About Good Oak

We took the name “Good Oak” from a chapter in Aldo Leopold's landmark work A Sand County Almanac. In this chapter Leopold narrates the sawing of a dead oak tree for the firewood it will provide to heat his now famous 'shack'. As they saw through each annual growth ring in the massive trunk, he chronicles various historic and conservation events during the year each ring represents.

At Good Oak, our mission is to “To restore ecological health and reestablish native plants to our landscape for the benefit of wildlife and a more sustainable future for humanity.” We have been strongly influenced by Aldo Leopold and his “Land Ethic". So we chose our company name to honor what we feel is the most influential work of conservation literature of the 20th century. We strive to live up to Leopold's ideals and work for positive change.

We are proud members of: The Prairie Enthusiasts, Wild Ones, Green Masters Program, Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin (IPAW), Upper Sugar River Watershed Association, Wisconsin Wetlands Association, and the Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council.

Staff:

Frank Hassler   Owner / Chief Ecologist

Frank has over twenty years of volunteer and professional experience in the fields of ecology and botany. He has earned a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Illinois and an M.S. in Forestry at Northern Arizona University. His passion for restoring natural areas was sparked on a tour of a local prairie in his very first week in college. He was amazed by the beauty and uniqueness of dozens of plants, a whole ecosystem in fact, that he had never seen before. From that moment on Frank has worked towards the preservation, restoration and re-creation of natural areas. As his knowledge of conservation issues grew, he realized that if we are going to maintain the diversity of our wildlife over time that we are going to have go beyond simply conserving our natural areas and also reintegrate native plants and animals into our human landscapes. Frank founded Good Oak in 2008.

Frank can identify over 1,000 species of wild plants. His botanical knowledge gives him a unique understanding of natural communities as well as knowing which plants will thrive and look good in your landscape. His experience in natural areas management ranges from prescribed burning to weed management to prairie installation. He also has experience with erosion control methods and recreational trail construction. His life-long dedication to the environment and social causes bleeds through into the way he lives his life and manages his business. Frank is also an avid cyclist, so don't be surprised if he shows up to a site visit on his bicycle.

 

Evan Nelson   Senior Ecological Land Manager

Evan grew up in Hingham, a small town outside of Sheboygan. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Crookston with a degree in Natural Resources - Water Resource Management. He was first exposed to restoration while collecting native seed on the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge near Crookston and was further exposed through many classes. While attending school in Crookston, he worked for a local landscaping company and developed an interest in that as well. He hopes to combine these two skills to pursue a career in ecological restoration. Evan joined Good Oak in 2016. When not at work, Evan enjoys hunting, fishing, and kayaking.

 

Raluca Allen   Senior Project Manager

Raluca joined the Good Oak team in early 2018. As a Wisconsin Master Naturalist Instructor, Master Gardener, Permaculture Teacher & Designer and UW Arboretum Restoration Team Leader, Raluca is dedicated to restoring our human relationship to the land as much as to restoring its plant and animal communities. Raluca's professional approach is based on conservation and ecological restoration principles, as well as on adaptive management and traditional ecological knowledge. Raluca holds special affection for pollinator conservation and urban wildlife habitat creation. Raluca loves and enjoys Madison's many natural areas, animals wild and domestic, literature, politics, gardening, learning and volunteering.

 

Tom Egan   Project Manager

Thomas had his passion for the outdoors cultivated during his time in the Boy Scouts, his first brush with landscaping was during his Eagle Scout Project when he planted a Linden tree and installed a reading circle made of downed wood from a recent storm. Native to the suburbs of Chicago, Thomas majored in Environmental Science & Anthropology, with a minor Biology while at Luther College in Decorah Iowa. After graduating in May of 2017 Thomas took an internship with Audubon Great Lakes that following Fall, and a job with Friends of the Forest Preserves later that winter. Tom joined Good Oak in the spring of 2018. He is excited about his recent transplant to Madison and enjoys travel, beer, and boardgames.

 

Connor Hentz   Project Manager

Connor developed a love and passion for the outdoors at a young age while growing up outside of Portage, Wisconsin. During high school and college, he worked at Mirror Lake State Park, where he cultivated a strong appreciation for public land management and the state’s unique and plentiful natural resources. He graduated with a degree from UW Stevens Point in Wildlife Ecology as well as receiving a Wetland Science Certificate. After graduating, he spent some time landscaping and maintaining greenspaces before joining Good Oak in the summer of 2019. Connor continues to enjoy working outside and spending most of his free time fishing, hunting, and hiking public land.

 

Kaylee Nelsen   Assistant Project Manager

Kaylee grew up on a farm in Knapp Wisconsin, spending most of her days wandering the woods spinning epic adventures starring an assortment of flowers as lead roles, collecting edible plants to make barely tolerable family dinners. She first became interested in restoration and native landscaping when her second-grade teacher showed her an article about frogs growing extra limbs because of lawn chemicals. She completed a bachelor degree at the University of Wisconsin River Falls in Field Biology with a Conservation minor, followed by several seasons of ecological field work including: forest composition in Minnesota, Hispanolan woodpeckers in the Dominican Republic, Henslow’s sparrow in Kansas, and Satin bower birds in Australia. She returned to the University of Wisconsin Madison Nelson Institute to complete a Master’s Degree in Environmental Conservation. Outside of work she enjoys native seed collecting, playing dungeons and dragons, board games, attempting to be crafty, and above all else, hanging out with her dog Alfred.

 

Matt Heerema

Matt grew up in Lake Villa Illinois, a Northern suburb of Chicago. During his summers in college, he interned with the Wisconsin DNR working with the Natural Heritage Conservation Program. Matt gained a strong interest in habitat restoration by helping manage Wisconsin’s State Natural Areas, and participating in many rare plant and animal surveys. In the fall of 2020, he worked with UW-Whitewater Sustainability Office leading volunteer prairie seed collections. Matt earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Biology from UW-Whitewater. Before joining the Good Oak team in February 2022, Matt spent a year gaining horticulture experience by working for a local landscaping company. During his free time, Matt enjoys mountain biking, bird watching, fishing, and taking nature walks with friends.

 

Jessica Robyns

Jess grew up on the shore of Lake Superior in Marquette, MI. She discovered her love of native plants when her mom started working at a nature center when she was in middle school. She majored in Biology and Environmental Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, and did her senior project on native bees of Door County. After college, she spent a year in AmeriCorps, serving at the College of the Menominee Nation. After working for a traditional landscaping company for a while, Jess started working with Good Oak in July of 2022. She lives in Verona with her spouse where they enjoy fostering dogs who need homes.

 

Aidan Karlsson

Growing up in Madison, he found passion for ecology through childhood wanderings in the UW-Madison Arboretum and impactful visits to state and national parks. While studying biology and chemistry at UW-La Crosse, he worked in an entomology lab specializing in insect behavior and the intersection of biology and art. Following graduation, he discovered the joys of ecosystem restoration in the wetlands of northern Indiana, collecting seed and planting sedge plugs in peat. He then returned home to Madison and sought out any work he could find in service to the natural communities of the Midwest, eventually bringing him to Good Oak. Outside of work, he enjoys listening to new music, playing board games, and spending time with loved ones.

 

Stephen Van Horne

Stephen has always been fascinated with the natural world from a young age. From watching documentaries like Planet Earth, to exploring the great outdoors, Stephen found himself captivated by the beauty in wildlife that surrounded him. This led him to get a degree in Wildlife Ecology at UW-Stevens Point where he co-led a bobcat research project, studied abroad in Alaska and Costa Rica and interned with the Wisconsin DNR Heritage and Conservation program. After graduating, Stephen's passion for conservation and adventure led him to intern with the Natural Park Service in Bryce Canyon National Park where he worked with a variety of wildlife among the hoodoos. Stephen came back to Wisconsin to marry his high school sweetheart and soon after, joined the Good Oak team. Outside of work, Stephen enjoys traveling with his wife, taking part in many recreational sports, as well as hiking, bird watching and playing with their cat, Peggy Sue.