B.S. Environmental Horticulture - Texas A & M University

Forest is the president of Beeman’s Nursery and co-founder of Beemats. Over the past 22 years, he has produced a wide variety of native grasses, shrubs and aquatic plants for use in Florida landscapes, restoration projects, and along miles of dunes, pond banks and estuarine shorelines. He has researched plant selections for utilization in Beemats Floating Wetlands that led to enhanced nutrient removal efficiencies in freshwater and salt affected stormwater ponds.

M.S. Marine Biology - University of Hawaii

Steve has worked with native Florida plant communities for 48 years, first as a field biologist for the State of Florida, then as the founder of Ecoshores, Inc., planting over 2,500 acres of native habitat. In 2000, he started Beeman’s Nursery with his son, Forest, and they developed and patented Beemats Floating Wetlands in 2009. He has authored several papers related to coastal ecosystems, native plants and floating treatment wetlands. ​