Matthew Candeias has joined the Huntsville Botanical Garden as Curator of Living Collections. In addition to his Ph.D. in Community Ecology, Matt brings with him extensive experience in plant taxonomy and identification, habitat restoration and research, and a passion for science communication in botany and ecology to diverse audiences. His internationally acclaimed podcast, In Defense of Plants, has over 300,000 subscribers and inspired his book In Defense of Plants: An exploration into the Wonder of Plants published in 2021. As a member of the Garden’s Plant Conservation and Curation team, he provides vision, direction, and management of living collections to enhance scientific value to better support research, educational activities, and conservation initiatives.