Specialty:
Sipper orchids, nutrition
Presentation Topics:
- Paphiopedilum species
- Nutrition
Specialty:
Sipper orchids, nutrition
Presentation Topics:
Providing Plants for Sale: No
Remuneration: Speaker’s Fee and Travel Expenses
Restrictions: Available after May 2021
Online Presentations: Yes
Biography
From the age of five, Rick has been figuring out how to culture oddball organisms, and after graduating from UC Irvine became a herpetologist and aquarist for the Oklahoma City zoo. After leaving the zoo biz in 1995, Rick became an environmental toxicologist for Ramboll, where he is a managing scientist for the aquatic toxicology division of the Nashville, Tennessee office. He has focused on salt (in particular potassium) toxicity issues since 2005. His wife, Robin, rekindled his love of orchids in 2001, and he has since been passionately pursuing the study of species orchid culture, breeding, and conservation. He is an active and past office holder of the Orchid Society of Middle Tennessee and a contributor on the SlipperTalk orchid forum. Slipper orchids are his favorite, but it took almost 10 years before he “got it right” to the point where he is achieving AOS awards with his favorite flowers. Besides slippers Rick also keeps an extensive collection of species Bulbophyllums and Phalaenopsis.