EarthKeepers II is an Interfaith Energy Conservation and Community Garden Initiative to Restore Native Plants and Protect the Great Lakes from Toxins like Airborne Mercury – across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northeast Wisconsin – in cooperation with the EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, U.S. Forest Service, 10 faith traditions and Native American tribes like the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

EarthKeepers II and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative are battling non-native invasive species that ruin ecosystems and hurt pollinators like bees and butterflies.

The EarthKeepers II Technical Advisor for Community Gardens is Jan Schultz, head botanist at the USFS Eastern Region (R-9) Office in Milwaukee, WI.

Schultz is sharing her expertise about pollinators, native plants, invasive species, cultivars and other issues related to a healthy ecosystem.

Americans need to rethink their war on dandelions and other native plants – like wildflowers – as they search for the so-called “perfect lawn” – that is not pollinator friendly, Schultz says.