Nathan Lewis

I design, install, and maintain several acres of gardens using ecologically sustainable methods focusing primarily on native flora. I am the primary for a variety of habitats including upland mesic, wet meadow, peat bog, riparian, forest understory, arid, and seasonal (sub)tropical gardens. I designed and installed our wet meadow, carnivorous bog, Piedmont prairie, and animal browse gardens. I regularly work with our excellent volunteers and a small team to steward about 22 acres of urban greenspace using permaculture-influenced techniques within the constraints and opportunities of an AZA zoo facility. My duties are too varied to list in full, but include everything from daily maintenance to landscape design, plant sourcing, hardscaping, installations, tree removal, vehicle operation and training, leading volunteers, and many, many more.

2026: Attended Cullowhee Native Plant Conference on sponsorship

2025: Earned Permaculture Design Certification from Wild Abundance School with prof. dev. funds

2025: Won Wendy Andrews Conservation Grant from AZH to promote horticultural education on bog garden and carnivorous plants

2023: Awarded internal Conservation Grant to learn tropical plant husbandry at the National Botanical Garden in DC

Member of Safety and Animal Browse Committees

I guide my clients through developing, designing, and implementing a more sustainable lifestyle that supports their connection to the land, fosters native biodiversity, and insulates them from natural disasters. Together, we identify their priorities, I design concepts and suggest installation guidelines, and we collaboratively create beautiful, biologically rich green spaces that work with the natural landscape and can be enjoyed for decades to come.

I coordinated and oversaw all greenhouse and field farming activities for a nonprofit farming startup partnering with a local church to provide free fresh produce to an underserved neighborhood in Greensboro. I lead twice-weekly volunteer workshops teaching urban gardening skills to groups of up to 100 people, while mentoring regular volunteers and training a successor with roots in the community.

Our efforts transformed an unused urban lot into a food producing gathering place for the community That advanced ecological and food justice.

2022: Presented at the 108th National Communication Association Conference

I oversaw and/or carried out all aspects of field work on a medium-sized organic vegetable farm, including: sustainable planting, cultivation, irrigation, harvest, washing and packing, I supervised volunteers and farm staff in daily farming duties, ensuring an efficient workflow to drive production goals. I also assisted the owner in planning crop rotations, weekly work plans and sales plans. I also worked the market stand and occasionally gave tours to buyers and business partners.

While this was technically work-trading for affordable housing, not a job, this was an invaluable learning experience and early influence on my career where I spent every non-working hour for almost two years. I began training in permaculture, oversaw early season crop planning and greenhouse work for a 1.5 acre urban farm, all CSA farm-share operations, helped lead work parties of residents and volunteers as directed by the Farm Manager, and supported regular community events to promote the Village.

I was responsible for inventory, receiving, packing, and delivery of fresh produce to almost 300 Charlottesville households a week through the Fresh Farmacy and Food Access Programs. I also developed educational materials including recipes to help our clients make use of their weekly bundle and understand their relationship to local farms that grew the food.

As a capstone to this seasonal position, I collaborated with the Food Access Manager to author and present a data-driven report to community partners that expanded those programs to underserved communities in the surrounding counties in subsequent years.

I supplemented my graduate studies by assisting in the conservation of a variety of forested, riparian, and grassland conservation easements via plant ID, invasive species control, trail maintenance, plant diversity surveys, and controlled burns under the direction of conservancy staff. I also supported operations by digitizing paper records and using ARCGIS to create digital maps of conservation easements.