I’m Ken Carman – a Pollinator & Bird Habitat Specialist, and a wildlife photographer currently based in Jacksonville, Florida.
I’ve been passionate about nature for over 60 years, and about resource conservation specifically for the last 25 – energy use, water use, waste reduction, recycling, reuse and repurposing all run through my work. More than one person has told me that I’m a visionary who’s ahead of his time; I’ll let my ideas on this site make that case for themselves.
Pollinators became a primary focus about 12 years ago. For the past 5, that’s centered specifically on fall-migrating Monarch butterflies and building habitat that supports them on their journey to Mexico. I propagate native perennial wildflowers using hands-on techniques I’ve developed myself to increase both bloom count and new-shoot production – methods that have let me build dense, high-value pollinator habitat across four states: Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Before pollinators, I spent several years as caretaker and naturalist at a nature preserve, where I organized bird counts, built a 12,000-photo public archive of the property, and was featured in South Carolina Wildlife magazine for that work.
Today I’m an official iNaturalist Ambassador. Over the past six years, I’ve recorded more than 4,600 plant and animal species across the states I’ve lived in – including a ranking of 4th on iNaturalist for total species recorded in South Carolina out of 55,000 users, a record that’s held up even though I left the state about four and a half years ago, and 33rd in Georgia out of 80,000 users after living there just six months. Right here in my own backyard, I’ve logged over 1,300 species in under three years.
This website is where I bring it all together: conservation ideas and proposals I’ve pitched to parks and municipalities, nature and wildlife articles, photography, and video – all in one place, for anyone who wants to see what’s possible with a little land, a lot of patience, and a genuine reason to pay attention.
