In this episode of the Oak Spring Podcast Chris has conversations with Charlotte Lorick and Kandis (Kandy) Phillips about abundant bird populations at Oak Spring. Charlotte discusses Oak Spring's practices and the successes Oak Spring has had with a certain bird populations including bobolinks, kestrels and more. Kandy talks about her artist residency at Oak Spring, and the time she spent walking through the fields observing, painting and drawing birds. 

Charlotte Lorick is Head of Biodiversity Conservation at OSGF. She specializes in conservation land stewardship, ecological restoration and plant community ecology. She has worked for over a decade exploring human relationships with the land, developing conservation research and educational programs, and implementing regenerative land stewardship strategies that promote resilient ecosystems and biodiversity. Her work integrates science, art, humanities, and community outreach to inspire conservation action on public and private land. Ecology and plants are central to both Charlotte’s personal and professional life. Outside of work, you will find her immersed in the wonders of plants and the outdoors in other ways including foraging, nutrition, fiber arts, hiking, canoeing, gardening, and herbalism.

Kandis Vermeer Phillips is a metalpoint and watercolor artist, and has exhibited widely. She is a recipient of a Botanical Artist in Residency award and several Perennial Alumni Residency awards at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, and a Julius I Brown Award for her project, Poetry in Silver: The Language of Flowers in the Works of Emily Dickinson. Her work is included in the collections of The Archives of Falconry, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, The British Museum, The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, The National Gallery of Art, The National Museum of Natural History, The Oak Spring Garden Foundation, The Woodson Museum and numerous private collections.

Her work is included in the recently published Botanical Art Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide, and Silverpoint and Metalpoint Drawing: A Complete guide to the Medium. A number of her Residency inspired pieces are in the show “Oak Spring: A Place to Grow” at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Upperville, VA. Her illustration of the Northern Cardinal was selected by the United States Postal Service for their stamped envelope formats, released in 2023.