Casey Allen

Maintenance Manager - Co-Owner "The Green Gardener"

Casey Allen, AKA The Green Gardener

A native San Franciscan and a long-time gardener, has worked with the local flora for over fifteen years. By bicycling to garden maintenance job-sites, avoiding gas tools and toxic pesticides, and of course planting natives, he promotes truly green gardening. He is part-owner and co-founder of San Francisco Landscapes and lives at the Tocoloma Micro Farm, our test garden and workspace, with his son. This is in the Southeast part of the City, near the southwest side of Bayview Hill and natural area, an amazing intact grassland ecosystem and right by Candlestick State Park which is a great bird watching spot.

Casey completed the City College of SF Horticultural Program in 1996. In 2004 he studied with the SF Recreation and Parks Department to become a San Francisco Naturalist and The Garden for the Environment's Get-up program to become a Garden and Compost Educator. In 2007 Casey completed the Permaculture Design Certification program through the San Francisco Botanical Gardens and completed a week long Permaculture Teachers Training intensive in Big Sur. Casey has also completed the 2008 Bay-Friendly Landscaping 6-week Qualification Garden Maintenance Program and the 2009 Design Program which both teach low impact and regenerative landscape practices for the Bay Area.

Currently, Casey is the 2011 president of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) – Yerba Buena Chapter (a non-profit that promotes Native Plants) and he and the SF team are involved in the CNPS San Francisco Native Gardens Tour which is in April each year. He helps teach several workshops with the SFL team and he also contributes his time to various local community projects such as the Visitation Valley Greenway, Alemany Farm and his son’s school Harvey Milk Civil Right Academy elementary which has a garden project at the school. Casey has served on the Bicycle Advisory Committee since 1998, advising the City on bicycle improvements and he is on the Sierra Clubs SF Group Conservation Committee. He was named the Sierra Club's Volunteer of the Month for March 2009.

Articles on Casey:
Sierra Club Volunteer of the Month, March 2009
Brief bio at Garden for the Environment

Brett Stephens

Project Coordinator - Co-Owner "The Garden Artist"

Brett is an artist and nature lover from Texas. The experience of growing up near the industry of the Houston ship channel has inspired him to dedicate his work towards creating a greener environment. In 1995 Brett discovered the beauty of the bay area and decided to relocate. He has since been immersed in learning about this very unique Franciscan bioregion, and using his gifts to help preserve its diversity.

Brett’s early work is manifested in drawings, paintings, and sculptures of his protracted observations of plants and animals. His love of art and nature were combined when he began designing landscapes in college. His interest in gardening grew with more volunteer work in gardening groups, community gardens, City College of San Francisco Environmental Horticulture program, and Merritt College Landscape Horticulture program. Over the years he has worked in the nursery field, with licensed landscape contractors, as well as his own part time business The Garden Artist. Brett now has over a decade of experience as a professional landscaper, with specialties in native California and San Francisco plants, irrigation, graywater, rainwater catchment, pond and water features. Brett is also a certified permaculture designer, an ARCSA accredited professional, and co-owner and co-founder of San Francisco Landscapes.

Presently, Brett is also a member of Friends of Alemany Farm, a volunteer group that manages Alemany Farm, he also sits on the city’s Alemany Farm Community Advisory Committee. He is also involved with the The Bee-Farm, in Visitacion Valley, organized by SF Bee-Cause and the 18th and Rhode Island permaculture garden, organized by the SF Permaculture Guild.

Sunny Beaver

Office Manager

Sunny beaver is a California native who has lived in the Northern half the state for most of her adult life. Her degree in Geography conferred a passion for the outdoors, food security, and renewable energy. She spent 12 years in the renewable energy field, working for both a solar and a biodiesel company. When she’s not poring over company financials, she can often be found riding her bike around San Francisco, volunteering at local urban farms, and planning her next outdoor adventure

Ben Strobridge

Landscaper

Also a native of San Francisco, Ben completed his permaculture design course with the Urban Permaculture Design Institute of San Francisco in March 2011. He's been gardening/farming for the past three years.

David Stephens

Landscaper

Karina Ochoa

Landscaper

Born in Hayward, CA, Karina spent most of her youth in Houston, TX. She anticipatorily relocated to the bay area in 2005, where she has lived since in the San Francisco Mission District. After a few years at City College of San Francisco, still unsure of what to pursue, she took a class in environmental horticulture inspired by walks taken admiring the plant life around her neighborhood and the city’s vibrant gardening culture. Since then, there has been no question about it. Her passions lie in all things plant related, whether it is tending them, learning and reading about them and their beneficial qualities or combining and transforming them into delicious, healthy foods. She has worked in the landscape industry for a bit over two years now and is eager to still learn more and expand her skills.

Patrick

Landscaper

I volunteered with City Slicker Farms for one year, received a B.A. degree in cultural geography with a focus on food and water from SFSU, studied landscaping at Cabrillo College's horticulture department and had my own lawn mowing business as a child. I am passionate about growing food, am fond of plants and would like to learn a lot more about both.

Rachel Buddeberg

2012 Intern

On her way to finding wise livelihood, Rachel completed a Permaculture Design Certificate with the Urban Permaculture Institute in November 2010. She incorporated the design principles into her masters thesis by suggesting more resilient family and communal structures than nuclear families. During the summer of 2012, she realized that she has no clue about how to grow her own food and was thrilled to find out about the internship at SF Landscapes, which she started in July. She had so much fun digging in the dirt that she is continuing the internship adding to it things she learned in her corporate jobs left behind in 2010: Marketing and marketing research. Currently, she is working on developing a series of surveys to measure customer satisfaction, designing a brochure for the E.A.T.S. program, and using her newly learned skills on the Wednesday E.A.T.S. route.

Here's a pic of her from the Graze the Roof honey harvest.

Haley Burke

Website/Newsletter Editor

Haley is originally from the Northeast but has been living in San Francisco for the past 4 years. Since graduating college with a degree in fine art she has spent much of her time traveling. After teaching English in Spain for a year she began landscaping on the island of Nantucket and discovered how much she enjoyed working hands on with plants. After a few months in the desert of New Mexico she made her way out here and found many opportunities to indulge in her love of the outdoors, food, art, music, holistic healing and sustainable living. Last year she received her certificate in Permaculture design at the Regenerative Design Institute in Bolinas. Haley joined San Francisco Landscapes in July 2010 and continues to hold down the fort with her superior office skills and the help of her furry assistant Beasley.

Beasley

Office Assistant

Beasley is still working on his bio…

Brad Simpson

The Tree Expert