2024 Residency: Find Your Way Back to Nature

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 2024 Naturalist-in-Residence

Booker is a Madison native who has always loved the outdoors. His passion for nature started from a young age when he joined a gardening program at the East Madison Community Center. Gardens and farms have been at the center of many of his experiences since then, either as hobbies or through work. The theme of his residency, Find Your Way Back to Nature, will focus on ways to reconnect with the ecosystems that surround us. Naturalist programs will include nature walks, tea blending, flower arranging, sound baths, and more.

“My goal is to help people hear the messages nature is trying to give them by exploring traditional ways of connecting to the land,” said Booker. “The lessons we learn by observing the natural ecosystem can help people take steps to become the person they want to be in our community ecosystem.”

Over the past four years, Booker has been working in the nonprofit world, focusing on food insecurity and urban agriculture. Currently, he works as the Manager of the Badger Rock Neighborhood Center, where he started out as an Assistant Farm Education Manager growing his skills as a program facilitator for all ages. Alex also spends time cultivating his own agricultural efforts thanks to a collective called Firm Footing Farms located in Black Earth, WI that he's been a member of for the past three years. The couple that owns the farm provide free space to Queer BIPOC farmers so that they can start or learn different agriculture practices. Booker makes the 45 minute drive out to the farm on a weekly basis to take care of 18 chickens, beekeep, and tend his garden plot that includes fruits, wheat, collard greens, herbs, and more. He plans to use some of the items he grows on the farm during programs for the library.

“Growing up in Madison, I’ve been going to the library for as long as I can remember. I have utilized workshops on cooking, arts and crafts activities, etc. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen how our libraries have put an emphasis on natural learning through things like the Seed Library, gardening programs, foraging classes, and more, so I’m excited to add to that knowledge and be a part of the library family,” said Booker. “I have also used books from the library to read and develop on subjects like herbalism, and I’m excited to share some of those titles as part of the Naturalist-in-Residence book list that will be released as part of the residency."

Find Your Way Back to Nature Flyers

Naturalist-in-Residence 2024 Alex Booker Find Your Way Back to Nature posters designed by Lashay the Artist!

2024's theme was Find Your Way Back to Nature, and the limited edition posters were designed by Lashay the Artist! in English, Spanish, and Hmong. Lashay the Artist!, served as the WE READ Bubbler Artist-in-Residence at Meadowridge Library this summer, and worked with Alex to capture a visual that feels familiar and representative of the Midwest.

About the Artist

Lashay the Artist! for Madison Public Library

Lashay The Artist! is a resilient mother of four who embodies the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship. She truly enjoys working with youth and encouraging positive change. Despite the challenges she faces, Lashay's passion for art and entrepreneurial drive propel her forward in life.

As an artist with many facets of lived experience, she channels her emotions and experiences into her work, creating pieces that resonate with others on a profound level. Lashay the Artist! expresses herself through poetry, motivational speaking, and hair styling.

Her entrepreneurial spirit and drive to inspire others shines through in her ability to turn her passion into a thriving business, managing both the demands of motherhood and the responsibilities of running her own enterprise.

Lashay is not just a mother; she is a beacon of strength, an active community liaison, who consistently displays creativity, and determination, while inspiring those around her to pursue their dreams against all odds.