movingtomaine

With the birth of our twins last October, it became clear to Melissa and I that it's time for some big changes. Life
with three small children is challenging enough, but with my crazy schedule and Melissa's full-time job with the
Massachusetts natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program it just about put us over the top. Quite
fortuitously, I have been invited to jointhe staff at the new Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay, Maine. It is
a wonderful place with about 250 acres of land and a mile of waterfront on the BoothbayPenninsula about an hour's
drive north of Portland. Officially open only a year, the staff has made incredible progress toward our goal of
creating a truely world-class botanical garden in a very unique and special place. I will be joining the staff as
Curator, overseeing the horticulture department, developing gardens and collections and masterplanning for
additional projects such as a nursery operation, children's garden and a greatly expanded native plant garden. I feel
very fortunate to come "in on the ground floor" to help guide and develop the gardens and organization. It will be
sad to leave the New England Wild Flower Society after 13 years but I am very proud of what we have accomplished
there in that time. I have been contracted by NEWFS to write for the magazine and website as well as teach some
courses both in Maine and Massachusetts so I will still have some presence at the oranization that I owe so much
to for the opportunities I have had in my tenure there. If you told me 15 years ago that by now I would have
completed 5 books, countless articles and would be spending 1/3 of my time travelling around North America giving
lectures and teaching classes I would have thought you were completely out of your head. For this I give the staff,
trustees, and members of NEWFS a hearty and heartfelt thanks!Because of the responsibilities associated with my
new position I will have to curtail lectures somewhat, but I am still available for talks if you care to inquire.

I will also be developing some lectures and courses at
CMBG in the near future. We will be heading north
in mid June and will likely find a temporary rental to
give us time to get to know the area before buying,
and I will update my address on the contacts page. You
can also still reach me via info@williamcullina.com.
Melissa is going to take the summer off to spend time
with the kids and after that will be consuting and
working part time with a great deal more flexibility
than she has now. I know she is very sad to leave her
job as state botanist as well, but she is also grateful to
have the chance to spend more time with Laim and
the twins. As we all know, they grow up so fast... We
are looking forward to our new adventures in Melissa's
home state and I hope that you will stop by and visit
the Garden if you are ever near Boothbay (it is about
45 minutes from LL Bean in Freeport and the area is
awash with things to do and see.