Evan Abramson, MSc
Evan Abramson grew up amongst the museums and parks of New York City, where early exposure to ancient art, cultures, animals and plants left lasting impressions upon his abilities to create and organize images, color, light and form. Drawing on his diverse experience as a regional planner, landscape designer, farmer, community organizer, filmmaker and photojournalist, Evan designs landscapes and corridors that build biodiversity and resilience to a changing climate at the ecosystems level. As Founder and Principal of Landscape Interactions, he works closely with project partners along every step of the process, from conception through design, implementation and maintenance. Under his leadership, Landscape Interactions has been responsible for over 380 acres of habitat installed in the Northeast United States, specifically targeting at-risk bee, butterfly and moth species for each project location.
A former Land Use + Natural Resources Planner at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Evan designed a climate resiliency plan for the Deerfield River Watershed, the first of its kind in Massachusetts. His environmental documentaries have garnered dozens of festival awards, and influenced policymakers across the globe. His photographs have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and The Atlantic, among other publications. As a community organizer for Food & Water Watch, Evan helped pass a statewide ban on fracking waste in Connecticut, and stopped a gas-fired power plant proposal in less than one month. He milked cows, grew vegetables and raised cattle, pigs and poultry on pasture at the biodynamic Hawthorne Valley Farm. Between 2003 and 2008 he lived and worked among indigenous communities of the Bolivian Andes, and has traveled throughout Latin America extensively. He holds a Master of Science in Ecological Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design, a Bachelor of Arts in English from Vassar College, Certificates in Permaculture Design and Biodynamic Gardening, and is the author of numerous publications, including Pollinate Now, Farming for Biodiversity and Lincoln Pollinator Action Plan.
dr. Robert Gegear, PHD
Robert J. Gegear, Ph.D., is a Scientific Consultant at Landscape Interactions, a Pollination Ecologist and Conservation Biologist, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Founder and Director of the New England Beecology Project. He has studied the ecology, evolution, and conservation of pollination systems native to eastern North America for over 25 years. Dr. Gegear conducts ground-breaking research on the pollen and nectar preferences of native bees, butterflies and moths, by studying their memory and behavior in lab-controlled settings as well as documenting repeated floral visitations through extensive field observations. His studies demonstrate which native plant species particular native pollinator species need pollen from in order to reproduce, and which pollinator species specific native plant species need in order to produce seeds. His research approach spans many boundaries, combining concepts and experimental techniques from behavioral ecology, neurobiology, experimental psychology, molecular biology, population and community ecology, evolutionary biology, and computer science.
Dr. Gegear has organized and presented at scores of workshops and conferences, to educate citizens regarding the crucial role that native pollinators play in our ecosystems, and recruit them to help identify bee-plant interactions by uploading photos and videos through the Beecology app. He and a team of faculty and students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute were the recipients of a 1.2 million dollar National Science Foundation grant, allowing them to work with high school teachers to motivate the integrative teaching of computer science and biology in high school curricula.
Dr. Gegear considers bumblebees the ideal model to address his research questions, because they have evolved the behavioral capacity to flexibly track resources (floral nectar and pollen) in complex and constantly changing multi-sensory environments; are highly amenable to experimental study of behavior under laboratory and field conditions; are the main pollinator of numerous native plant species and therefore play a critical role in maintaining the function and diversity of natural ecosystems; have tremendous social and economic value as crop pollinators; and are easily identified while visiting flowers in the wild, thereby enabling citizen scientists with different academic backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences to actively participate in his field-based research.
Visit Dr. Gegear’s lab website.
Sneha kakkadan, MLA
Sneha Kakkadan is an Associate Landscape Designer and GIS Specialist at Landscape Interactions. Her passion for the environment was sparked during her studies in architecture, where she developed a deep interest in the intersection of design and ecology. This led her to focus on projects that emphasize community collaboration and ecological awareness.
Prior to joining Landscape Interactions, Sneha worked on various landscape design and environmental projects in both urban and rural settings. Her architecture thesis at the Karera Bustard/Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, India focused on the revival of the endangered Great Indian Bustard and the restoration of a drying wetland through a community-based conservation program. This experience highlighted the disconnect between conventional design practices and meaningful environmental engagement, inspiring her to explore more holistic approaches to landscape architecture.
Sneha’s journey also took her to parts of rural India, where she practiced earthen building construction, permaculture techniques and regenerative agriculture, gaining hands-on experience in sustainable design practices. During her final semester in the MLA program at the University of Pennsylvania, she undertook an independent study that resulted in a documentary series Mindfulness in Landscape Architecture exploring traditional embodied practices and indigenous design methods from around the world.
Sneha holds a Master in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design and a Bachelors in Architecture from Dr. Baliram Hiray College of Architecture, Mumbai. Her design work is driven by a commitment to ecological restoration and community empowerment, particularly in the face of the biodiversity and climate crises. Sneha is particularly passionate about projects that integrate traditional knowledge and practices into modern design, promoting sustainability and resilience.
Outside of her professional work, Sneha enjoys making experimental films, documentaries, and music. She often connects her creative endeavors with spirituality, finding inspiration in the healing and communicative aspects of art and design.
Adam Kohl
Adam Kohl is a Field Botanist at Landscape Interactions, a naturalist, conservationist and keen observer of nocturnal lepidoptera. His areas of interest include botany, entomology, native plant propagation, landscape design and the intersection of these disciplines. Adam was educated at the Native Plant Trust (formerly New England Wild Flower Society) where he studied systematics and botany with Arthur Haines; field botany with Ted Elliman and Roland ‘Boot’ Boutwell; ferns with Don Lubin and Ray Abair; lichens with Elizabeth Kneiper; grasses with Dennis Magee; seed biology with Elizabeth Farnsworth; and advanced horticulture with Dan Jaffe. Adam was the Propagation and Nursery Assistant at Nasami Farm for several years, growing over 100 local ecotype native plant species from seed. He reinvented the fern lab at Nasami and wrote a step-by-step protocol for propagating ferns from spore.
Adam travels thoughout the region as an independent seed collector. He leads seed collection walks focusing on the ethics and techniques of collection, storage and propagation. As a volunteer, Adam has contributed several dozen new plant finds for Vascular Flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts including trees, shrubs, forbs, grasses and sedges. Adam was formerly employed by the Towns of Wendell and Leverett as their Conservation Agent. He is also a composer, curator and collagist working in the mediums of sound-art, folk and performance. He has toured the United States several times and released nearly 100 albums on labels both domestic and foreign.