May Theilgaard Watts

May Theilgaard Watts was an esteemed naturalist and celebrated ecologist, as well as a writer, poet, illustrator, and educator. She served as a naturalist at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. She taught natural history classes and shared the stories written on the land by wind, rain, and fire; by animals and plants; by time; and by history. In 1963, she was credited with proposing a plan that would ultimately become the national rails-to-trails program. She was the author of such books...See more

May Theilgaard Watts was an esteemed naturalist and celebrated ecologist, as well as a writer, poet, illustrator, and educator. She served as a naturalist at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. She taught natural history classes and shared the stories written on the land by wind, rain, and fire; by animals and plants; by time; and by history. In 1963, she was credited with proposing a plan that would ultimately become the national rails-to-trails program. She was the author of such books as Reading the Landscape of America, Flower Finder, and Tree Finder, which has exceeded 150,000 copies sold. May passed away in 1975. See less