered on campus became a source of inspiration. Their beauty motivated me to capture them through my passion for painting, blending my love for nature with artistic expression.

I find great joy in photographing the striking beauty of the desert, capturing everything from iconic Joshua trees to delicate buckwheats. One of my happier moments came in 2018 when my photograph of a Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii) earned an honorable mention at the art exhibit during the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) conference.

This video, complete with English captions, provides insights into bees, focusing on the wild bees discovered on our AVC campus. Diana and Stephanie, both former mentees during the 2023 wild bee project, joined forces to narrate and bring life to the information shared.

During the spring season of 2024, my students and I had the opportunity to study native bees at this remarkable preserve in the Antelope Valley.

During the spring season of 2024, my students and I had the opportunity to study native bees at this wonderful Native Botanic Garden in Claremont.

This coloring book, designed especially for children, features ten native California species, each accompanied by a brief description presented in both English and Spanish.