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(Our Guiding Inspiration)
Artwork from the Florida Gulf Coast University - Food Forest
Forged by the Forest
Quentin and Sage Rickert are the proud owners of Three Springs Native Nursery in Clintonville, WI. Two years ago in 2023, we were blessed to have found a small but mighty remnant fen/woodland to call our own. Lucky for us, this wonderful forest also contained 3 fresh flowing springs, thus the name. To date we have identified over 220+ native trees, grasses, forbs, etc. across our 4.5 acres along with over a dozen 200+ year old Bur Oak trees. (In the future, we wish to develop a learning center based around our unique remnant ecosystem.)
Then last year we found our first home, a little log cabin paradise right down the road from our forest. Things were just meant to be as life began to take root in our new community of Clintonville. As we continue to grow into our new place in life, we look forward to sharing our passion for native plants and all things nature with all who cross our path.
Our mission is to increase the local knowledge and awareness of the beneficial role which native plants serve in our ecosystem. While also expanding our surrounding communities access to truly local, native plants.
Quentin
After spending 6 years at UW-Stevens Point, I graduated with a double major in History and Broad Field Social Studies along with teaching licenses for 6th-12th grade History, Politics, Psychology, Sociology, and Geography. My teaching experiences led me to work with High Marq Environmental Charter School, EEA Charter School, HOPE Fidelis Christian School, and Messmer Catholic High School. During my time working with High Marq, I fell in love with outdoor education and the profound benefits that students can receive when truly engaged in God’s finest classroom - - The Outdoors!!
A side chapter in my life led me down the path of landscaping throughout the Fox Valley Area between 2021-2024. I learned all the things necessary to create beautiful landscapes which were ecological nightmares lined with hydrangeas, day lilies, barberry, boxwood, and all the other exotic landscape plants you might find at big box stores. From private residences on Lake Winnebago to the large apartment complexes of Versatile Management, I began to see the major issues that our landscapes face when we work against nature rather than with nature and the native elements that we have all around us.
Since 2020, my dream has been to create an educational space to share my passion for outdoor education, the process of learning, and the many benefits that come from working with nature. After purchasing the land that is now Three Springs Native Nursery in the fall of 2023, I envisioned using various principles from within the Permaculture community to help develop a Food Forest which would serve as a community learning center.
The first step in the Permaculture process was to ‘Observe’ the small wooded property in order to understand what the land truly needed. Through a Permaculture lens, I was fully aware of the interconnected nature of our ecosystem and the idea that there were symbiotic relationships between various plants, animals, and soil organisms. Yet, it wasn’t until I started to observe and document the plants on my property that I truly understood the key role that in-tact native plant communities have in regulating a well-balanced ecosystem. Over the course of the next year, I quickly learned that my small 4.5 acre woods was so much more than simply a wooded lot on the edge of town. From the old growth Bur Oak trees to the 200+ species of forbs, grasses, sedges, and ferns, I began to understand the ecological importance which this small parcel of woods had played for centuries before it came into my ownership.
In the fall of 2024 Sage and I were lucky enough to buy a home only a few minutes away from our magical little woodland, and it became clear that the best way to honor the forest would be by helping it continue to regenerate. Decades of neglect had allowed several invasive species (Alder Buckthorn, Chinese Miscanthus Grass + Japanese Knotweed) to take hold and have now subsequently become my main targets for control and eradication. Over the course of time, we will continue to refine the pathways throughout our forest in an effort to allow community members to experience one of the most diverse ecosystems our area has to offer.
My appreciation for the beneficial impacts of our home landscaping combined with my passions for education, outdoor learning, and native plants has led me to opening up Three Springs Native Nursery. Through the power of plants I hope to inspire, educate, and provide support to our surrounding communities as we attempt ‘to bring nature home’ as Doug Tallamy would say. I look forward to working with our local retail nurseries, community members, students, and any other organization that share a similar passion for helping to conserve our natural environments.
Story
Sage
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