we create innovative, yet feasible, ecological and educational systems for public and private clients.
we plan
Our ethics are rooted in community planning. We take cues from community, city, and environmental planning and bring them into our work. Making good change in neighborhoods is our guiding light. We can help you navigate our City’s inner workings to move your action forward.
we design
Your site is special, it deserves more than a cookie cutter design. We will work with you to create innovative systems that are specific to your place. Our design ethics are a big part of us. We work with nature and not against it.
we build
We love to get our hands in our work to build-out and bring all the phases of your project to fruition. Our construction experience range from small school gardens to green roofs and backyard native plant landscapes, we do it all.
we plant
We pour our heart into procuring, planting, and caring for your native and/or food producing plants. We use planting practices based on permaculture, organic, no-till, biodynamic, and regenerative growing principles.
we educate
Our ecological education programs help instill wonder and appreciation for the natural world. We teach students how to grow nutritious food, teach place / project-based educational programs, and use the garden as our stage.
we coordinate
We follow up, maintain, and provide solutions for your systems. Our services don’t always end when the last plant is in the ground; it can continue for years to come as your project evolves.
our team
Fred Wolf
Founder
As Founder of Nature Based, Fred’s work focuses on positive community-centered environmental interactions. Before forming Nature Based, Fred spent three years designing, building, and maintaining green roofs and other environmental systems in New York City. He served Brooklyn’s Community Board 7 from 2016 to 2022 as Vice Chair of the Sanitation and Environment Committee and also sat on the Land Use Committee, Waterfront Economic Development Committee, and the Parks and Recreation Committee. He has volunteered with his local council office where he has been the Parks and Environment Committee Facilitator for Participatory Budgeting in his district. He holds a Master of Science in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and a Bachelors of Arts in Environmental Studies from Pace University in Manhattan. At Pratt, he focused on green infrastructure design, schoolyard design, community engagement, GIS, and wrote his graduate thesis on Ecological Schoolyard Transformation.
Given the chance, Fred would redesign and convert all of the schoolyards in New York City into ecological schoolyards. Ecological schoolyards pique an urban kid's instinctive desire to explore the environment around them. They provide a lush green space for the community and a real chance at sustainable food security.
Fred might rather be in Red Lodge, Montana fly fishing, herding goats, bartending, taking pictures, skiing gnarly lines on big mountains, writing, and backpacking in the most amazing place on earth, but he won't tell you that. For now, he tries to live out his life goal as a community-based curmudgeon.
Aubrey Santistevan
Head of Interpretation
Aubrey, a passionate educator and agriculturist, is helping to reshape the urban landscape into a greener, more sustainable haven.
Aubrey has been instrumental in enlightening students across various age groups about the marvels of urban ecology. Through her engaging classes, workshops and initiatives, she ignites a sense of wonder and respect for the natural world amidst the urban sprawl of New York City.
A former social worker and educator, Aubrey launched her agriculture career on large-scale organic farms. Her passion for connecting people with affordable and accessible fresh food led her to Brooklyn, NY during the height of the pandemic, where she has since committed to building urban farms and green infrastructure to help communities cultivate organic produce.
Aubrey holds a bachelor of Arts in Psychology, from her home state of Wyoming. Her background in social work and education, equips her with a unique perspective in her agricultural endeavors. Her holistic approach is not just about growing plants, but nurturing communities, advocating for accessible and equitable food systems in urban landscapes, and restoring native landscapes.
Beyond her professional endeavors, you can find Aubrey in the great outdoors. She spends her time foraging in nearby parks, nurturing her garden and seed saving, trekking along wilderness trails, venturing to unexplored destinations, and indulging in culinary experiments in her kitchen.
Isaac Rysdahl
Isaac began working with the Nature Based build team in 2020 after moving to New York from Chicago, IL where he worked as a brewer and volunteered in habitat restoration at Orland Grassland, a 900-acre prairie south of Chicago. Previously he worked for Habitat for Humanity building affordable housing in Minneapolis, and as a biology research assistant in Baja California.
Nature Based is a beautiful match for all his previous experiences: he builds community-minded gardens, restores habitat for his non-human neighbors, and does physical labor. He also drives the work truck which he has turned into a meditative act.
He lives with his wife and child and hydroponics system in Brooklyn, NY, where he writes fiction.
Ryan Smith
A Rhode Islander at heart embracing the NYC life. Ryan grew up on a small (very small) farm in Rhode Island with his 3 brothers and parents who put food sovereignty and nature appreciation first. Ryan spent his early career honing his skills and love for art, design and advertising. Ryan spent over 15 years in the Ad world before venturing down a new path, one that allows him to combine his love for design and nature.
Currently pursuing his accreditation in horticulture, Ryan spends his time helping the Nature Based crew, carving native plant art, planting local tree pits, gardening in his his own backyard and serving on the local community board. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island College.
Ryan lives in Sunset Park with his wife and two young boys. In his spare time Ryan loves to ferment, forage, skateboard, make stuff and cook. Ryan realized that all disciplines are connected and each helps to enhance the other.
Gary Powell
Gary is a Photographer, artist and a long time gardener. He is the founder of the school garden at PS 32 in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. He is a dedicated composter and advocate for preserving the life in soil. Gary brings his wealth of knowledge in urban ecological systems and urban gardens to Nature Based. He is our resident chicken expert and has raised many hens in his own backyard.
He is an avid hiker and gets out into nature as often as possible. Gary has been a member of the Nature Based team since shortly after its inception. He holds a BA from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara Ca.