The Botanic Borer.

Pretty much every summer, I make a pilgrimage (or two) to the Denver Botanic Gardens. This place is ripe with natural inspiration for all the awesome organic food brands I get to work on. Plus, my visits there remind me of the importance of preserving our planet. Neato.

On my most recent horticultural walkabout, I overheard a conversation that made me downright giddy. A family was reading a placard that was placed in front of a large-and-in-charge emerald ash tree, and the mom uttered the words, “Be a smart ash. Oh, ha. I get it.” “Damn right, you do!” I thought, but didn’t say (because apparently I’m just a silent eavesdropper, not verbal one).

My Keds immediately gunned it straight back to ‘dat ash, and I saw that it was wrapped with the campaign messaging I created last year on behalf of the Denver Mayor’s office. I felt like a fly on the wall—or a bee on the blossom—as I listened to the family talk about the campaign and get all educated and stuff on the emerald ash borer situation. It made me so proud to know that my work was making a difference, and even more so, that some 7-year-old kid thought I was “funny.”

The Be a Smart Ash campaign continues to make its mark across the Mile High City, and I thank Kazia Jankowski for bringing me onto the project alongside GroundFloor Media. Even kick-ashier, the campaign was recently featured in The Denver Post, and you can check out the article right here.