Deb Larson, Sunnyhill Drive, along with fellow Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy board member Louanne Baily heads the invasives task force, a group of volunteers who meet 9 a.m. to noon, the third Saturday of the month between March and November, to rid Bird Park of  plants that threaten to take it over. She is a RiverQuest educator at Carnegie Science Center, where she teaches children about river ecology and water chemistry.

INSPIRATION: The native woods in Pennsylvania are beautiful and diverse. I spent much of my youth in the woods [in rural Derry, Pennsylvania] There is a certain ugliness that results when invasive plants blanket an area and smother or force out other plants.

BEST TOOLS: Heavy-duty loppers, and good gloves to protect your hands from many things, including the accidental misuse of the loppers.

TIP: After a task force Saturday, I treat sore muscles to a hot shower, ice, rest and, if need be, ibuprofen.

LAST SPLURGE: Picture frames for an amazing giant moth my daughter received that needed protection (it may be a giant silkworm moth) and a rubbing of an English knight that my husband did in college. I chose to frame it against his better judgment.

THEME SONG: “Take on Me” by Aha. I want to dance when I hear it.

NEXT BOOK: I’m looking forward to Terry Pratchett’s next book. Underneath the humor is biting satire of the human condition. And I’d love to read another novel by local author Meredith Mileti.

TIME TRAVEL: I am fascinated by geology and the alterations to water and land over time. I like to go back over the last 400 million years and see how the land and waters of this region has changed. Then maybe, just maybe, I would go forward into the next 400 million years to see what is in store.

—M.A.Jackson
Photo by Martha Rial