Wayne Oliver is a lifelong gardener, Michigan Conservation Steward, Michigan Master Naturalist, and founder of River Bend Gardens, founded July 2017 in the Village of Manchester in Washtenaw County Michigan, fifteen miles southwest of Ann Arbor.

River Bend Gardens is a sixty-five-acre private botanical garden focused on the preservation, restoration, and conservation of native Michigan plant communities. The garden is situated with one half mile of frontage on the River Raisin, and adjacent to the Leonard Preserve to the west and south, a two hundred fifty-nine acre parcel owned by The Nature Conservancy and Washtenaw County Parks.

TSN Conference 2026

• January 22nd, 2026 (Thursday) // 12:50 pm – 1:45 pm // Red Cedar Room // Roundtable Discussion: How to Inspire Private Landowners to Embrace Native Plant Habitats on Their Properties // Inspiring private landowners to landscape with native plants and embrace stewardship of the earth is a challenging task. With two thirds of the land in the United States under private ownership, however, it is a critical one to restore biodiversity and improve overall ecological health. Join four private landowners with extensive experience in habitat restoration and conservation on their properties to discuss lessons learned and how to increase private landowner stewardship on properties of two-500 acres through education, direct engagement, and collaboration. Topics may include: What will motivate landowners? What tools do they need to incorporate native plant landscapes on their property? What resources exist for support? What is the role public entities play in this effort? What are the barriers to success? How can we make efforts easier? Planet, place and people all win when everyone does their part – whether large scale or small.

• January 23rd, 2026 (Friday) // 3:10 pm – 4:10 pm // Room 106 // Citizen Science: Michigan Prairie Chicken Project // We hunted the Prairie Chicken in 82 of 83 Michigan counties into the 1930s. We turned their habitat into tilled land, and we neglected them until they were extirpated from Michigan. From The Birds of Washtenaw County regarding the Pinnated Grouse or Greater Prairie Chicken. “The few historical county records from Washtenaw County were all from Manchester and Sharon Twps. In the southwest corner of the county, the last a bird heard by L. Walkinshaw on 21 May 1940 (Burrows 1954:33).” River Bend Gardens is that ground in Washtenaw County where Manchester Township borders of Sharon Township. After an 82 year absence from Washtenaw County, the Greater Prairie Chicken is back at River Bend Gardens. Learn the Michigan Prairie Chicken Project story from 2017 concept to 2023 proof, from prairie restoration, to the study of grouse husbandry, from building aviaries, to securing permits and acquiring specimens…and sadly the failures along with the success. What’s next?