The Naturalist's Bio:
Andrew Cole-Tyson was born and raised in a Birmingham, Alabama.  As a child he loved the outdoors and attributes many of his early outdoor experiences to the exposure provided by his parents and his Uncle and Aunt Jim and Kathryn Porter.  Upon high school graduation he made his way to Auburn University to study Horticulture which stemmed from an existing interest in Forestry and Land Conservation. After completion of his undergraduate degree in 2004, he moved back to Birmingham where he began his career as a Landscape Designer, Landscape Contractor, and Nurseryman. Shortly after beginning this new career in Birmingham, he realized that his interests were much larger than the residential scale of landscape design and began discussions with Auburn University about entering the Masters of Landscape Architecture program. In the Fall of 2005 he was accepted to this program and began his journey to grasp the concept of a "Landscape." Over the course of his studies he gained a passion for Urban Design and investigated ways to introduce Agriculture and Art into urban environments.  In the spring of 2008 he completed his graduate work and soon after took a job in Montgomery, AL as a Landscape Designer and Land Planner with 2WR Holmes Wilkins Architects. Here Andrew is excited to be part of a team of Architects, and Interior Designers that understand the importance of land conservation and building buildings that are innovative and energy efficient.  Andrew is a naturalist who sees his profession from the perspective of an artist, horticulturalist, and conservationist. He views the landscape as a canvas for experimentation, expression, and implementation of his ideas. He is fascinated by the "Landscape" as a complicated system of layers to include topics such as ecology, history, politics, sociology, art, construction, culture, weather, and the list goes on.  Please see link to "The Mission" to learn how Andrew is taking his passion for nature and design and attempting to mesh it with his spiritual interest in international mission work.