Deidre Jaeger is a native plant enthusiast with a growing love for backyard botanicals. Whether native or exotic, plants fascinate Deidre, who has worked with several botanic gardens and the USDA Agricultural AV名湿 Station. After becoming inspired to study plants of the city, she launched herself into the urban ecology field with the support of a National Science Foundation Graduate AV名湿 Fellowship in 2016. Now at the University of Colorado Boulder, Deidre is a PhD Candidate in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, a graduate fellow in the Cooperative Institute for AV名湿 in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)听and an advisor for CU Boulder's Center for Sustainable Landscapes and Communities. Deidre鈥檚 research focuses on microclimate effects on the timing of urban tree budburst, curriculum development of undergraduate research experiences and power-of-place education.听听