URBAN AGRICULTURE | portfolio

I've been at the forefront of San Francisco’s urban agriculture movement I came to San Francisco in the 1990's have worked and volunteered in many of the City's premier urban farms and gardens.

In 2009 I took advantage of being laid off from my landscape architecture career and studied Bay Area ecology, agriculture and permaculture, a system of design based on natural ecosystems. I broadened my experience by working with Greywater Action and learned to install residential laundry to landscape systems, to reuse greywater from washing machines.

Not long after becoming a certified permaculture desinger, I founded Kitchen Garden SF (KGSF) with a small group of permaculture designers to provide a “permablitz” model in San Francisco, where friends, neighbors and volunteers come together and install a kitchen garden in one day. Featured in 7X7 magazine, KGSF installed 12 edible gardens in San Francisco using shared and recycled materials and volunteer labor.

On October 10, 2010 - 10/10/10 - I led a team in organizing a day of bike tours, workshops, music, and urban farming materials with Hayes Valley Farm as a part of 350.org's global day of action. San Francisco was one of over 7,000 work parties held in 188 countries around the world as a call to action to battle climate change.

I developed the curriculum for edible gardening classes, and Kitchen Garden SF received funding for 3 years for a series of 10 classes for San Francisco Veterans Administration staff and additional funding for a series of classes with VA patients. I coordinated a small team of permaculture designers and developed the ciriculem that included classes on garden design, building soil, integrated pest management and composting.

My knowledge of local ecology, particularly soils and hydrology, provides the base for my design and installation of healthy, vibrant gardens that include edible plants, perenials and native plants.

In November 2013 I attended the 11th International Permaculture Convergence in Cuba. Over 2 weeks I attended sessions with permaculture designers from all over the world and visited urban and rural permaculture farms throughout Cuba. See more of my photos here.

Accomplishments

Coordinate and supervise edible garden installations in backyards and vacant lots with a focus on using recycled materials, volunteer labor and edible plants that thrive in San Francisco's microclimates.
Developed and taught a series of 10 classes on edible gardening, including design, soil building, worm composting, integrated pest management and appropriate vegetables and fruit trees for San Francisco.
Coordinated a citywide event with 350.org and hundreds of volunters on 10/10/10 at Hayes Valley Farm to encourage San Franciscans to grow edible plants and bring attention to climate change.