Erica Klopf Ecologist, Edible Plant, and Design Specialist
Erica Klopf was raised in Naples, Florida and is dedicated to the development sustainable landscapes in South Florida. She completed her undergraduate work with a double-major in Environmental Studies and Art at Florida Gulf Coast University in 2012. Her university experience included one year of service in the Student Government as the Executive Director of Environmental Initiatives, two years as the assistant to the Director of Sustainability in the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, and two years as a student naturalist for the Colloquium Program, leading tours of natural areas and connecting students to concepts of sustainability. She completed internships at the Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead, Florida, at the Naples Botanical Gardens in Naples, Florida, and at Benchmark Inc in Ft. Myers, Florida as an Edible Landscape Designer. Her studies of ecology, tropical fruits, and design culminated in the design of the Florida Gulf Coast University Food Forest. She received her Permaculture Design Certificate through The Permaculture Project, her Advanced Permaculture Design Certification in Edible Forest Garden Design through Perennial Solutions, and is a trained Permaculture Teacher through the Urban Permaculture Guild of San Francisco in Experiential Permaculture Education. Since her graduation in 2012, Erica has designed gardens as far south as Key West as far north as Orlando, up and down the west and east coast of Florida, and recently virtually in Mexico. She has designed and consulted for prestigious organizations such as the JW Marriott, Pulte Homes, and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. From 2019-2024, she took time away from designing to gain hands on experience working in botanical gardens, small farms, and a fruit tree nursery called Fruitscapes. She also spent time working in a design office gaining new skills in landscape design software. Her return to landscape design full time has been fulfilling, and she is looking forward to working with you. When Erica isn't designing, she is gardening at her 1/4 acre urban Fort Myers house where she stewards a collection of over 250 varieties of edible and medicinal plants. If she's not gardening, she is sailing her 43' Youngsun cutter sailboat. In 2022, she helped work on a new publication by well known edible plant researcher Eric Toensmeier called Trees with Edible Leaves. Click here for a link to the free publication In 2024, she was featured in two Gulfshore Life articles and is anticipating an article in Florida Design Magazine this coming October. She is participating this year at the Florida Permaculture Convergence as a guest speaker. |
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