Ann Armstrong
(The following was prepared by Mary Reilly-McNellan if you have additional information or stories you would like to provide, please email them to phmurphy@aol.com)
Ann Armstrong grew up in Colorado, graduating with a horticulture degree from CSU, and a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from CU. She spent her life using her vast botanical and biological knowledge to improve our natural world, and had a special love for flowers, butterflies, birds, grasses, and fields.
I had the honor of knowing and working with Ann for 21 years. In the early 1980s, I served as coordinator for the Boulder County Parks Volunteer Naturalist program. Ann was an avid volunteer for this program since its inception, sharing her great love of nature with hundreds of people of all ages. Ann helped to create a children’s nature page in the County Parks publication, Images, which is still a regular feature of the journal today. She also co-authored a delightful publication entitled, “The Wildwatch Book,” which contains a wealth of children’s activities for exploring the Front Range.
Our paths crossed again when I worked for Boulder Mountain Parks, when Ann accepted a position as receptionist/naturalist at the Chautauqua Park Ranger Cottage in 1987. With her warm, welcoming smile, Ann provided answers to myriad questions about the Park and its resources. She was just as comfortable leading kindergarteners on a nature hike as she was assisting the rangers with Park emergencies. And her gentle, inspirational personality made her a truly gifted teacher. Her excitement about Boulder’s ecosystems was infectious, and I have no doubt that there are many who can trace their love for nature, perhaps even their decision to become a biologist or interpreter, to a long-ago hike led by Ann Armstrong.
Ann’s love for native plants led her to create the Native Plant Garden at the Ranger Cottage, which has provided enjoyment and education for hundreds of thousands of visitors. Ann’s later years were spent working as a Plant Ecologist for the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department, and her personal stamp is on several cutting edge projects, including the Forest Ecosystem Plan and Vegetation Monitoring Projects. Her work has helped to shape the ongoing treatments presently being used to restore the beautiful parks and open space areas that she so loved.
Following her death in 2004, Ann’s children honored her life-long passion for Colorado’s native flora and ecology by setting up a scholarship at CSU to inspire and inform the next generations of local naturalists and conservationists.
Ann was a multi-talented professional, and a kind and loving friend. She had a passion for nature, for education, and for people. She touched many lives, many hearts, and many garden trowels, and Boulder is a better place because of Ann.
_______________________________________________________
(The following came from Aquilegia, the publication of the Colorado Native Plant Society)
Ann Armstrong, plant ecologist for the city of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, passed away December 1, 2004. Ann's career included a degree in Horticulture from CSU, a Master's degree in Museum Studies at CU, and a volunteer naturalist position for Boulder County Parks and Open Space.
Much of Ann's life was spent learning about horticulture, native plants, plant communities, wildlife and the ecology of Colorado Front Range ecosystems. Her love for learning was matched by her love for teaching. Ann could transform her knowledge into a form that inspired and captured the interest of those around her. Her co-workers admired and benefited from her wonderful blend of accomplished naturalist, botanist, ecologist and teacher.
Combining the role of scientist and natural area manager very successfully, Ann conducted all of her work thoroughly and with professional integrity. She frequently worked long hours in the office and field to develop and implement an innovative, cutting-edge forest restoration program. While she had great passion for learning about and protecting the rarest and most sensitive plant communities and wildlife habitat, Ann also felt strongly that the relationship between people and nature was important. This was evident in all that she did, from mentoring young people as they were getting started in ecology, botany, and natural area management, to co-authoring two children's natural history publications.
Ann's passion for the natural world and its protection was contagious. Those who knew Ann agree that she was a generous, loving and genuine person with such a young spirit that touched their lives and inspired them to become better people. If there were more like her in the world, what a different place it would be! Ann Armstrong will be missed, but not forgotten by her family, friends and colleagues who were lucky enough to share her life. Goodbye to a beautiful radiant soul. May there be fields of flowers for you in heaven.
Carol Kampert, Lynn Riedel, Jennifer Sherry & Laine Johnson
