INTRODUCTION

Landscape architecture holds an increasingly important role in the future of our planet. With landscape serving as a transition zone between structures and natural systems, integrating restorative ecological services through environmental design into landscape projects has never had a greater need. This need is the primary reason why I pursued landscape design.

Participating in the Boy Scouts of America, later becoming an Eagle Scout, provided greater depth and experience in examining the role of nature in our daily lives while also instilling leadership. Camping, hiking, and land stewardship roles in scouting further fueled my understanding and love of the environment.

I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg Florida in 2007. I left with a focus on environmental restoration and stewardship. Afterward, I interned for the Iowa DNR in their Prairie Restoration Center restoring fragmented tallgrass prairie ecosystems, and then with the Cook County Parks department in Chicago on their Forest Preserve restoration team. During these internships, I saw the potential for successful integration between ecological services and the built environment from which I found the name for the field I had been searching for, landscape architecture.

I earned my Masters of Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University in the fall of 2013 after completing a thesis on green roofs and the biodiversity of birds and insects.

My experience as a landscape designer in southern California has shown that even with strenuous environmental standards, projects can remain aesthetic, sustainable, and exceed client expectations.

Get in touch at Henry.Narigon.LA@gmail.com