We want to decolonize the traditional land-use paradigm. Our main tactics include education, lawn reclamation, and habitat/community building. We want you to catch the conservation “bug.” Ultimately, we undermine capitalism by providing you with the resources necessary to steward the land you occupy.


  • Jessy started Undoing Ruin in 2018. He is a graduate from the Horticulture and Sustainable Agriculture programs at Reynolds Community College, a Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association (VNLA) Certified Horticulturist, a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP), a member of the Virginia Association for Biological Farming (VABF), and on the board of the Pocahontas chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society. Passion for the environment coupled with a punk-rock ethic drive the engine of Undoing Ruin.

    Jessy is active in the Richmond community through the music scene and his volunteering with Foodnotbombs. He can often be found scampering through the forest with his brilliant daughter and delightful dog.

  • Zane is a lifelong amateur natural historian, environmental educator, laborer, and storyteller. A recovering seasonal worker, he has built stone staircases on the Appalachian Trail, picked gillnets in Bristol Bay, and fought wildfires in Montana, California, and Alaska. Currently enrolled full time at VCU, he is pursuing his undergrad in Economics.

  • Hey I’m Dez! I studied botany at ODU and transferred to VCU for their environmental studies program. My knowledge is a collaboration of growing up in the Piedmont next to Shenandoah Ntl Park, learning herbalism with Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicine, studying wetlands by the coast, and working in horticulture here in RVA. Native plant ecology is my passion, and advocating for invasive removal is my goal in landscape interaction. Grateful to be on this team. 


  • Sarah is a horticulturist at Undoing Ruin. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Urban
    Planning with a minor in Environmental Science at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2017
    and became a Certified Horticulturist with the Virginia Nursery and Landscaping Association in
    2019. Over the past eight years Sarah has installed and maintained native landscapes for
    commercial businesses, government entities, nonprofits, and private homes. She believes that
    merging natural ecosystems with urban environments can help mitigate the effects of climate
    change and improve the health and wellbeing of all involved.

  • Melissa is a graduate of Reynolds’ Community College with a degree inHorticulture Technology, with certifications in sustainable agriculture, floral design and pest and disease management of ornamental landscape plants and turf grasses. Though her formal education only began recently, her lifelong passion for the environment and plant sciences has been consciously expressed by effort of neighborhood trash pick ups and always encouraging people to go outside and play. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

    With Jessy’s continued encouragement, Melissa stays an active member of the Richmond community by volunteering with LERN, Northside Nursery and often distributing food to community fridges. She will be continuing her studies at Virginia State University to earn her plant and soil sciences degree, with an overall career goal of phytoremediation field research specific to nuclear disaster clean-up sites. When she isn’t trying to save the world, Melissa enjoys shooting film photography, being silly with her son and kitty cat, and catching a good nap in her hammock.

  • Allison Kinney studied poetry at the University of Virginia, focusing on literature that explores ecological themes. After graduating, Allison got involved with regenerative agriculture and habitat restoration projects in Charlottesville. Allison is a Chesapeake Bay Landscaping Professional (CBLP), and is grateful for the opportunities Undoing Ruin provides to learn about Virginia’s plant life, and to lift heavy things. 

    Allison is also a writer for Style Weekly, Richmond Magazine, and other local publications.