Elissa fell in love with plants while working part-time during her college years. She was helping a friend with landscaping and wound up caring for indoor and outdoor plants while she pursued her degree in Spanish at UMASS Boston. Her love of working outside brought her to the Bay area, Northampton, and eventually to Lenox, MA where she grew up. After working inside for a few years, she realized that she missed gardening and being in nature. When searching for a job that would align with her desire to be outdoors, she found Nature Works Land Care. This is Elissa’s first summer on the Nature Works team, where she is happy to go to work every day.

A native of Berkshire county, Steve was born and raised in Pittsfield, Ma. At a young age he found a love for nature and the outdoors and decided to further pursue his education at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture where he received an associates degree in landscape contracting and a bachelors degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in natural resource conservation with a concentration in urban forestry. Steve specializes in landscape construction and natural stone masonry and uses his love for the outdoors to create spaces for people to enjoy outside in nature. On top of creating spaces for people, he is also very passionate about learning how to create habitat and manage land for whitetail deer and wild turkey. In his free time Steve enjoys archery, hunting, and hanging out with his fiancée and their four coonhound dogs.

Alessandro has lived and worked in northwest Connecticut for most of his life. He learned to garden at an early age and spent summers barefoot in the family garden growing vegetables and fruits. He studied photography and worked in art galleries before stumbling into vineyard work and spent the following years working and learning in vineyards, hopyards, orchards, and greenhouses. He spent eight years working for Pergola, a boutique garden design shop in New Preston, CT, where he learned to relate the natural world to art and received inspiration from great friends. Alessandro also worked as an estate gardener in Litchfield County. He loves to grow mushrooms and bring unusual plants to the field!

Kirsten was born in New Milford, CT. She graduated from the University of Vermont with degrees in Environmental Studies, Botany, and Religion. Since her early years of climbing trees and meandering the woods, Kirsten has found solace in nature. This relationship nurtured a strong commitment to appreciating and protecting the natural world through activism and the arts. Kirsten was co-publisher and creative director for The ReDirect Guide, a directory, resource guide, and media company dedicated to sustainable business practices and healthy living- with regional editions in Portland, Oregon, Salt Lake and Park City, UT and in the Greater Denver, CO area. Kirsten has also run a successful freelance graphic design business for many years, promoting businesses and institutions that share a mission of making the world a better place.

Kirsten moved to the Berkshires from Seattle, WA where she was a Senior Designer for a sustainability consulting firm. Seeking a return to her New England roots, she relocated to the Berkshires with her partner, to raise their two young children. Kirsten joined the Nature Works team in 2019. She is grateful for the opportunity to work outdoors, play in the dirt, and learn as much as she can about horticulture.

Patti has tended to the gardens at some of the Berkshires finest historical and estate homes over the past twenty years. Patti has a degree in environmental science and has been working as a gardener since the early 1980’s. She loves to care for her large vegetable garden at home(and she works hard to tend them when she is not working!) and she enjoys harvesting what she sows to make delicious meals. Patti lives in Becket with her husband and cat ‘lil Bit’.

Janet Lee has been a Berkshire resident since 2003. Over the last 18 years, she has worked in hospitality, fitness, finance and for non-profit organizations. Her husband Tim Lee has been a public educator for 30 years and will soon be retiring from his principalship at Muddy Brook Elementary School.
Janet and Tim have two daughters who currently reside in Brooklyn, NY, having both previously graduated from Monument Mountain High School. Alison works as a graphic designer and Ruthanne works in theater. The couple will be starting a new building project in Great Barrington, but currently reside in Stockbridge.
Janet is excited to be joining the Nature Works team as a part-time bookkeeper and providing administrative support in the office. In addition to working for Nature Works, Janet is teaching yoga and Pilates classes, and working part-time at several Berkshire non-profits. In her spare time, Janet is an avid tennis player, runner and loves to hike and bike around the Berkshires.

Pia grew up in Egremont, MA, where she developed a strong love for gardening and nature. She also loves art, theater, music, traveling, learning, coaching on the Catamount Alpine Race Team, and working on the Nature Works Team. Pia served an internship with Nature Works in 2020 and following her graduation from the Berkshire Waldorf High School began working on the Estate Garden Team last summer. She is attending her first year at UMASS Amherst and is pursuing a degree in Landscape Architecture and Design.

Born and raised in the Berkshires, Chloe is currently a home-schooled student in her junior year.  Although new to the garden and horticultural world, her love of nature and art has made gardening a fun and natural environment for further education and training, while also being a creative outlet. She is currently working on becoming a certified permaculturist. She’s also interested in natural building, and enjoys singing, playing guitar and piano, creative writing, painting, and having adventures in the outdoors. She’s enjoyed working with Nature Works getting to know her amazing coworkers, and learning how to tend to gardens and make them thrive.

Currently entering his junior year at the Berkshire Waldorf High School, Gabe has worked for Nature Works the last two seasons as an apprentice on the Landscape & Garden, Construction and Organic Lawn Care Teams. An avid sportsman, Gabe enjoys playing baseball, football, basketball, skiing, and likes to share his passion for athletics with others.

A budding technician/engineer, Julian has helped Nature Works capture multiple projects via drone footage and is also an equipment operator in training. Frequently assisting in special missions, Julian is always eager to help in whatever task is being asked of him and is already showing excellent leadership skills at the young age of 14. We look forward to seeing this young man grow into his future roles here at Nature Works!