Lunch with a Scientist is an ongoing monthly lecture series at Cedar Creek. Each month, scientists present a general-audience lecture about their work at or related to Cedar Creek and take questions from the audience.
The series has been running since January 2019 as an in-person program. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was shifted online in April 2020, from which point recordings are available. Programs take place on the second Tuesday of each month (11:30am central time), either in-person at Cedar Creek, via zoom, or both. Details about speakers and delivery mode are at
https://cbs.umn.edu/cedarcreek/public-programs/lunch-scientistLandscape Stories, Helen Allison Savanna
Flanagan was introduced to the Helen Allison Savanna, located south of the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, during a tour in 1991 sponsored by The Nature Conservancy and led by Barbara C. Delaney who went on to author Minnesota’s St. Croix River Valley and Anoka Sandplain, A Guide to Native Habitats with Daniel S. Wovcha and Gerda E. Nordquist. She returned to the savanna and began what is now a 34-year-long relationship documenting this unique landscape and its surroundings. Flanagan’s presentation will feature the 19-minute experimental documentary film about the savanna she produced in 2022. She will share the film’s research including a history of the site written especially for the 1991 tour by Dr. Donald B. Lawrence; Barbara Delaney’s plant lists that were a handout; and background on the savanna’s namesake Helen Lowry Allison, known as “Minnesota’s grass lady.”
About the Researcher
Regina M Flanagan, Art • Landscape • Design LLC is a landscape architect, artist, and writer from Saint Paul. She holds master’s degrees in art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota College of Design. She has directed state and municipal public art programs in Wisconsin and Minnesota and managed over 135 projects for diverse clients and communities nationwide. Solo and with others, she has designed and built public spaces, gardens, playgrounds, and streetscapes. Her photography focusing on ecologically significant landscapes has been featured in over 90 exhibitions and collections including the Minnesota Historical Society.