Scotty’s first experience growing plants was growing up with his mother in her suburban Maryland garden. He received his degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University in 2007. When Scotty was introduced to Permaculture on a WWOOF farm in 2008, he realized he was able to apply his engineering brain to living systems. Scotty received his PDC in 2009 and immediately started getting hands-on experience.
Scotty moved to Asheville in 2010 and has been learning alongside the mountains and the ecologies here ever since, growing gardens of his own and taking on edible landscaping clients. Scotty deepened his knowledge of plants in herbalism school with the Chestnut School of Herbal medicine in 2011. In 2016, Scotty and four other friends founded Sun Song Community in Barnardsville, NC. The purpose of this community is to tend the Earth together, raise children in community, and contribute to life through healing and holistic community events and workshops. Scotty is passionate about nature connection and mentoring children and adults to feel more connected to the natural world. He has spent 8 years working for Forest Floor Wilderness programs as a nature connection mentor. Scotty is also passionate about young men’s rites of passage work and has been working with Mountain Wisdom and Boy’s Sacred Fire since 2016.
Scotty and his wife Maayan run Soul Gardens which aims to connect people to the cycles and rhythms of the Earth, facilitate folks gaining a deeper understanding of themselves, and to celebrate beauty. He is a proud father, community member, mentor, and earth tender.