Ecological Landscape Care and Practice, a Conversation

MHG Meetings

Sponsored By: Metro Hort Group

September Monthly Meeting
Tuesday, September 17, 2024

The Central Park Arsenal
Fifth Avenue and 64th Street
Third floor: The Arsenal Gallery

Doors open for refreshments at 6:00 pm
Meeting begins promptly at 6:30 pm

General meetings are free to Metro Hort members. No reservations are necessary.
Guests are welcome to attend for a $20 contribution

Ecological Landscape Care and Practice, a conversation
Join Metro Hort board members Richard Hayden, Senior Director of Horticulture at the High Line; Shanti Nagel, Owner and Principal of Design Wild; Rashid Poulson, Director of Horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park; and Toshi Yano, Director of Perfect Earth Project, for a wide-ranging discussion about their different approaches to ecological design, management, and education.

Learn about the challenges they face, the successes they're most proud of, and their vision on the state of the industry. After brief introductions and initial remarks, the group will look forward to fielding questions and comments from the audience, and participating in a lively conversation for the remainder of the evening.

MEET THE PANELISTS

Richard Hayden is a passionate horticulturist dedicated to an ecological and naturalistic approach to garden care and design. Since 2022 he has served as the Senior Director of Horticulture at the High Line where he leads a team of horticulturists in the stewardship and public programming of an historic, elevated rail line on the west side of Manhattan that was reclaimed to become a spectacular, biodiverse public park with naturalistic plantings designed by Piet Oudolf.

Richard previously served as the Assistant Deputy Director at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) where he was the primary project manager for the reimagining of the La Brea Tar Pits Museum and 11 acre park site. He started his career in public horticulture at NHMLA as the head gardener for the Nature Gardens, a wildlife habitat garden, where he collaborated with scientists, educators and interpreters to promote the garden as a leading site for the study of urban nature. @naturegardener

Shanti Nagel is the principal at Design Wild, a landscape design firm working at the intersection of climate, people, and collective well-being. She believes that the relationship between humans and the natural world is essential for individual health, the strength of communities, and our future here on earth. Shanti comes from a long line of social action and approaches all her work through a lens of equity and justice. After a career in agriculture both rural and urban, Shanti became a graduate of the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture. For the last decade, Design Wild has been creating naturally ferocious, beautiful, and incredibly durable gardens in extreme public environments, for affordable housing as well as private residences in New York City and throughout the Hudson Valley. Shanti remains dedicated through it all to our connection to land, well-being and ultimately belonging.

Rashid Poulson, a Brooklyn native, is Director of Horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation (BBP). His career in horticulture began as a Million Trees Training Program alumni in NYC, where he studied and practiced arboriculture, urban landscape design, and ecological restoration. His work at BBP started back in 2012 as a seasonal gardener. Elevating through the positions of Gardener, Supervisor and Deputy Director, he was able to experience the various roles and responsibilities that would be necessary to care for the park’s ecosystems. His current role as Director focuses on the management, and development of the Horticulture Staff; and spreading the lore of the park’s horticulture through tours, and community engagement. Still, he guides and participates in work such as management of the Pier 5 Berm, allowing him to maintain a connection with the staff, community, and the landscape he has been connected to for more than a decade.

Toshi Yano is the Director of Perfect Earth Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating, engaging, and inspiring individuals, land care professionals, and decision makers to adopt the toxic-free, nature-based, and climate-responsible land care practices necessary for a healthier, more sustainable—and more beautiful—environment for all. He sits on the boards of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) and Metro Hort Group; is a co-founder of BIPOC Hort, an advocacy group for people of color working in designed landscapes; and is the Landscape and Garden Advisor at Wethersfield Estate & Garden, where he previously worked as Director of Horticulture.

Toshi enjoys spending his spare time searching the woods for the smallest, most secret plants, and is the proud father of a sharp-eyed girl who helps him find the especially small, especially secret plants that elude his aging eyes. He’s grateful to his grandmothers for his deeply etched memories of dappled light, dirt under foot, and the dizzying perfume of Rosaceae in the air.