Michelle began volunteering with Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (LWC)  in July 2024 and has quickly become a dedicated steward of the Harrison Street Meadow, a native plant restoration site near downtown Leesburg. Her enthusiasm, care and curiosity about native plants have helped maintain and transform this space into a thriving pollinator haven.

Michelle Menke

When Michelle and her family moved from Herndon to Leesburg in November 2021, she brought along a growing passion for native plants. Once they settled in, she developed a love for native plant gardening and began cultivating a small garden in their new Leesburg yard. It was a blank canvas at first, and she was excited to start planting native flowers. However, space was limited and after a couple of seasons, things started to get crowded.

“During a family outing, I stumbled upon Harrison Street Meadow and noticed a sign from Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy,” she recalls. Curious, she reached out to see whether she might relocate some of her native plants there. With a green light from LWC, she began transplanting in fall 2024.

Not long after, she learned that invasive grasses had taken over much of the area, and more volunteer restoration work was needed to assist with the native plants’ survival. Rather than be discouraged, Michelle dug back in. She moved her plants to the central section earmarked for restoration and joined LWC’s volunteer efforts to help reclaim the site.

By that time, Michelle had joined the volunteer email list and started helping with cleanup efforts including cutting back invasive plants and laying down cardboard and leaf mulch to help suppress non-native grasses and other invasive plants. “Since then, I’ve enjoyed visiting a few times a month to move plants, weed and water,” she says. “It’s become one of my happy places, and I’m thrilled to see this dream slowly turning into reality.”
Michelle’s love for nature began long before her gardening days.

“My first love was butterflies,” she says. “When I was little, my Grammy had a flower garden where I used to catch butterflies. Thinking back, she probably just had a couple of flowers, but to me it felt like a gigantic magical place. I’ve always loved that butterflies are a symbol of transformation and hope.”

When she’s not tending the garden plot, you might find Michelle exploring another favorite spot, Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, where she enjoys the peaceful trails and abundant wildlife.

Thank you, Michelle, for sharing your passion for native plants and for all the time and care you’ve poured into making Leesburg a little wilder!

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