Richard W. Halsey loves sharing the magic of Nature, especially when it comes to chaparral, California's most extensive native plant community. He started teaching natural history as a 16-year-old volunteer naturalist at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach, California, enjoyed learning about biology and anthropology in college, then taught high school biology, chemistry, and physics for two decades, leading his students on dozens of wilderness experiences to discover the preciousness of life. Since founding and directing the California Chaparral Institute in 2004, Richard has written a handful of research papers, a couple books, a fair number of editorials, and has given hundreds of presentations, all concerning chaparral ecology and the importance of reestablishing our connection with Nature.