INSTRUCTORS
All instructors for the Garden Campus program are top professionals in their field. Instructors may be substituted without prior notice. Bok Tower Gardens makes every effort to inform of changes.
Nick Baker, director of horticulture at Bok Tower Gardens, received his bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Oklahoma State University. He has worked as a gardener for the studio gardens of the regional PBS show ‘Oklahoma Gardening’ in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and also as an intern for Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida. Most recently he worked as an arborist for a tree care company in Kansas City, Kansas.
Paul Fellers is a self-taught naturalist who resides in Winter Haven. Fellers earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, a master’s from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in food science and technology from Michigan State University. A research scientist with the Florida Department of Citrus for 31 years, Fellers now stays busy with the things he loves most. He frequently leads excursions into Florida’s natural areas, presents lectures about Florida’s birds and wildflowers and performs frequent bird counts with local Audubon chapters.
Cathy Cranford Futral is both an artist and educator. She has been an art and humanities professor at South Florida Community College since 1996. She studied at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina and earned a bachelor’s degree in art with a concentration on painting. Futral later earned a master’s degree in fine arts with a concentration on studio art from the University in North Carolina at Greensboro. Her second master’s degree is in art education from Florida State University. During the past ten years, she has studied with renowned watercolor artists such as Alex Powers, Miles Batts and Catherine Lui. Futral’s nearly 30-year career as an art instructor spans the elementary to university levels. Her professional accomplishments as an artist include gallery and art shows too numerous to list. She has garnered a respectful number of awards ranging from honorable mention to first place. Futral’s watercolors are part of a duo exhibit with Tom Freeman called “Reflections of the Ridge” at Bok Tower Gardens from October 4 through November 30, 2003.
Ann Norton, a long-time Lake Wales resident, taught art for all ages for 40 years in Polk county secondary schools, Webber International University and Warner Southern College. She earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Texas and a master’s in education from the University of South Florida. Norton participated in numerous art workshops and seminars including Arrowmont School of the Arts in Tennessee where she studied Japanese raku and American Indian pit-firing methods. She works in several mediums including clay and watercolor. Norton is a board member of the Lake Wales Arts Council and on the Lake Wales Art Show review committee.
David Price, president of Bok Tower Gardens is a graduate of Clemson University with a bachelor’s degree in botany. Prior to joining Bok Tower Gardens, he was the garden manager at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, S. C. His travels include Tunisia, North Africa, where he served in the Peace Corps, Spain and Italy as well as visits to numerous historic and botanical gardens throughout the United States and England. Price also is an accomplished sculptor whose art is in a permanent exhibition in the Visitor Center. He is a sought-after speaker on gardening, horticulture and environmental issues and past president of the Green Horizon Land Trust.
Pirjo H. Restina, curator of education at Bok Tower Gardens, grew up and was educated in Helsinki, Finland, where she earned a degree in business administration and commerce. She has worked at the Sanctuary since 1986 and has more than eight years experience in designing, planning, facilitating and teaching classes, workshops, excursions and educational tours covering a wide variety of topics. She started and implemented the Young Naturalist children’s programs and summer camps, Earth Day celebration, Iron Mountain Storytelling Festival and Live at the Gardens summer music series. She also gave birth to the Gardens' changing art exhibits. Her many involvements with the cultural community include a 10-year tenure as a board member of the Lake Wales Arts Council; judging The Ledger’s Silver Garland Awards in 2000, 2001 and 2002; judging Cypress Gardens’ annual Small Works Show in 2001 as well as the 2002 Annual Sebring Art Show. Restina is a board member of the Ridge Arts Association in Winter Haven.
