I came to the southwest from rural Pennsylvania to attend Prescott College. There, I received a solid foundation in both education and ecological concepts which had a strong focus on Sonoran desert ecosystems. Food justice issues and environmental sustainability peaked my interest and passion, which brought me to explore gardening, an art form that soon led me to the study of permaculture.

Living in the desert has you understand how precious a resource water is. My first real permaculture related training was an Advanced Greywater Technical Training through Watershed Management Group in Tucson, AZ, taught by Brad Lancaster in 2011. I received my PDC from the Sonoran Permaculture Guild in the Spring of 2012. Following that I received my Water Harvesting Certification, also from Watershed Management Group.

With these trainings in my toolbox, and experience implementing them, as well as other skills, I founded Ahimsa Landscaping, a design + build business specializing in creating sustainable landscapes through the use of permaculture design principals and water harvesting techniques for the desert environment. Through this and other community projects and collaborations, I aim to cultivate awareness of the significant grass-roots initiatives of permaculture design and sustainable gardening, and how they can be used with water harvesting techniques to enhance and regenerate our environments.