Laurel Tormey Cole says a goldfinch is what led her to garden with native plants. Her cosmos, she explains, were too tall to deadhead. One day, she noticed a goldfinch eating the seeds from the spent flowers she’d been unable to pinch off. Now her garden in Knox is almost entirely native plants and she organizes a yearly sale at the Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center to share with others the virtues of native plants. This year, she’s focusing on teaching visitors about the rusty patched bumble bee, listed as a federally endangered species. Tormey Cole has adopted a zero-waste lifestyle, reducing the trash she throws away in a month to less than a single small bag. She has, for example, a system in her kitchen where worms eat organic waste, turning it into material for rich soil. Tormey Cole believes individuals can make a difference in the world and, as a yoga teacher, focuses on awareness, both on the mat and off.

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