Charles Reith is an ecologist with experience restoring ecological productivity to distressed land and waters. His reforestation and restoration efforts have applied to deserts, wetlands, alpine, and urban circumstances where highly disturbed land required rehabilitation into lands that will harbor wildlife, prevent pollution, and provide other ecological services to the Watershed.
In greater Sarasota, his work has focused on reforesting parks and neighborhoods where turf, which is ecologically barren, can be transformed into fast-growing forest habitats using a combination of Miyawaki planting strategies and permaculture-inspired soil management.
Besides facilitating the planting of high performance microforests along the Suncoast, Charles has worked with communities to improve their landscape management, especially along the boundaries of their retention ponds or nearby natural waterways. Additionally, he serves on the boards of the Atlanta-based Southface Institute, Solutions to Avoid Red Tide (START), and the Sarasota Bay Rotary Club, as well as the Palmer Ranch Master Association and his home community of Mira Lago.
In all of these capacities, he has stressed the importance of establishing throughout the Suncoast the most resilient possible habitats and communities in the face of climate change, including oppressive heat, Inland flooding, and damaging winds. His PhD is from the University of New Mexico, and he has published three books and dozens of technical and popular articles on ecology, climate, and restoration.