June Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series to feature Dawn Stover

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. June 13 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Dawn Stover, study leader at the East Texas Plant Materials Center within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, will present “Unleashing the Flower Fairy: The Evolution of the Southern Garden Girl.”

Stover joined USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in November 2021. She is currently working on germplasm adaptation trials, conservation plant releases and seeding rate studies to benefit landowners and land managers in East Texas and western Louisiana.

Prior to her current position, Stover spent more than two decades as a research associate at SFA where she developed an extensive program to collect, propagate, display and distribute plants native to East Texas. She has extensive greenhouse and nursery experience with a focus on growing plants that are beneficial to pollinators.

Stover earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from West Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in agriculture from SFA. She lives in East Texas with her husband and son and enjoys serving her community through organizations, including Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful and the Nacogdoches Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the lecture series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2900 and 2428 Raguet St., respectively.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.