About Us
"I want my son, Ellis, and his generation to enjoy a healthier, more beautiful world.
Nature is my inspiration; family and community are my motivation."
- Ian Hunter, Phoenix Habitats Founder
Phoenix Habitats, named for nature's regenerative abilities, is a dedicated team of expert restoration practitioners and landscape designers, specializing in Pacific Northwest ecosystems and native plant communities. Our approach focuses on lasting results, beautiful and dynamic plantings, and environmental implementation.
Lasting Results
We communicate exactly what a site needs in preparation for planting to get lasting results. Our strategies save money and carbon pollution by reducing unnecessary labor and material inputs, instead opting for ecological strategies that naturally facilitate desired landscape features. Our clients connect with their landscapes through personalized design gestures for greater engagement and stewardship over time.
Beautiful and Dynamic Plantings
With over a decade of experience in landscape architecture and design, Phoenix Habitats brings intentionally designed plant compositions to our habitat restoration practice. We seek to re-imagine the potential for native plants in all settings, including high end residential and commercial projects. Initial plant selection is rooted in existing site conditions, with a framework for dynamic succession and change over time, providing constant interest and interaction.
Environmental Implementation
The way something is accomplished is just as important as what is accomplished. With sustainability at our core, Phoenix Habitats strives to incorporate the most cutting edge environmental tools for the trade. Our practices include committing to the use of all-electric power tools, dramatically reducing pesticide use through carefully considered Integrated Pest Management (IPM), applying permaculture principles to reuse on-site materials whenever possible, and paying our staff live-able, dignified wages.
Phoenix Habitats, LLC is a fully licensed, bonded, and insured
Oregon Landscape Contracting Business
OLCB #9946
Meet Our Team
Botanist
Olivia Anne
Olivia is a walking encyclopedia of native plants. Her connection to nature is enhanced with an academic and professional background in Horticulture and Restoration Ecology. Her expertise improves all aspects of our operations, especially plant selection. Olivia independently consults on large restoration projects, from the Willamette River Superfund sites to recently burned forest sites across Oregon.
Habitat Restoration Specialist
Aubrey Cloud
Aubrey is a skilled restoration practitioner, with a portfolio that includes some of the largest natural areas in the Willamette Valley. He currently advises on field practices, while managing restoration projects for the Luckiamute & Mary's River Watershed Councils. Our clients know that he never misses an opportunity to make a pun, joke, or find another way to make us smile.
Planting Designer
Abigail Leonard
Abigail is taking native planting design to the next level. With over a decade of nursery, fine gardening, and landscape architectural experience, Abigail channels an intimate knowledge of plants into striking designs that both humans and wildlife adore. When she's not at the drafting table, she's likely out hiking, looking for her next favorite plant combination in Oregon’s beautiful landscapes.
Founder & Owner
Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter founded Phoenix Habitats shortly after becoming a father, to help restore nature for future generations. With an academic and professional background in Ecology, Landscape Architecture and Habitat Restoration, Ian is uniquely positioned to create and lead a new type of landscaping firm, based on environmental stewardship and committed to spaces that bring nature and people together.
Equity & Representation
The disciplines of Habitat Restoration and Landscape Architecture are both overwhelmingly white. For decades, racial diversification in significant ways has been difficult. There are many potential reasons for this, including institutional barriers to education from a young age, and ongoing discrimination into adulthood while visiting natural areas. Phoenix Habitats recognizes and acknowledges these barriers and more. We also recognize that the land we seek to restore was once (and still is) stewarded from time immemorial by the Multnomah, Cowlitz, Kalapuya, Atfalati, Molalla, Ahantchuyuk, Yamhill, Santiam, and Luckiamute Tribes and the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde.
The team at Phoenix Habitats is actively engaging in anti-racist efforts, to help address these issues of historical inequity and injustice. As a young company, our goal for future growth is to increase staff diversity with an effective jobs training program for all levels of experience. The principles of inclusion, love, and humility guide our actions, as we seek to build community and restore a sense of belonging in nature for everyone. Successful habitat restoration efforts in Oregon and throughout the world will only result from our collective embrace, empowerment, and participation.