Driven by the profound awareness of our society’s growing lack of connection to the natural world and food production, Natalie concentrated her university studies on both urban planning and land use law as well as the effects of urban development, food industry demand, and climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems while attaining her bachelors degree in Environmental Studies from UCSB.

After college, these passions led her to complete her Permaculture Design and Green Gardener Certifications and to work professionally in agriculture, horticulture, and arboriculture. Aside from independent garden design, she farmed animals and vegetables in New Zealand, Southern California, and Boston, practiced tree propagation and nursery production at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and – to mix it up a bit – apprenticed on a cob house build at Spirit Pine Sanctuary.

Natalie has also gone deep in the study of permaculture: completing a PDC through the Sustainable Vocations program at Quail Springs, an Advanced Permaculture Design course with Lisa Fernandes at the Resilience Hub in New England, and a Permaculture Teacher Training with Pandora Thomas and Lisa DePiano. She has been teaching at Quail Springs’ PDCs since 2017. The Quail Springs crew is excited about Natalie becoming another powerful female voice leading permaculture forward.