The Naturalist-in-Residence Program
Encourage our community to explore, learn, and reflect upon our natural world and their place in it, through the guiding vision of an experienced or emerging local naturalist.
The 2023 Naturalist-in-Residence
![Qwantese Dourese Winters Madison Public Library Naturalist-in-Residence 2023](https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/sites/www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/files/styles/full_width/public/media/Qwantese%20Dourese%20Winters%20Madison%20Public%20Library%20Naturalist-in-Residence%202023.png?itok=Vzq8jrs5)
Qwantese Dourese Winters is a doula, writer, agriculturist, and mixed media artist based in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work is centered around inspiring black folks to connect with the land, and heal from land-based trauma through the use of joyful engagement with nature, and land practices. With a deep appreciation for food sovereignty, and agriculture Qwantese incorporates these elements into her doula practice, earning her the moniker The Food Doula. You may also know Qwantese from PBS Wisconsin’s Let’s Grow Stuff program, where she appears regularly to help folks learn to grow their own vegetables, herbs and other good stuff. From empowering mothers to connect with the land through nourishing foodways, teaching adults how to grow their own food, or showing children how to make the perfect mud pie, her diverse skill set and unique approach aims to create a positive impact in the Madison area and beyond. Qwantese believes that nature and its bounty are for everyone to enjoy and aims to give marginalized people the tools to dissolve years of exclusion and barriers to the outdoors in order to get outside and fall in love with nature just as she did.