Steve

Permaculture Expert – Earthkeeper Landscaping

Steven blends his studies in Environmental Science with his passion for making a change in the world, one yard at a time. He grew up in the Florida Keys with a passion for plants and worked landscaping jobs during the summers. After college he moved to Portland and began growing as many vegetables as he could into his yard in the SE . He decided Punta Mona Center for Sustainable Living would be the best place to learn how to grow food and work with sustainable systems, including composting toilets, and rainwater collection systems. There he was able to educate himself by working with knowledgeable people on real projects. After a year of hard work in the jungle with mosquitos, posinous snakes, and big cats, he took and internship at Lost Valley Education Center under the Land Steward, Rick Valley, to learn how permaculture is done here in the Willamette Valley. He moved back to Portland after a year at Lost Valley, to study Landscape Construction and Design at Portland Communtity College. During that time, Steven was hired by Earthkeeper Landscaping.

Steven believes we should be growing “useful plants,” and “when we design landscapes to be useful and serve a purpose they tend to look better, feel better, and the elements in them make more sense.”

Steven lives in and manages the land at an Ecovillage apartment complex in the SE called Schiller Farm. It’s an expanding intentional community with an acre of fruit, berries, and veggies.