About Carrie:

    When I was a kid in Louisville, Ky, I watched as all the "wild" land around our neighborhood was developed into housing.  I observed the abrupt decline in plant diversity and wondered where all the organisms that lived in those fields and woods would go.  

     I earned my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biology  at the University of Louisville, where the majority of ecologists focused on aquatic ecology.  Realizing that my knowledge of terrestrial ecology did not extend far from the riparian zone, I sought additional opportunities to learn about terrestrial plants and animals.  I earned my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, researching how mammalian herbivores (mice, voles, rabbits, and deer) influence plant communities in grasslands.      

      I moved to Charlotte, NC in 2006 to begin a professorship at Queens University of Charlotte.  In 2017, my professorial career shifted to Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, NC (just a bit northeast of Charlotte).  I taught courses and directed the environmental science program  there until my position was eliminated in 2024due to economic difficulties of the university.   Since then, I have been teaching part-time at Catawba College and UNC-Charlotte.  

      In 2025,  Jennifer Lee and I co-founded Constructive Plant Rescue, Inc. with the goal of getting more native plants into peoples' landscaping.  We started reaching out to land owners and developers to obtain permission to dig up native plants prior to the clearing of the land.  

      Almost before we knew it, we had amassed a list of hundreds of people in our area who were interested in helping to rescue and provide homes for native plants whose homes were about to be destroyed.  Most of the areas to be cleared are wooded, so the majority of the plants rescued are shade-loving, low-growing plants that are not commonly used in landscaping.  Nevertheless, these plants play important roles in our ecosystems.  Providing them with new homes enables them to continue their lives, performing many ecosystem functions and greening up our understories. 

     I regularly give talks and lead workshops in the Charlotte metro area.  Because I have taught many different classes at the college level and continue my acquisition of new ecological knowledge daily, I can (and truly enjoy) giving talks on just about anything related to ecology!     

 For the Birds and the Bees   

     In 2016, interest in the use of native plants in landscaping and creating wildlife habitats within one's yard was beginning to take hold in the Charlotte, NC area.  I saw that many people were in need of advice in this area, and I was very excited to be able to fill this niche.  

    I began For the Birds and the Bees Ecological Consulting as a way to provide clients with information, guidance, and advice about what's growing on their property and how they could improve its ecological function.  This often includes recognition and removal of invasive plants, as well as increased incorporation of native plants into the landscape plan to provide for the needs of pollinators and other wildlife.          

     I started a native plant nursery in 2021 to help supply native plants to people in the area. Customer demand for native plants to use in landscaping is growing by leaps and bounds in our area.  I thought I could help provide my customers with a nearby source of native plants by propagating them myself.  I continued the plant nursery through 2025.  Once CPR began to thrive, I decided it would be beneficial for all involved to transfer this part of what I do to CPR.