Naneh Israelyan
Natural Landscape Designer & Horticulturist
Brooklyn,NY
Summary
Horticulturist with 5+ years experience in urban growing, garden design, and educational outreach. Competent in various urban agricultural systems with 3 years of academic research and education in ethnomedicine and botany.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
18
18
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work History
School Garden Facilitator
WHEDco Community Garden
9 2023 - Current
- Cultivated and maintained a 1000 sq ft garden and a hydroponic greenhouse through a gardening education program offered to youth ages 7-15 at PS/MS 218 in the Bronx
- Created a curriculum on food justice and gardening tailored to engaging students from diverse backgrounds and low-income communities over growing food, nutrition, cooking, nature, and the environment.
Owner & Operations Manager
Pioneer Flora Gardens
02.2023 - Current
- Founded a garden design, build and maintenance company specializing in edible landscaping, perennial native gardens, and medicinal plant cultivation
- Managed a portfolio of 7 urban commercial and residential properties designed and installed for low-maintenance, year-round foliage, and habitat health
- Led teams of gardeners and contractors for onsite installs and maintenance visits through mentoring and training.
Operational Manager
Enlightenment Wines Meadery
10.2018 - Current
- Converted an exposed rooftop into a 900 sq ft medicinal herb garden in North Brooklyn's Industrial Zone
- Cultivated over 50 varieties of edible and medicinal plants from seed for harvest
- Maintained rich soil health by mulching, composting, feeding raised beds using weeds, leaf cuttings, spoiled fruits & other unused waste from garden
- Conceived new design schemes each year, marrying optimized crop yield with aesthetics.
Estate Landscape Gardener
Private Residential Estate
05.2022 - 11.2022
- Managed a vegetable farm on a private estate in East Hampton
- Implemented sustainable practices, employing biointensive farming methods, crop rotation, & natural pest management
- Collaborated with resident private chefs to supply daily provisions.
Farm Owner & Manager
Pioneer Flora Microgreens
06.2021 - 04.2022
- Built out an indoor microgreens farm and managed daily operations of maintenance, cultivation, & harvesting
- Cultivated relationships and expanded clientele to local grocers, chefs, & online farmer's markets, increasing distribution to 15 lbs of delivered microgreens a week.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Sculpture
Bennington College
Bennington, VT 08.2008 - 05.2012
Certificate - Botanical Science
New York Botanical Garden
The Bronx, NY 05.2001 - 05.2015
Skills
Drip irrigation installation
Project Management
Client Communications
Indoor Microgreen Farming
North Atlantic Perennials
Herb processing & preservation
Medicinal Plant Cultivation
Herbal Product Supply Chains
Writing Experience
- Content Creator & Writing Assistant, Dr. Leslie Korn, 2018, Collected and analyzed clinical studies in alternative and supplementary healthcare and synthesized data into written content. Developed herbal recipes, rituals, & therapies based on indigenous approaches to health for the publications of Natural Woman Herbal Remedies.
- Research Assistant, Institute of Economic Botany at New York Botanical Garden, 2015, Solicited, gathered and organized data on the religious, ceremonial and medicinal use of plants in Vanuatu for Dr. Michael Balick. Digitized documents, sorted and inventoried photos of the endemic flora of the Pacific Islands.
Publications
- Deliberate Consumerism: Origin Story of Plant Medicines in the US Marketplace, Essential Herbs, Vol 1, Ed. 1, Booklet, 2021
- Fecund Earth: Health and History Traditions in Armenia, Fourth World Journal, Vol 17, N 2, 92-105, 2019
References
- Raphael Lyon, Enlightenment Wines Meadery, Owner / Winemaker, 401 481 9205, raphihell@icloud.com
- Ioana Hercberg, La Cantine, Owner / Chef, 213 925 3010, ioanahercberg@gmail.com
- Danny Newburg, Joint Venture, Owner / Chef, 727 455 4866, jointventurenyc@gmail.com
Certification
Certificate of Botany
Timeline
Owner & Operations Manager
Pioneer Flora Gardens
02.2023 - Current
Estate Landscape Gardener
Private Residential Estate
05.2022 - 11.2022
Farm Owner & Manager
Pioneer Flora Microgreens
06.2021 - 04.2022
Operational Manager
Enlightenment Wines Meadery
10.2018 - Current
Certificate of Botany
07-2015
Bachelor of Arts - Sculpture
Bennington College
08.2008 - 05.2012
Certificate - Botanical Science
New York Botanical Garden
05.2001 - 05.2015
School Garden Facilitator
WHEDco Community Garden
9 2023 - Current