Rotary District Environment Committee and ESRAG Chair

Dr. Christopher Puttock is an environmental scientist and botanist with more than 35 years’ experience in environmental conservation. In addition to his role as Executive Director of Chesapeake Natives, he is a research associate in the Botany Department at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Puttock has led many outreach programs for greater community awareness of the consequences of human interruption to the natural environment.

As a conservation scientist, he is convinced that without the effective implementation of outreach strategies to coordinate sustainable use of natural resources and to preserve the world’s ecosystems, the welfare of humanity and all the Earth’s biodiversity will continue to suffer irreparable degradation. Through his work with Chesapeake Natives, he preserves, propagates and promotes plants native to the Chesapeake watershed. Native seeds are gathered and grown by volunteers on the grounds and in the historic greenhouses of Mt. Airy Mansion in Rosaryville State Park, MD.

Dr. Puttock has been President of the Botanical Society of Washington, and a board member of the Maryland Native Plant Society and the Hawaii Conservation Alliance Foundation. Prior to that, he lived in Australia for 34 years as a botanist and writer for Flora of Australia. He was born in England. Dr. Puttock holds a doctorate in plant systematics and a diploma in science education, with many years of fieldwork and research experience in biodiversity, staff supervision and educational outreach.