Adriana Magaña
Co Founder - Instructor 

With over 17 years of experience designing and maintaining ecological gardens, from native perennial borders, forest gardens, and pollinator meadows to annual vegetable crops and medicinal herb gardens, I believe beautiful, productive landscapes are integral to the health and wellbeing of all creatures.

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In 2007, I became Co-Director of the Center for Bioregional Living, helping to build an ecological educational organization that is now internationally recognized and respected. I have managed operational budgets, developed strategic plans, and cultivated relationships with nonprofits, local leaders, and government officials, as well as the thousands of students who have gone through our trainings. I have supervised over 30 staff and interns, created ecological curriculum, and advised local and county planning boards on biogas, sustainable waste management, and environmental policy.

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My permaculture training taught me to think in systems: to understand relationships between design elements. This lens, combined with the foundational ethics of earth care, people care, and fair share, has enabled me to design healthy, productive landscapes that will exist long after I am gone. I have applied this approach to everything from residential and institutional garden design to co-founding an ecological education center to leading a 300-member political organization. I don't just plant gardens; I build relationships between elements that make landscapes, communities, and organizations resilient, collaborative, and inviting.

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Compost is a central focus of most of my designs. Creating closed-loop ecological systems by diverting the waste stream into building healthy soil is our future. Early humans harnessed fire and changed the world; now it is up to us to compost and heal it.

As Board President of the High Falls Food Co-op, I gained experience with financial oversight, board relations, and organizational governance. I chaired board meetings, hired and managed the general manager, conducted annual performance reviews, and organized board development retreats and training. Securing membership with a regional co-op association helped professionalize the organization and supported its evolution to a member-owned co-op. As Secretary of the Ulster County Democratic Committee, I supported the organization's financial turnaround from $10,000 in debt to a $250,000+ annual fundraising budget through improved operational systems, collaborative strategic planning, and donor and volunteer tracking.

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I have demonstrated additional fundraising and community organizing success by raising thousands of dollars in individual contributions during my campaign for Ulster County Legislature and engaging hundreds of voters through direct outreach. As a NYS Democratic Committee Member, I built coalitions across the Progressive, Rural, and Hispanic Caucuses and authored resolutions advancing environmental and social justice priorities.

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I am a hands-on leader and teacher. I have supervised dozens of interns and apprentices, developed curriculum for adult learners, and led numerous workshops and certification courses for hundreds of participants. I am equally comfortable troubleshooting a drip irrigation line, mentoring a young gardener, walking a donor through a new planting, or presenting to large groups.

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I also bring over 30 years of experience as a musician, performer, and creative collaborator. My artistic practice—rooted in ritual, community engagement, and experimental performance, informs everything I do, from garden design to organizational development. My art and ecological practice both evolved from my ability to imagine wildly and think deeply.

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I hold a Horticulture Certificate from Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a Permaculture Design Certificate from Yestermorrow, and a Certificate in Fundamentals of Medical Herbalism from the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism. I am presently working on my Spanish language skills with the goal of fluency.

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I am always excited to connect with others working at the intersection of ecological literacy, public space, community engagement, music, and performance.