Who We Are

Founded in 2005, Seeds of Wisdom, LLC, specializes in Urban Forestry Design and Stewardship.

From species selection to tree health, from conceptual design to green infrastructure, Seeds of Wisdom cares for trees in urban and semi-arid environments. Our projects aim to support urban ecosystems, make the most of stormwater, and create spaces for people to enjoy trees. Seeds of Wisdom continually adapts management strategies for urban trees, forests, and landscapes.

Athena Beshur
Principal Designer, ISA Certified Urban Forest Professional & ISA Certified Arborist RM-7970AM, Owner

Athena Beshur, principal designer and owner, is an International Society of Arboriculture certified urban forestry professional and certified arborist. She holds a Master of Natural Resources with graduate certificate emphasis in Urban Forestry.  She uses native and adaptable plants to add to the vibrancy of place-based design.  Her designs emphasize enhanced habitat and support trees using stormwater.

Public works include management of the Santa Fe River corridor on several reaches including most recently adjacent Alto Park.

She designed Phase 1 of the Guadalupe Credit Union landscape at Academy and Airport Road, the Stations of the Cross Prayer Garden and Jardin de los Santos at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, and the Alameda Rain Garden at El Alamo and Cathedral Place. She co-designed the Covid-19 Memorial Garden.

Currently, she is leading the development of the post-fire Las Vegas, NM Urban Forestry Management Plan and directing the installation of the Pueblos Del Sol Park rain garden.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and enjoys playing the clarinet.

Matthew Ellis
Creative Director, Communications & Marketing

Matthew has a passion for transforming initial ideas into beautiful tangible plans. Working in the Adobe Suite and Vectorworks, he integrates ArcGIS data into our solution-oriented designs. He is currently completing the graphic design for the Las Vegas Urban Forestry Management Plan. Beyond the digital realm, Matthew has fabricated a variety of elegant garden and landscape features, including habitat-specific birdhouses built for SoW’s work with Santa Fe’s green spaces.

A New England native, Matthew brings a lifelong passion for design, craft, and fine art to SoW projects. He earned a BFA in Design from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. He studied traditional crafts through a rigorous apprenticeship in fine woodworking and organic farming with the Rochester Folk Art Guild in New York. He has certification in museum-level conservation, wooden boatbuilding, sailing, and historic preservation from the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine. Matthew also maintains an active studio art practice, with work exhibited in museums and galleries across the country. 

As Creative Director for Seeds of Wisdom, Matthew delights in bringing decades of design and fabrication experience to our team, integrating 2D and 3D best practices into SoW projects. He loves working with clients to help realize their ideas. He thrives at the intersection of creativity, tradition, and pragmatic problem-solving, making him an indispensable collaborator for anyone seeking thoughtful, well-crafted design.

When he’s not designing or building, Matthew can often be found making or collecting traditional folk toys, training in martial arts, doing culinary experimentation, or playing trumpet in the local community band – pursuits that reflect his playful spirit and wide-ranging curiosity.

Joel
Foreman, Arborist Assistant

Joel is a veteran in the Santa Fe landscape community, having worked in the local industry for over 25 years. Originally from a small ranch in Chihuahua, Mexico, he grew up tending horses, cattle, goats, chickens, and other livestock. Much of his youth was spent seasonally sowing fields and maintaining small and large vegetable gardens and also making produce to sell at the local markets. He is a family man and a hard worker. He has much experience guiding outdoor projects, and he values hard work and doing the best work possible in the first time around. Joel has a wealth of experience with tree and shrub installation, building green infrastructure, irrigation systems, general maintenance, coyote fencing and fountain work. He has much experience with machinery such as backhoes, skidsteers, grinders and chainsaws; he is also an adept stonemason.

As Foreman at Seeds of Wisdom, Joel is the backbone in the field of many of our projects. He guides and oversees the practical implementation of the work that we do, ensuring that it is done in a way that is not only functional and effective, but also lasting. He often plays active roles in troubleshooting and constructing irrigation and sprinkler systems, and he oversees larger installations that include sustainable green infrastructure and rock work. He ensures that projects are streamlined, and that the work being done is carried out in an orderly and systematic way such that it will be done well.

He is also an accomplished tree pruner, and is at the forefront of tree trimming projects. As Arborist Assistant at Seeds of Wisdom, Joel focuses on maintaining and promoting tree health in diverse landscapes. His efforts often include the removal of dead, obstructive, or intersecting limbs; the therapeutic treatment of diseased and infected trees; or the careful removal of dead or unhealthy trees altogether to support nearby plant life. In concert with the Seeds of Wisdom ethos, Joel applies an ecological approach toward tree health, taking into account the surrounding context within which a given tree, or cluster of trees, thrives. This often involves a careful consideration and evaluation of local plant, insect, and animal habitats, as well as a concern for proximal manmade structures such as houses, fences and walkways. He also routinely constructs green infrastructure technologies for trees.

Dago
Construction Specialist

With many years of experience, Dago is adept at working with a variety of materials, including flagstone, concrete, cement, gabion, irrigation piping, stucco, and plastering.  He also has extensive experience with tree planting and pruning, and is dedicated to doing high-quality work on projects of all sizes, whether they involve safely operating specialized equipment such as a mini-excavator or chipping flagstone with hand tools.  Throughout the hard work that goes into bringing a project to realization, Dago keeps the team in good spirits.

Dago is from Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, which is a beautiful part of the country and is home to the largest agricultural community and granary in Chihuahua.

Crisanto
Irrigation Specialist, Assistant Foreman

From installation to maintenance to troubleshooting, Crisanto’s expertise spans all aspects of irrigation systems.  He works hard and is meticulous in his approach to each project, documenting materials, dimensions, and other information.  He also has experience with pruning trees and planting, and enjoys working on a variety of projects.

Crisanto is from Durango, Mexico, which is a beautiful place with lots of agriculture, cows, horses, and hot springs, as well as lively festivals.  When he has free time, Crisanto enjoys listening to music, playing soccer with his kids, and dancing.

Morgan
Urban Forestry Project Coordinator

Morgan brings a can-do positivity to every project and helps keep our systems running smoothly. As an ISA Certified Arborist, she makes sure that the trees we plant have strong structure and meet the requirements for Right Tree, Right Place, Right Reason. She holds a Bachelor degree in Botany, and makes every effort to insure that native species are identified during restoration efforts.

In her free time, she enjoys meeting community members interested in trees, volunteering with the tree inventory project, hiking and hearing music.

Matt
Lead Steward, Soil Specialist

Matt holds an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science with an emphasis on Sustainable Technologies from Santa Fe Community College. He is currently working toward a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science from Northern New Mexico College. He has multiple environmental honors and certifications, having received two certifications as Compost Facility Operator, granted by both the Environmental Protection Division and by the New Mexico Recycling Coalition. He has received leadership certifications from SFCC, has acted in leadership positions as a Student Ambassador, and has also completed a year-long apprenticeship in traditional acequia farming and modern market gardening practices through the New Mexico Acequia Association’s Farmer Training Program. He is an Honors Scholar for Phi Theta Kappa with an emphasis on Frontiers and the Spirit of Exploration. Matt is originally from Chimayo, NM, where he currently resides and operates a farm, experimenting with sustainable vegetable and greenhouse gardening, and with water harvesting and soil enhancing techniques.

As Lead Steward at Seeds of Wisdom, Matt is a multitasker. He focuses on the many features of the ecosystems where we work, with an emphasis on soil composition, while at the same time also handling many everyday details of our projects. His main task involves enhancing soil health through the application of revitalizing nutrients and minerals that promote plant life and contribute to local ecosystems. This includes the application of microbes, fungi, iron, compost, or holistic fertilizer to bolster the soil, but it can also include the application of soil treatments such that it performs better in its water retention or its ability to channel water to or from a source. He often constructs and/or maintains compost stations in gardens, and he instructs and advises clients on how to do so effectively. He regularly applies nutrients to particular plants, whether they be new plantings or existing plants in need of help. He builds sustainable green infrastructure for soil mitigation, erosion control, and water retention. He works closely with the team in order to monitor, diagnose, and treat plant health both above and below ground level.

Patricio
Irrigation Specialist

With 25 years of experience working with irrigation systems in Santa Fe, Patricio is a methodical problem-solver who finds economical solutions to irrigation issues.  He is skilled in installing, maintaining, and repairing a wide array of water systems, from rain gutters and water hydrants to valve boxes and backflow devices.  Patricio is a hard worker, and he works on all technical aspects after plumbing work is completed.  He also has extensive experience with flagstone and block masonry projects, residential construction, and interior finish work.  Patricio believes it’s good to always be learning new skills, and applies his collaborative, safety-minded approach to every project.

Patricio has lived in Santa Fe since elementary school, and in his free time, he enjoys grilling, bicycling, singing karaoke with friends, and visiting his family in Mexico — especially riding horses with his grandson.

Isidro
Irrigation Specialist & Construction Technician

Isidro works hard and keeps a great attitude throughout the day. He holds extensive knowledge on many landscaping topics, including irrigation, piping systems, construction, tree planting and pruning.

In his free time, he enjoys fishing, hunting and cooking traditional style food. His favorite dish is fish tacos, made with his very own corn tortillas.