Ann McGovern is the Consumer Waste Reduction Coordinator and composting outreach specialist for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). She coordinates Massachusetts' home composting education program and compost bin grant program, through which over 110,000 compost bins have been distributed to the public. She has taught the composting session for the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) Organic Landcare Certification Course since 2003, and for the Mass. Horticultural Society’s Master Gardener Training program since 1994. In March 2005, the PBS show “Ask This Old House” featured Ann as guest expert in a home composting segment.

Ann became a NOFA-certified Organic Landcare Professional in 2003. She is an avid gardener and enjoys opportunities to share information that helps our environment and our gardens. Ann cowrote the Ecological Landscaping Association’s “Guide to Healthy Landscapes, Vol.. 1, From the Ground Up: Site and Soil Preparation,” May 2003.

In 2004, DEP launched a “Healthy Lawns and Landscapes” public education program. Communities across the Commonwealth apply for a technical assistance grant through DEP’s recycling grant program. Through this program, Ann provides workshops to teach the public how to have beautiful yards without using chemicals that may harm children, pets and the environment. By developing healthy soil, choosing plants that are appropriate for our site conditions and following some basic guidelines in caring for them, we can have rewarding, attractive landscapes that contribute to the health of our families, neighbors, pets, wildlife and water quality.

Ann also provides technical assistance for municipal composting operations and manages DEP’s Green Team school recycling program. Ann is a graduate of the University of Vermont in Environmental Studies and has done postgraduate work in Soil Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has worked for DEP since 1989.

Ann McGovern
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Waste Prevention
One Winter Street, 7th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 292-5834 Tel
(617) 292-5832 fax
Email: ann.mcgovern@state.ma.us