Leslie Bennett and Jennifer Jewell

Teaches at New York Botanical Garden

Leslie Bennett is an Oakland, CA based landscape designer and writer who creates gardens that help to nourish us and tell the story of who we are. Raised in the Bay Area and based in Oakland since 2009, Leslie holds degrees from Harvard University, Columbia Law School and the University College London in the fields of environmental justice, land use law, cultural property and preservation.

Leslie is the owner of Pine House Edible Gardens, an Oakland, CA based landscape design/build firm that creates aesthetic edible gardens and productive outdoor spaces, and is co-author of The Beautiful Edible Garden (Ten Speed Press, 2013). Leslie's work entails creating culturally grounded gardens that provide as much visual inspiration as they do organic harvests of food, flowers and medicinal herbs.

Jennifer Jewell is creator, writer, and host of public radio'sCultivating Place. In her new book, The Earth in Her Hands(Timber Press, 2020), she includes Jamaica Kincaid in her profilesof 75 accomplished women-from a wide range of ages, background, and careers- who have all made lasting contributions in the wide world of plants.