“I am interested in children’s play, particularly in outdoor environments, and its relation to children’s health and well being.”
Bob Grese is Professor Emeritus and former Chair of Ecosystem Management at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, and previously served as Director of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. His teaching and research involve ecologically based landscape design and management approaches that respect the cultural and natural history of a region. Bob is particularly interested in the restoration and ongoing management of urban wilds and the role such lands can play in reconnecting children and families with nature. He has long been fascinated by the work of early designers such as Jens Jensen and Ossian Cole Simonds, who borrowed from the native landscape in their work. Bob earned his BLA in Landscape Architecture at the University of Georgia (1978) and his MSLA in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin (1984).