Jim Sirch

• Propagating Wild Flowers from Seed, lecture and/or workshop
• Creating a Healthy Ecosystem in Your Landscape, and Why It Matters
• Gardening for Frogs:  Water Features to Attract Wildlife to Your Yard
• Plant It and They Will Come: Attracting Connecticut Butterflies to Your Garden
• A Safe Haven for Pollinators: Creating a Backyard Oasis
• Beyond Your Backdoor: Connecting With Nature Where You Live
• Leaves Are Not Litter: Benefits of Using Leaves in Your Yard and Garden

• Education Coordinator and Naturalist, Yale- Peabody Museum of Natural History (retired)
• Certified Connecticut Master Gardener, UConn Extension Master Gardener Program (2019)
• President, Connecticut Horticultural Society
• Past president/current board member, Hamden Land Conservation Trust
• M.S. Environmental Studies Management, Antioch University
• B.S. Secondary Science Education, Miami University
• B.S. Environmental Studies, West Virginia University

Other Information:

• Manage nature blog Beyond Your Back Door http://beyondyourbackdoor.com
• Featured on Margaret Roach’s national podcast, A Way to Garden, “The Frog Garden: Amphibian Friendly-Gardening Practices”, March 10, 2025. https://awaytogarden.com/the-frog-garden-amphibian-friendly-practices-with-jim-sirch/
• Featured on Tom Christopher’s national podcast, Growing Greener: “Easy Hacks for Starting Native Plants from Seeds,” January 31, 2024.  https://growinggreener.libsyn.com/easy-hacks-for-starting-native-plants-from-seed

Previous Lectures:

Environmental Studies School – Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Connecticut Horticultural Society, Ferguson Museum of Natural History, Fisher’s Island, NY; Lyme Pollinator Pathway, Hamden Public Library, Daytime Gardeners of North Haven, Garden Club of New Haven, Milford Garden Club, Suburban Garden Club of Cheshire, Menunkatuck Audubon Society, New Haven Bird Club, East Haddam Garden Club, Mad Gardeners Symposium, Hamden Land Conservation Trust, Morris Land Trust, Aspetuck Land Trust, Peabody-Beardsley-Maritime Frogwatch, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.