Welcome! I write about gardneing, trees, botany, dendrology, trees, fun kid- friendly outdoor activities, recipes, and scavenger hunts!
Passionate Grassroots Organizer
Hello! With an enthusiasm for sustainable gardening and promoting native plants, I have leveraged decades of experience as a technical writer and digital content editor specializing in horticulture to support changemakers who advocate for a healthier and better future in their neighborhoods. I am a lifetime Girl Scouts of the USA member and an avid knitter.
Professionally, as the West Michigan Clean Energy Organizer for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, I cultivate community connections with residents along the Lakeshore.
Additionally, I am a key organizer, member of the Steering Committee, and founder of the White Lake Area Climate Action Council (WLACAC). I co-led the core group in passing a Climate Emergency Declaration in both Montague and Whitehall City Councils. As a result of our work, the City of Montague declared a Climate Emergency in 2020 (the first community on the west Michigan lakeshore!) followed by the Whitehall City Council in 2021.
Previously, I volunteered with the Red Bison Ecological Restoration to maintain local grasslands and performed prescribed burns as well as interned at the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC).
Reach out, I would love to connect!
Email: tamara.horne@sierraclub.org
Naturalist Blog
Sharpen Your Superpower of Observation
A few months back, I was watering and rearranging some plants, when I accidentally knocked off a few begonia flowers. The flowers were beautiful, and I couldn’t stand to sweep them off the deck. Instead, I brought them into the kitchen to put them in a small vase. That’s when I noticed it. The flowers …
What is buzz pollination?
Some bees use perfect pitch to release pollen from flowers, a technique called buzz pollination. (Gosh, I wish I could sing a perfect note on cue!) Buzz pollination is like a secret password to gain entry into a clubhouse, because tone-savvy bees can unlock and release the pollen from some flowers when they know the password. Buzz …
Sunflowers: An American Treasure
It’s August! As you walk around your neighborhood, watch out for sunflowers in gardens, or you might spy them in bouquets at the local farmer’s market. Stop and take a minute to appreciate the sunflowers you see, because they’re an American treasure. Most of us know what a sunflower looks like, and you can probably …
3 Reasons You Need a Drop Biscuit Recipe
Drop biscuits, they’re the easiest, quickest baked bread I’ve ever made. If you don’t have a favorite drop biscuit recipe yet, you’re about to find out why you need one. 1. Quick to Make Drop biscuit recipes are for people who don’t enjoy spending a lot of time in the kitchen, but love freshly baked …
Make a Mandala Breakfast
I’m a breakfast lover. Oh! You are too? Then, you’re in the right place. Are you tired of the same old cold cereal? Maybe you’d like a faster breakfast option to prepare than pancakes or French toast. Or maybe you want to keep kids busy for a while as you sip your coffee. The cure-all …
Mulberry Topping Sauce Recipe
This quick, easy recipe is a simple way to use up mulberries from a generous mulberry tree in your yard. In fewer than 30 minutes, you can have mulberry topping sauce! It’s been a scorcher these past few days, so we used our topping sauce on ice cream. This sauce can also be used on …
How to Make a Flower Chain
Ice cream is the best! You know what else is the best? Lazing around on a nice summer day and doing whatever you want to do. Loafing, lazing and putzing can bring great joy to the inner child in all of us. Don’t forget to laze. A proper putzing is done without a smart phone …
Let’s Have a Seed Hunt
Have you ever stopped to think how many seeds you run across every day? Seeds are everywhere in our daily lives. Seeds show up in every meal we cook. There are seeds to observe during each walk in our neighborhood. Seeds sometimes look very different from one another. The different sizes of seeds can be …
Make Pink Chive Blossom Drizzle (Chive Infused Vinegar)
If you know a child who doesn’t like vegetables, then I have a well-meaning trick for you! You’re going to make Pink Chive Blossom Drizzle together. Then, as the herb-infused vinegar steeps for a few weeks, you’re going to occasionally talk up the drizzle. Say: “It’s so special because we can only make it once …
Plant a Wee Garden with a Theme
When I was a kid I loved reading Choose Your Own Adventure books. I wedged my fingers between multiple pages so I could go back and see if I could have made it out alive or with a bag of treasure, if only I made a better choice earlier. Planting itty bitty plants in a …
It’s a Red Maple Flower!
There are things in life that you can count on happening like clockwork. Even more accurate than a groundhog’s shadow, you know that spring has arrived when you see the flowers of maple trees scattered on the ground. Did you know maple trees have flowers? They do! To find red maple flowers during your springtime …
Grow Your Own Lettuce in a Container
Who else is tired of food recalls? (Raising hand over here) If so, then never fear - you can grow your own lettuce in pots, and rest assured that what you’re eating is tasty and safe to eat. 3 MORE Reasons You Should Grow Lettuce in Pots You can move the planter to a prime …
How to Plant Strawberries in a Container
Kids like eat strawberries. Adults like to eat strawberries. Plus, you can grow them in a planter if you don’t have a garden. These are all the reasons you need to grow strawberries in a pot this year, but if you need more… 2 MORE Reasons You Should Grow Strawberries in Containers You can move the …
Turn Aluminum Foil into a Polished Cube
I’ll bet you never did anything as a kid that was a complete waste of time, but was satisfying and fun. Let’s face it! One of the perks of being a kid is putting hours and hours into a focused activity that may have no practical purpose. Maybe you and your friends dug a hole …
Start Your Own Baby Succulent Plants
What’s better than a succulent plant? First of all, having five succulent plants is better. Secondly, we can all agree having ten cute baby succulent plants to watch grow up is even better. Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s turn our single succulent plant into many baby plants! Easy Succulents to Propagate: …
Why, When and How to Prune Annabelle Hydrangea
If you’re looking for a flower that you can see from a block away because it’s bigger than your head, then ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas are the shrub for you. This type of hydrangea grows well in shade or part shade (4 hour or less of direct sun); mine never gets direct sunlight in its nook on …
Dyeing Eggs with Natural Plant-based Dyes
Ever since I dyed wool yarn with purple carrots from my garden last fall, I thought it’d be fun to dye other things with plants. Think of anything that stained your clothes in the past; it might be a good candidate to dye eggs. I held a vote on my Facebook page – Tamawi, and …
Grow a Resurrection Plant
This desert plant has an amazing way of coping when there’s no access to water. The entire plant curls up into a dried ball of leaves for as long as it takes - even years - until water is available to bring it back to life! The resurrection plant I reanimated is also known as …
Green is for Zinnia, Peas and Dill
The color green isn’t just for fans of the Hulk or the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s also a key component of any rainbow garden. Green is good! Zinnia If you’ve followed along so far, then you’ll recognize a theme developing in my rainbow garden. Zinnias! I can’t say enough good things about their …
Yellow is for Zinnia and Bush Beans
In a contest of cheerfully colored flowers, is there anything that conveys happiness more than yellow? Add a pinch of yellow to a garden and you’re guaranteed to maintain a certain level of sunny cheer. Here’s what I chose for my slice of sunshine: Zinnia My yellow zinnias are part of the Hot Crayon Colors …
Make Oobleck: A Non-Newtonian Fluid
Oobleck! It’s a funny name for an odd fluid that defies general liquids’ properties, which earns it the category of non-Newtonian behavior. The defining characteristic of oobleck is that its viscosity changes depending on shear rate, meaning the fluidity changes depending on how much pressure is put on the liquid. If little pressure is put …
Make “Clouds”: Ivory Soap in the Microwave
Here’s an easy two-minute experiment you can try in your microwave. All you need is a bar of Ivory soap! (Take note that you must use Ivory soap for this project to work.) What You Need: Ivory bar soap Knife Directions Step 1 Unwrap a bar of Ivory soap and cut it into six pieces …
Orange is for Zinnia, Nasturtium and Calendula
I hold a special place in my heart for orange, because it’s one of the school colors of the University of Illinois. I challenge anyone who is regularly exposed to brilliant construction-orange over several years to not develop a special appreciation for this often overlooked color in gardens. Here are my orange plant picks that …
Red is for Amaranth and Peppers
R is the first letter in my pal Roy G. Biv’s name, so I’m going to start at the beginning and reveal which pretty and edible plants I’ll grow to highlight one of my favorite colors, red. Amaranth is an ancient grain crop from the New World that can be red, orange or green. A …
How to Reveal a Plant’s Vascular System
Are you looking for a WOW-factor experiment? Then this is the one! For maximum impact, I suggest the next-level option with the highlighter and black light. Plants are more complicated than they appear on the surface. But did you know you can reveal the framework of plant’s physiology in a simple experiment at home? What …
Sunshine and Rainbows
Everything isn’t sunshine and rainbows, except when you plant a rainbow-themed garden in the full sun! After a month of daydreaming, I’ve settled on a challenge for myself. I solemnly vow to fill my garden with colorful flowers and vegetables that represent red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, or as I prefer to …
Freezing Temps are Best for Blowing Bubbles
Subzero temperatures are great for staying inside, but I can only take so many days of sitting indoors before I create a reason to dash outside. What better reason than to blow bubbles? What You Need: Cup Large straw OR bubble wand 1 cup water (slightly warm to dissolve other ingredients) 4 teaspoons corn syrup 4 …
Freezer Art
Breaking news from my freezer this week, there’s more ice art! I mentioned odd natural ice formations in my freezer before, but this one is different than the leftover crystals because it was freshly frozen. Here’s how it went down: An uncooked, square dish of lasagna was topped by a layer plastic wrap, and then …
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