Brooke G. Safford
Presentation topic:
Gardening in Uncertain Times. How to Adapt and Prepare our Gardens for a Changing Climate.
Adapting your landscape to changing climate conditions does not mean you have to sacrifice a spectacular looking yard! Whether you’re doing your landscape design and planning yourself or using a professional, there are some key things to consider. Brooke Safford will discuss how climate change may impact your landscape and the steps that you can take to create gardens that are both beautiful and resilient.
Owner, Blooming Landscape & Design, LLC
Growing up in beautiful Bozeman, Montana, Brooke has always had a love and kinship for the natural world. This admiration has shaped her life in many positive ways and was what ultimately led her to pursue a career in landscape architecture.
Although she always knew that she wanted to devote her life to caring for the natural world, it wasn’t until she lived in São Paulo, Brazil in the early 2000s that she realized the urgency and need to commit to this path. Every day en route to work, Brooke would pass by the Rio Tietê (Tiete River), – a major tributary that, over time, had been damned, channelized and polluted to the extent that it no longer harbored life or natural vegetation along its banks. Every day, Brooke would imagine restoring that river back to its natural state and converting it into a linear park for São Paulo residents to enjoy and through that enjoyment cultivate a love and appreciation for this ribbon of life meandering through their city.
She was so inspired by these visions, that by 2002 she enrolled into a 4-year Master’s program at the University of New Mexico. In 2006 she graduated with distinction with a Masters in Landscape Architecture and a Graduate Minor in Natural Resource Planning.
As Brooke was finishing up her thesis on Green Roofs, she was granted the opportunity to work for the National Park Service (NPS) in Santa Fe, New Mexico and eventually Great Basin National Park in Baker, Nevada. She worked for the NPS as a Landscape Architect and Outdoor Recreation Planner for 12 years. She also freelanced as a landscape designer on the side creating beautiful landscapes for residents.
She now resides in Durango and works full-time as a landscape designer in the Four Corners Region. When Brooke is not creating beautiful landscapes, you can typically find her enjoying the plethora of outdoor activities that Durango has to offer.