John Froeschauer, a Ranger with Tennessee State Parks, will present The Tennessee Iris License Plate Program at the Gardening Partners of Dickson County monthly meeting Tuesday, August 12 at 7 p.m. at Tennessee College of Applied Technology, 740 Highway 46, Dickson.

John has a BA in Conservation from Long Island University. He began working with Tennessee State Parks as a Ranger in 1985 at Radnor Lake Natural Area. Since 1989 he has been the Regional Interpretive Specialist for state parks in Middle Tennessee, overseeing the seasonal ranger program, and working with exhibits, events, and resource management projects. He has been overseeing the State Park Iris license plate program since 1996.

Since 1993, receipts from the Environmental State Parks Iris license plate have worked to beautify and improve the landscape and general surroundings in Tennessee State Parks. The license plate is embossed with the Dwarf Crested Iris, the wild native cousin of the cultivated state flower. John’s talk will provide an overview of past and present landscaping projects carried out with program funds as well as important ongoing activities in habitat management and exotic pest plant control.

In the photo John is leading a class at one of the 2013 Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park Junior Ranger Camps, introducing want-to-be rangers to a number of moths and caterpillars.