Team

Casey Lyon

Casey Lyon, Founder and Sole Proprietor of Habitat Gardens, is a leading expert in Native Gardens and Green Roof technologies.  Trained at California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo with a degree in Horticulture that focused on Restoration Ecology, he has built over 150 native gardens and living roofs while collaborating with the best landscape architects and designers in his field. He has won several awards for his living roofs and has had his gardens featured in Garden Design Magazine and Gardens Illustrated.

He has been highlighted on the television program ‘Big Ideas for a Small Planet’ that featured his work on the California Academy of Sciences living roof. He is also developing the first master gardener program that focuses on native plants and best practices for utilizing their potential for aesthetic balance and beauty while maintaining responsible water use practices. Recently, he has focused on rainwater catchment systems that collect and re-use water for his gardens and roofs.

Cooper Scollan

Cooper began his career in horticulture in 1993 working for a Monterey county landscape design / installation firm creating native California and Japanese gardens. Over the last 16 years he has extensively studied ornithology, ecology, horticulture, botany and landscape design while working for several different landscape companies. In 2005, he managed a California native plant nursery specializing in the propagation of plant material for landscapes, restorations and green roof installations.

Cooper has been directly involved in over 40 green roof projects throughout California, including the design, grow-out and installation of the California Academy of Sciences living roof and ground plane. Cooper’s work has been highlighted in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Pacific Coast Nurseryman magazine, Monterey County Herald as well as in documentaries on the Discovery Channel, Sundance, Good Morning America, Big Ideas for a Small Planet and the Science channel.

Fred Ballerini

Fred Ballerini is a restoration ecologist specializing in grassland ecology. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of California Santa Barbara in 1988, he worked with Dr. Ranil Senanayake of the University of Melbourne, Australia, mapping the biodiversity of Sri Lanka's rainforest. Two years of traveling through the wildlands of Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and several other South Pacific Islands swayed him to begin focusing on diminishing habitats. After earning an honorable Associate Degree in Horticulture from the Monterey Peninsula College, he began a career in restoring habitats along the central coast of California. From 1998 to 2003, he managed the Restoration Services division of Rana Creek in Carmel Valley, Ca. Recent notations include a National Resource Conservation Service sponsored 3-year field study of 32 accessions of Bromus carinatus, numerous grassland restoration projects, and a 2009 Award of Excellence from the Green Roofs of Healthy Cities of North America.

Cody Lyon

Cody is a manager at Habitat Gardens and has been in the horticulture field for over 12 years. From native landscapes to green roofs, he has had the opportunity to learn from the best in the business to build state of the art skills.

He has been with Habitat Gardens for 6 years and his work has focused on building and maintaining landscapes, water features, erosion control, restoration, water catchment, outdoor lighting, grading and green roofs.

Awie Smit

Awie Smit recently joined Habitat Gardens after spending over 12 years in marketing at Visa Inc. (Global Sponsorships). He is leading sales and marketing at Habitat Gardens as well as managing Bay Area projects.

Awie earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, majoring in Entomology and Plant Pathology. He also completed a one year post graduate degree in Plant Pathology. To further compliment his credentials, he is currently enrolled in the Environmental Horticulture program at the City College of San Francisco. He also successfully completed an extensive green roof workshop to secure his accreditation as a Green Roof Professional (GRP).