Who We Are
Here at Stone Soup Gardens, we are honest, loyal craftspeople who take immense pride in our work. We believe in:
IntersectionalityWe aim to support all interconnected parts of ecological and social systems we work within.
CraftspersonshipQuality, detail-oriented work is our specialty. We bring skill, efficiency and lots of creativity to all of our projects!
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IntegrityWe seek to forge loyal, trusting, and ethical relationships with our clients and community.
TransparencyWe strive to be authentic to ourselves and to our community, and to emphasize safety and unity in communication.
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Community EngagementWe emphasize collaboration and partnership in all aspects of our work.
Ongoing LearningWe know the importance of life-long learning. We often hold educational trainings to ensure employees are always growing.
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Click on the icons above to see how we embody these values in our community relationships, the projects we take on and the opportunities we provide.
Meet Our Team!
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Jake Harris - Owner at Stone Soup & Design TeamJake has enjoyed his many pursuits in life as an educator, a community organizer, a bag monster, and a general contractor. For the past 9 years, he has devoted himself to the application of Whole Systems Design and Permaculture Principles. Jake has received a community education working with his hands, and is currently serving on the board for GrIP (Green Infrastructure Partnership.) He has studied the farms, forests, and gardens of the lovely PNW as well as Ecuador, Australia, Palestine, Israel, and throughout the USA. Jake loves getting to work on projects that advocate beautiful solutions right in our own gardens. This includes issues of climate change, peak oil, declining pollinator and wildlife habitat, water pollution, and access to sustainable food. He is overjoyed to share these pursuits with a great team, his wonderful wife Emma, his lovely daughter Luna, and their fabulous chickens.
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Gary Michael Foresman - Project Lead & RainWise InstallerGary (he/they) started working for Stone Soup Gardens in July 2020. His passions, work, and studies have revolved around permaculture and water systems for over 6 years and he has been an ecstatic transplant from California for 2 years now. Gary has a permaculture design certification through the City Repair Project, based in Portland, OR, a Water Harvesting Design Certification through the Watershed Management Group in Tuscon, AZ, and has taken additional training on watershed restoration, greywater systems, and rainwater harvesting. He continues to pursue education in order to develop water and natural resiliency for our homes and communities. After working hard in drought-harmed places like Central Coast California, Utah, and Arizona, living in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest has been an inspiration, especially with the RainWise program in Seattle and the City Repair Project in Portland, to develop residential and community water and land systems that honor such incredible and life-giving resources and help build thriving watersheds full of ecological diversity and well-being. You can view Gary's portfolio HERE.
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Abbegale Monson - Administrative Assistant & Design TeamAbbey (she/her) has been with Stone Soup Gardens since December of 2019. As a recent graduate from the University of Washington, she studied Community, Environment & Planning with an emphasis on landscape architecture and urban ecological design. Drawing from her upbringing in the Pacific Northwest, Abbey is passionate about ensuring access to public green space within an urban framework and recognizes the immense role our landscapes play in the cultivation and engagement of community. She hopes to continue building experience as a landscape designer and do her part to guarantee plants and ecosystems hold space and influence in our urbanizing world. To learn more about Abbey, visit her online portfolio HERE.
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Mackenzie Garrot - Maintenance LeadMackenzie (she/they) is a recent transplant to the PNW. She calls both Atlanta, GA and Asheville, NC home. She spent a good chunk of her 20s traveling the States working in pizza kitchens and on organic vegetable farms. She ended up in many climate zones like those of southern California, Washington, Montana, and back in Atlanta. Between slinging pizzas, brewing cider, and growing organic produce, she dove into her longtime passion for medicinal herbs and attended the Botanologos School of Herbal Medicine in the Southern Appalachians. After many years as a chef, grower, herbalist, fermenter, and forager, Mackenzie was drawn to the PNW. She was eager to become more involved in permaculture-based land practices and take advantage of the mild growing seasons, and especially to get in on the excellent foraging. Now, she’s pushing the boundaries of urban homesteading in Seattle with her oversized food and medicine garden, her orange cat Zee, and her flock of chickens.
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Dusty Towler - Installation Crew & Project LeadDusty is a native Seattleite that grew up amongst rainy sports fields, damp forests, and surprisingly wet oceans. It wasn’t until after a stint in the banking industry that he spent a summer working in Alaska, wherein he rekindled his love with the outdoors. He then completed the Environmental Horticulture program at the Lake Washington Institute of Technology and joined Stone Soup while still finishing school. He greatly enjoys and believes in the work, including masonry, water harvesting, and working with what nature provides. In addition, he spent 4 summers locating and harvesting wasted and unused produce for City Fruit as their West Seattle Harvester. Lastly, Dusty has also had recent work exchanges in Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and South Africa.
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Michael Graham - Installation CrewMichael has come to love edible gardens through being an advocate and activist for climate justice and political organizing. His realization that we need to build the world we want to see, is why he loves every project that Stone Soup is a part of. From planting native trees, to repurposing recycled concrete, Michael loves to see our clients fall in love with their Stone Soup designed yard.
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Haly Rylko - Installation CrewHaly (she/her) began installing projects at Stone Soup Gardens in Spring of 2020. She was raised in Washington being largely influenced by ecologists, farmers, plant enthusiasts, and her exploration of outdoor spaces. She has a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Washington, a certificate in Low Impact Development from WSU and is currently working on her masters in Ecological Design from the Conway School. Haly’s background is largely in environmental restoration and she spent many years restoring riparian salmon habitat in King County. She enjoys building resilient landscapes and appreciates the creative, interdisciplinary nature of the projects at Stone Soup Gardens.
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Why "Stone Soup"?
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The namesake for Stone Soup Gardens is from one of our favorite children's fables about building community through food, Stone Soup. It is a story told throughout the world in many different ways, but its fundamental message is that a community's greatest strength is found through sharing together. We seek to develop landscapes and infrastructure for our clients to share in this community strength. As gardeners we take a pile of stones and soil and turn it into a community meeting spot, a school, a sanctuary, a farm. Beyond just the landscape we teach the lessons of getting your neighbors involved.
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Check us out...
... on the Seattle Channel!Jake was featured on a clip at the 2016 March Tilth Edible Plant Sale where he discussed cisterns and rain gardens.
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... in "Backyard Roots"!
Jake and Emma were featured for their Urban Chicken Coop Co-Op.
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... on FOX Q13 News!Gardening with Tim: Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour
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Real Rent Duwamish
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Stone Soup Gardens recognizes that our business benefits from the colonization of Duwamish Land and from the knowledge cultivated by the Salish Sea peoples. In response to a call by the Duwamish Tribe, we invest monthly in a more just future.
To learn more, visit RealRentDuwamish.org |
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