Panelists Include:

Michael Nadeau | CT NOFA Organic Land Care Program Founder

Michael Nadeau is one of the leading authorities in the field of sustainable organic and ethical land care strategies in the United States. He is sought after for creating attractive sustainable and restorative environments using organic practices that respect the ecology of the property and reflect the philosophy of the client. Michael’s organic and sustainable holistic land care approach carefully maximizes wildlife habitat with specific plantings and techniques, improving the overall health of land, water, and wildlife.

He is a co-founder of CT NOFA’s Organic Land Care program, which has educated and accredited nearly 4,000 land care professionals since its inception in 2001. In 1999, Michael helped write the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care to address a national problem: while the term “organic” is clearly defined in terms of food and agriculture, land care and landscaping — an industry with wide-reaching impact on the health of our environment — had no such national definition for the term. The goal was to define what “organic” would mean in the context of professional land care, and to formalize the practice of organic land care so that the public could reliably choose practitioners who meet organic standards. Ultimately, these standards were the basis upon which the coursework for the CT NOFA Organic Land Care Program was developed. He also co-authored the NOFA Organic Lawn and Turf Course Manual, the only 100% organic handbook for the care of athletic fields and home lawns.

To this day, Michael continues to teach courses within the program, lecture throughout the northeast region about organic land care and restorative practices, and offers a variety of organic land care and environmental restoration consulting services. Michael Nadeau has previously been the recipient of the 2008 NOFA Person of the Year Award, 2009 CT Award for Conservation Excellence from New England Wildflower Association, the 2009 Environmental Service Award, the 2010 Hummingbird Environmental Stewardship Award from the Fairfield Organic Farm School, the 2018 NOFA Person of the Year Award, and the 2023 Bill Duesing Living on the Earth Award. Involved in the landscape and tree business since 1968, Michael has continued to remain a pupil of Nature, is a published writer on subjects including ecological, sustainable, and organic land-care topics.

Cynthia Rabinowitz | Soil and Wetland Scientist

Practicing soil and wetland scientist for 44 years and is a Certified Permaculture Design Consultant.

Cynthia was County Agriculture and Community Resource Development Agent for UConn. Cooperative Extension System from 1980-86. She started her wetland consulting business in 1986, continuing until 2018; and owned and operated a commercial greenhouse operation (1986-2001).

She taught in the graduate programs at Southern Connecticut State University (Environmental Design, 2015-2017); The University of New Haven (Environmental Design, 2013); and guest lectured at The Graduate Institute.

Cynthia joined the Northwest Conservation District (NWCD), in 2017 as Executive Director and Soil/Wetland Scientist. NWCD is a non-profit organization serving 34 towns with natural resources and land use issues, agriculture, and sustainability. She recently stepped back from the Executive Director position at NWCD to focus on conservation and education work.