“Restoring native plant habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity. By creating a native plant garden, each patch of habitat becomes part of a collective effort to nurture and sustain the living landscape for birds and other animals.”
– Audubon

Join Grace Farms Foundation for a virtual conversation about how to successfully grow native plants inside your home, on your patio, or in your yard. Hear from Alexi and Brendan Coffey, Founders of Steward, and Penn Marchael, a Native Meadows Expert and Ecological Landscape Alliance Board Member, in a panel moderated by Mark Fowler, Grace Farms’ Nature Initiative Director.

About Our Speakers

Penn Marchael is a Landscape contractor based in Brooklyn and Bedford Hills NY. Throughout his career he has cultivated a deep understanding of horticulture and ecology which he uses to execute successfully vibrant landscapes. Penn has over ten years of experience in project management, landscape construction, and maintenance. In those ten years he has installed and maintained meadows from Virginia to Northern New York with a total of over one hundred fifty acres installed and many more maintained and monitored. Previously working with Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, Eastern Land Management, JW Townsend and other firms. His present focus is growing his business, Pennington Grey, where he aspires to train a new generation of land managers that will lead the landscape industry away from traditional practices and towards a more sustainable and dynamic approach.

Alexi and Brendan Coffey started Steward at NASA’s Ames Research Center to empower anyone who wants to grow plants to do so with confidence and ease in their own home. Inspired by the idea of partnering with nature to improve health and transform the spaces we live, work, and play in, they’re building their company in New York, with an extraordinary team of botanists, horticulturalists, and technologists around the world.

Mark Fowler is a National Geographic Channel filmmaker and Emmy-nominated wildlife television host who grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut. In addition to his film work, he serves as the Vice President of Wildlife and Conservation at the Explorers Club. Mark graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Environmental Studies. He devotes his career to preserving the natural world, restoring endangered species, combatting wildlife trafficking, and inspiring the public to experience the awe and wonder of nature. Mark serves as Nature Initiative Director for Grace Farms Foundation.