Temple University

Nathan Heavers is an ecological designer with a background in horticulture and visual arts. He researches the diverse ways that humans manage, cultivate, and design forests. Currently, Nathan is working on an urban forestry management plan for the George Washington Memorial Parkway under the direction of the National Park Service and in collaboration with Virginia Tech. This project explores his broader research interests in adaptive forest management strategies in response to climate change and the tensions between cultural landscape values and forest ecosystems. 

Nathan is a dedicated landscape architecture professor, having taught design studios at Virginia Tech, Rutgers University, The City College of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to studying landscape architecture, he was the gardener at The Cloisters Museum of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY) and the horticulture manager at the Washington National Cathedral (DC). Nathan enjoys working on his family farm, gardening, drawing, and walking. Examples of his drawings can be found at https://www.instagram.com/nheavers/ 

MLA, University of Pennsylvania, 2009 

AB, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Certificate in Visual Arts, Princeton University, 2000 

Selected Awards:  

First Prize, The Casey Tree Farm Masterplan Design Competition, sponsored by Casey Trees, Washington, DC 

Finalist, Peace Corps Commemorative Design Competition, sponsored by the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation, Washington, DC 

Selected Works: 

Heavers, N. (2022). “Designing an Appalachian forest path through walking.” Ri-Vista: Research for Landscape Architecture, Firenze University Press. 

Heavers, N. (2019). “Ian McHarg’s enduring influence on the ecological planning and design of Washington’s waterfront.” Socio-Ecological Practice Research. 

Heavers, N. (2017). “The Evolving Arboreta of Washington’s Monumental Core: 19th Century to Present.” Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes: 1-14.