Kira Iwasaki

Lead Designer

Passionate about art and anything handmade, Kira has collectively developed her own design sense.  After earning her bachelors at Oregon State, Kira spent over 8 years at Carol Williamson + Associates in downtown Portland.  She has worked on a diverse range of projects from mega yachts to high-end residential, corporate offices and lobbies, libraries, and hospitals.  She has cultivated valuable experience designing custom furniture, textiles, lighting, and hardware.

Inspired by her family’s 100 year involvement in the bedding plant industry, Kira decided to embrace the legacy by going back to school and earning a second degree in landscape design.  She is drawn to interesting blooms and the delicate care processes vital to their development. Kira strives to show her clients that great landscape design can also be low maintenance, multi-functional, and beneficial to wildlife.

Jack Hayden

Field manager

Jack brings his professional expertise in wildlife habitat rehabilitation, green stormwater management and Pacific Northwest native species to our team. His background includes restoration ecology field work, frequently rebuilding wetlands and natural areas managed by Clean Water Services and local soil and water conservation districts. He is currently employed by Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and has held positions as a green landscape contractor, native nursery technician and Portland Parks and Recreation groundskeeper at Mount Tabor. He holds a Landscape Technology degree from Portland Community College and a BA in Film and Digital Media from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Jack is passionate about creating urban wildlife habitats in gardens, yards and public land. He is inspired by our community’s efforts to preserve our ecosystem and educate each other about our role in its conservation.

Leslie Campbell

Founder

Leslie has always enjoyed and been fascinated by the natural world. Her love of nature has led her to design, teach, and continuously explore the wonder and awe inherent in nature and ourselves. Leslie teaches Applied Ecology and Design which explores the intersection between the science of ecology and the value of creating enlivened and beautiful spaces for well-being both in individuals and communities. Her greatest joy is to explore and discover, with others, the beautiful interrelationships we have with our natural resources and space.

 All of our projects involve experiential experiences in which we work alongside municipalities, communities, teachers, and students to cultivate, nurture, and support the understanding of local ecological functions and systems in support of our interconnections with natural resources.

Leslie teaches Ecologically Principled Design at Portland Community College and elsewhere. She relies heavily on local scientific studies and material gleaned from actively engaged land steward work and draws guidance and support from many partnerships including The Columbia Land Trust, The Backyard Habitat Certification Program, The Audubon Society, The Xerces Society for the Conservation of Invertebrates, Many Soil and Water Conservation Districts and local Parks and Recreation Districts, and the United States Geologic Survey. 

 Current and past projects also include the creation of public pollinator gardens and bioswales, the teaching of community wildlife garden making classes, and the development and integration of place-based student led experiential ecosystem science into the 5th grade earth science curriculum.

All her projects reflect her love for, and integration of, nature as a sacred and beloved space for well-being, and serves to honor the important role we have as responsible and reciprocal stewards of our ecosystem.