What We Do
Who We Are
Meet the Team
Looking to start a new project landscaping in Southern Ontario? These are the smiling faces you'll be working with.
JP Bartle
Production Manager
JP possesses an extensive background in landscape design and development, with a co-op diploma from Fanshawe College and numerous certifications. Originally hailing from Brantford, JP has been fortunate to spend extended periods abroad, with stints in Italy and Argentina. As one of our Production Managers, he strives to bring his unique perspective to every project we undertake, especially enjoying building water features that are tied to patios and seating areas and pulling all elements together.
JP is also a lover of the fine arts, and greatly appreciates the opportunity to express his artistic talent through landscape design. When not working hard for Quiet Nature, JP can be found snapping photos with his camera and paddling the local waterways.
Kim Lippert
Landscape Design and Sales
Kim Lippert is our garden maintenance specialist at Quiet Nature Ltd. Kim has significant experience in garden/landscape design and was instrumental in originally establishing our Garden Maintenance Division back in 2010.
Upon graduating in 2003 from Concordia University with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, she has since studied horticulture and landscape design at Humber and Conestoga Colleges and has held various landscape gardening positions with the City of Toronto and other GTA landscaping firms in addition to her time at Quiet Nature Ltd.
Ashley Borden
HRS Coordinator
Prior to working with Quiet Nature as our HRS Coordinator, Ashley has extensive experience in the field ranging from working as a Health and Safety Consultant in the KW area to working with Toyota for 10+ years as a team leader and in the Health & Safety department. Ashley helps keep Quiet Nature’s employees safe and happy, along with making sure our job sites are safe and compliant.
Away from the rigidity of her job, Ashley enjoys curling up with a good book, learning to play her fiddle and staying active by working out. She is a wife and mom to two very energetic boys and loves spending time together as a family: camping, canoeing, and hanging out around the pool. In winter, they enjoy playing pond hockey, tobogganing, and skating.
Clare Higgins
Office Administrator
Clare has over 21 years of office administration experience, in varying sizes of companies typically within the Finance or Billing setting.
Having joined Quiet Nature in May of 2022, she is excited to become a valued team member, learning as much as possible about the Landscaping industry and helping the inner workings of the company run smoothly.
In her personal life Clare is a wife and mother, is an animal lover, and enjoys the volunteer work she does with National Service Dogs. She also enjoys spending as much time outside as possible ( in the warmer months) , walking, hiking, paddleboarding when she can & trying her hand at looking after a little backyard vegetable garden.
Derek Lippert
Owner
With an Ecosystem Management Technologist diploma from the Sir Sanford Fleming School of Natural Resources, Derek founded Quiet Nature in 1999 to harness his passion for the great outdoors. His deep love of the natural world manifests itself through his many hobbies, including fishing, hunting, camping, canoeing, and tending to his small farm in Ayr.
At the helm of Quiet Nature, Derek works to manage large-scale ecological restoration projects and design practical outdoor living spaces. His dedication to sustainable landscape design, coupled with his desire to protect the environment through innovative design alternatives, makes him a powerful leader for the Quiet Nature team.
Mariam Houta
Designer
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Westminster (UK) Mariam has strived to gain experience in sub-sectors of the design industry (interior design, interior finishing and construction, furniture, woodworking, graphics and photography. Her role in Quiet Nature varies from assisting our project admin, creating graphics, occasionally 3D modeling our landscape projects and company photography and videography.
Her time traveling between the UK, Egypt and Canada has exposed her to various cultures, architectural design and building & agricultural techniques, increasing her appreciation for projects that are contextualized to the climate, environment and people using it. In her free time, Mariam enjoys getting immersed in a new home DIY project, making her own live-edge furniture, keeping busy with the bees in her family hives and feeding her houseplant addiction.
Brent Boyde
Yard Coordinator
An avowed environmentalist, Brent loves the opportunity to work on projects that co-exist peacefully with nature. He spent several years living in Newfoundland, which helped shape this mentality. He particularly enjoys Quiet Nature’s commitment to using natural products in our landscape designs. He works diligently to protect the job sites we visit.
When Brent isn’t working on construction projects for our clients, you can find him enjoying the great outdoors – hiking and camping are among his favourite pastimes. Brent is also passionate about playing the drums, often with Nash (sometimes as part of the Ayr Christmas Parade!).
Nash Harder
Crew Lead
A graduate of Fanshawe College with a diploma in horticulture, Nash forms a pivotal part of our construction team. With 10+ years experience in the industry and several years of flagstone/paver installation experience and over recent years, he has really fallen in love and been involved in drystone walling.
He enjoys the physical aspect of his work and says nothing can beat seeing the satisfaction on the face of a happy customer. During his down time, Nash enjoys snowboarding, camping, trailing running, playing hockey, concerts, barbecuing for friends and family, playing the drums and cheering on his favorite hockey team (he’s a diehard Flyers fan).
Oliver Finucane
Crew Lead
Since the age of 16, Oliver has been involved in the landscaping industry, starting his journey in property maintenance and construction. Over years of experience, his involvement in the construction side of the industry became evident, thus beginning a landscape design course at Mohawk College and others at Landscape Ontario, ranging from construction skills and business.
While working as a Crew Lead with Quiet Nature, Oliver remembers his love for the industry with every start to a new season, when the weather gets warm, and he can be outdoors in the sun again! Besides his love for large-scale excavations, grading and retaining, he also holds an appreciation for smaller projects on his home and enjoying the simple pleasures of discovering new hiking trails and travelling to new places.
Bob Weber
Lead Hand
Bob Weber’s green fingers started with his love for home gardening and his involvement in the landscaping industry starting in 1987! Although he has attended many off-season training seminars and practical workshops to expand his knowledge, he prefers to learn through hands-on and self-taught experience, especially with swim ponds and water features.
During his downtime, Bob enjoys woodworking, cabinet making and following all sports, especially the Blue Jay games through the summer.
Brett Tohivsky
Crew Member
Prior to working at Quiet Nature, Brett had enrolled in school for Ecosystem Management and continued to co-op in South Africa on an Animal Rehab Reserve. Although he has worked at Toyota, manufacturing vehicles, for multiple summers, Brett has an appreciation for working outside in nice weather and with a good crew. As part of Quiet Nature’s Design Build crew, his favorite moments are working with and building our unique swim ponds.
Evidently, Brett is also a lover of nature and wildlife but also balances his time with playing sports, games and the guitar.
Robin Leyde
Softscape Crew Lead
Having grown up in South Africa, Robin’s passion for horticulture stems from being surrounded by incredible nature and landscapes. His path in the industry starts with gardening at home, collecting succulents and orchids, obtaining a diploma in Horticulture, managing greenhouses full of orchids, growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms and installing/maintaining vertical gardens.
As one of Quiet Nature’s horticulturalists, Robin’s favorite part of the job has been working with natural swim ponds and streams. He enjoys being a part of encouraging clients towards sustainable and beneficial practices and away from the mindset of the garden being separate from nature and the environment.
Away from work, Robin loves exploring his new home, Canada, with his wife and daughter. He also enjoys delving into photography, music, philosophy and politics.
Katherine Moesker
Softscape Crew Member
Katherine has always enjoyed the outdoors, getting her hands dirty, caring for the planet and using her knowledge and experience connecting people to nature in their homes. She has a background in Ecosystem Management and Environmental Science, working for a variety of organizations doing environmental conservation and restoration work. Katherine has also worked in landscape maintenance, retail garden centers and as the head gardener for a property management company.
As one of Quiet Nature’s horticulturalists, Katherine’s favorite part of the job is building pollinator gardens using native plants and helping encourage people to get outside in their own yards, establishing a connection with the natural world.
In her down-time, she enjoys drawing, painting wildlife portraits, collecting archaeology artifacts and playing acoustic guitar. Katherine enjoys weather-watching, mountain biking and hiking, finding herself always stopping along the way to identify different plants and birds.
Sean MacDonald
Landscape Design, Sales, Estimator and Project Manager
After graduating from Fanshawe College’s Landscape Design program in 2020, Sean has been working full time as a landscape designer, salesperson and estimator. Between his semesters, Sean worked in landscape construction and carpentry and helped his parents with outdoor projects such as planting and installing a small pond at their cottage.
At previous jobs and as one of Quiet Nature’s landscape designers/estimators, his favorite part of the job is building fences and pergolas, where there is a lot of opportunity for creative design in these simple but powerful landscape features. Sean enjoys seeing the transformation of a property and how it may change a client’s life and ability to use their space in the way they envisioned.
His free time includes going north to his parents’ cottage, where he enjoys kayaking, hiking, golfing, snowshoeing and more. Sean also likes to work out, play video games and watch Leafs games with friends.
Diana Ballarano
Softscape Lead Hand
As a passionate environmentalist and a love of plants, Diana Ballarano studies Restoration Ecology at Fleming College and Trent University. Prior to working at Quiet Nature, she has also completed the GROW program with Landscape Ontario and has gained environmental field experience such as mussel relocation projects, plant and fish data collection, invasive control and lots of aquatic planting.
In her time working with Quiet Nature’s softscape crew, her favorite part has become planting and loving the fulfillment that comes from creating a garden and seeing how the plants look and work together, altering spaces with different types of plants and maintenance to create something truly beautiful.
Brent Garland
Lead Hand
Brent has always loved a good puzzle and, by being in the landscape industry, his work has never been short of giving him the best puzzles to complete: building flooring, retaining walls and natural flagstone walkways. As one of Quiet Nature’s hardscape technicians, Brent continues to learn from his mentors and gains experience to make these puzzles easier and to help in creating a final beautiful picture for the client.
Brent also loves to play music through his guitar and drums and mostly to the entertainment of his one-year-old daughter and wife. Not surprisingly, he loves the outdoors and loves going on canoe trips with his family and dogs. Brent was also competitive in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts for over 10 years.
Tonia Coulter
Crew Member
With over 10 years experience working as a crew leader and supervisor for a Mississauga based landscape contractor, Tonia has become a pro at building a blank slate into something beautiful. She has worked hand in hand with the City of Mississauga and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, planting and maintaining garden beds and features in and around the Peel Region and Pearson Airport.
In her time away as our Naturalization Lead Hand, Tonia likes to boost her adrenaline and love for adventure by tree trekking, working through escape rooms and traveling to new places.
Taylor Salomons
Crew Member
Although Taylor has a plumbing apprenticeship degree from Mohawk College, most of his work career has been in landscaping and forklifting. With over 12 years of outdoor experience, Taylor loves his tech tools and is proficient in operating a chainsaw, stone saw, hedge trimmers, weed trimmers, push mowers, mini excavator and skid steers. At Quiet Nature, he loves being a part of creating gardens and mini ponds, using his knowledge of plants and landscaping to create and design gardens, building patios and making the outdoor space more beautiful.
In Taylor’s down time, he likes to spend time with his family, playing sports with his eldest daughter, camping, reading and spending lots of time outside, especially loving a good sunny hot summer day.
Robert Andree
Crew Lead
Stunning Landscapes & Satisfied Clients
Giving Back to Mother Nature
"I selected Quiet Nature because I liked the artistic style of their landscapes and the concept of a low maintenance, drought-resistant garden. We've been able to give back to mother nature and have a fabulously beautiful backyard!"
- Angela
Waterloo, Ontario
The End Result is Beautiful
"We were very pleased with the Butterfly Garden rejuvenation project that Quiet Nature planned and installed for us. The end result is beautiful, within our budget and was created using no power tools."
- Victoria Lant
Northlake Woods School Council; Waterloo, Ontario
A Trusted Local Partner
Our Project Won Three Awards
"Our project won three Landscape Ontario awards! The craftsmanship and quality of our wonderful outdoor living room is superb. Before the project, we rarely spent time outside and now, it’s our second living room!"
- Steven & Donna
Conestoga, ON
We're In Love With Our Gardens
"We chose Quiet Nature because we liked that they care about the environmental footprint they leave behind. We, and our customers, are in love with the new gardens and we would gladly recommend Quiet Nature to anyone."
- Samantha Dion
Cedar House Restaurant; Paris, Ontario
Why Choose Quiet Nature?
We Bring Our Passion to Every Project
Whether you're looking for a home patio redesign, meadowland creation, or a natural swimming pond, we bring our passion for great design and environmentally friendly practices to every project. Let our experienced horticulturists and landscape craftsmen bring your vision to life in an exciting and innovative fashion.
Professional Results without the Pollution
The natural beauty of your landscaping shouldn't infringe on the health of its surroundings. Our zero emission maintenance approach uses "people powered" tools and battery-operated equipment to produce fewer emissions and less noise. We produce professional results and your neighbours will love us!
Experience that Truly Counts
Don't entrust your landscaping project to an amateur, but instead choose to work with award-winning landscape designers. We've had the opportunity to partner with hundreds of local home and business owners to create sensational landscapes that are visually appealing and environmentally sensitive.
View Examples of Our Award-Winning Work
From backyard patios to swimming pools, natural gardens, wildflower meadows and so much more, our commitment to delivering exceptional results makes every project truly special. Our award-winning designs reach far beyond the traditional confines of landscaping, thanks to our dedication to producing work that doesn't compromise on our ideals.
We believe the beauty of our natural world should be available to everyone, and our innovative designs highlight the versatility of sustainable landscaping. It's a unique strategy that has successfully contributed to the creation of some of our area's most impressive residential backyards, low maintenance gardens, and stunning water features.
Take a few moments to explore our previous work and get inspired for your next landscape design project.
Ready to Take Action?
Book your consultation today and let us make your landscape vision a reality.
As Seen in the Media
