Matthew Gaston
Botanist
Matthew Gaston is a plant biologist and educator. HIs passion for plants and helping folks learn about them began when he was in third grade, while at the San Antonio Botanical Garden Summer Camp. From there, he was hooked on plants. He attended the University of California, Berkeley where he studied Genetics, Plant Biology, and Science & Math Education. He then worked in archaeology, forestry, and microbiology labs as well as teaching science to various K-12 classrooms throughout the San Francisco Bay area. He received his PhD from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, where he was the Tropical Plant & Soil Science Department Teaching Assistant for Horticulture, Seed Science, & Plant Physiology. Now, Matthew is the Director of Education at Zilker Botanical Garden, where he creates lessons and activities, and leads school groups and organize educational programming.
Outside of his rich knowledge of botany, Matthew Gaston is a character made for the screen. With a deep, booming voice and natural inclination for theatrics, Matthew is highly watchable, and utterly fantastic.