About Walmer Woodlands

Walmer Woodlands began as a retirement hobby in January 2023. Living in a hardwood forest, I set out to understand how understory plants compete and reproduce in the competitive environment of the forest floor. My goal was to create understory gardens for my wife and I to enjoy. One of the pearls from this search has been gleaning insights into how early life likely evolved on land (algae, mosses, ferns, etc.) as well as hinting as to why they may outlive us. While we exploit our planet's resources for personal use, we are degrading the delicate web of interdependent biosystems that we likely depend on. The planet has survived many mass extinction events and some of the earliest plants, like ferns, have been among the most successful at adapting to change. Whether we can tame our self-destructive tendencies remains to be seen, but in the short term, it is a fascinating time to ponder our place in the evolving universe. For believers in science, when the history of earth is represented as a 24-hour day, homo sapiens have been around for less than a minute and are facing our first mass extinction event. In comparison, ferns have been around more than an hour and survived at least 4 mass extinction events.

To help me kindle this new passion for understanding the world of shade-tolerant plants, I have been fortunate to find mentors through at NC State (volunteering on the plant toolbox data team), the Master Gardener Volunteer program in Orange County, NC (volunteering with Mart Bumgarner and colleagues in Hillsborough), the NC Botanical Garden (volunteering wit Matt Gocke to start a fern spore propagation program) and joining a host of societies (American Fern Society, NC Native Plant Society, Hardy Fern Foundation, and the International Plant Propagator's Society).

I have also been intrigued by the perspectives of many modern-day theologians (Richard Rohr, Karen Armstrong, Rob Bell, Neale Donald Walsh, Peter Enns, Cynthia Bourgeault, etc.), which I find time to learn from through audiobooks as I work in the garden.

What you see in this website reflects my exploration into how the world around us provides clues about our place in the universe. As humans, we often act as if we are the pinnacle of creation because of our intelligence. However, we may be proven wrong due to our lack of wisdom. Life is about relationships, and it may be time for a little collaborative humility if we want to continue to co-exist. As I continue on this journey, I expect to get many things wrong. I am a kinder-gardener who is loving the opportunity to transition from building families together through in vitro fertilization, etc. to learning how to propagate plants and use them to create a beautiful biosystem for my wife and I to enjoy as we age together. I am also starting a blog as a personal reflection of my life as a biochemist, physician, global health researcher, lay theologian, and a botanist-wannabe. Lots of food for thought as we take time to ponder the mysteries of life.

I look forward to the new relationships that will develop if and when our paths cross. You can reach me at walmerwoodlants@gmail.com.

David, Uncle Dave, Dr. Dave

(all names that I lovingly answer to as a result of relationships with friends, family, past patients and colleagues in Haiti)

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