Biography | Biography |
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Hi, my name is Jeff Rugg and in July of 1990, I was asked to supervise the gathering of articles by fellow garden center employees so that they could be used by newspapers in the six Illinois communities the company I worked for had offices in. When the first deadline approached in August, and no one had written an article it became my duty to supply an article. After much prodding in the company newsletter and many phone calls to the other offices, I found that no one wanted to write. So, it became my duty to write the articles.
Teaching people about nature has been a common thread in my life. When I was a Boy Scout Camp Counselor, I took on the responsibility of learning and teaching the merit badges that the other scouts did not want to teach. I still do occasional teaching at seminars and classes, but mainly I reach a larger audience through writing. Most of you will come to this web site because of the A Greener View newspaper articles, but I hope you will also check out the other articles I have written. I have lots of "wall paper" that sits on a closet shelf. I have an associate degree in science, a bachelor's degree in zoology, a bachelor's degree in plant and soil science and a master's degree in landscape architecture. I thought if I got enough degrees, I could be a thermometer. I have been a Registered Landscape Architect in Texas and a Registered Landscape Architect in Illinois. Besides certain required levels of education and experience, registration also involves a two day long "Bar Exam" test. After meeting more levels of experience and education, I have also become a full member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. I have been an Illinois Certified Nursery Professional. an internationally Certified Arborist, a Certified Pesticide Applicator and other things, all amounting to tests, tests and more tests. I do like using my many interests to help others learn about natural and not-so-natural landscape. I have managed garden centers in Texas and Illinois and owned a water garden and wild bird, nature store in Illinois. I have written more than 50 magazine articles and my photographs have been published in 'Pond Keeper', 'Water Garden Magazine', 'Landscape Architect and Specifier News', 'Landscape Contractor Magazine', 'Pet Product News', 'Ponds USA', 'American Nurseryman', 'Water Shapes' and other publications. I have a strong background in many areas of the landscape and gardening fields. In the Landscape Architecture field, I have worked on land planning projects designing subdivisions involving many acres of land and I have done more than a million dollars worth of small design-build projects that averaged just a few hundred or thousand dollars each. In Landscape Management, I have been the guy behind the mower and the guy responsible for an entire company of crews working on commercial and residential projects. As an Arborist, I managed crews who did the tree climbing and pruning. I have been responsible for three retail garden center stores; including my own store that sold wild bird, water garden and nature products. I have helped write and photograph catalogs, brochures and flyers for several companies.
With Jason James and Gary Wittstock, I have applied for a patent on the Endless Cascades biological waterfall filter. |