WNY LIFE COACHING ASSOCIATE
KEN PARKER: Native American Plant & Horticultural Coach; Musician
KEN PARKER is a passionate indigenous horticulturalist with strong ties to Mother Earth and Native cultures. Ken has spent decades of his life devoted to growing, installing, teaching and promoting indigenous plants of North America to thousands of Natives and non-Natives.
“It is my goal to restore the wisdom from our Elders as to the many uses of each plant and their relationship to the environment. The revival of this knowledge is as important as the cultivation and harvest of the plants.”
Ken literally has 'roots' in the indigenous plant market. As a Seneca native, he is committed to preserving Native North American culture by promoting the use of Native plants from a pure perspective. Ken has proactively participated in various environmental projects, including conservation, restoration, corporate landscaping, education, marketing and consulting throughout the United States and Canada over the past twenty plus years.
Ken’s vast knowledge of Native plants has led to the development of numerous Native American horticultural programs, workshops and lecture series, including the Mohawks of St. Regis, NY and the Iroquois of the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Canada. In recent years he has presented for the Seminoles of Florida, the Pueblos of New Mexico, the Intertribal Native Nursery Council and US Forestry Department.
Ken Parker is currently the Native Plant Consultant and Project Director of the Haundenosaunee Community FOOD IS OUR MEDICINE Project, a collaboration of the Seneca Nation of Indians and the Seneca Diabetes Foundation.
Ken’s vision is to have all Native communities learn and experience the gift of health by growing their own gardens, participating in ongoing community horticultural events, learning sacred traditions directly from the Elders and fostering the cultural education of the children for seven generations.
www.nativefoodnetwork.com. He is the creator of the Food is Our Medicine - Healthy First Nations program: www.foodisourmedicine.org.