In 1993, Art retired from the Sears footwear department but he was in no hurry to occupy his spare time until one fateful day at the Chicago Botanic Garden. During this visit, Art asked a volunteer what volunteers at the Garden do. The woman replied, “WE HAVE FUN!” With those three words, Art was convinced and he has since devoted 21 years and over 11,000 volunteer hours to the Chicago Botanic Garden. Art joined the Echinacea Project just over 10 years ago. He primarily weighs achenes to determine whether they contain fertilized embryos (he has weighed more than 100,000 Echinacea achenes!) but Art has also written detailed lab protocols for weighing and x-raying achenes. Outside of his work at the Garden, Art enjoys swimming and gardening.
This is one in a series of profiles recognizing the hard work and dedication of citizen scientists volunteering for the Echinacea Project at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
