About Wilder
Helping people make thoughtful, life-supporting changes in their landscapes
Wilder was created for people who care about their landscapes and the life they support, but don’t want to take on a major project or figure everything out on their own.
At its core, Wilder is about making it easier to do the right thing. That means offering clear guidance, practical frameworks, and encouragement as people learn how their outdoor spaces function and how small changes can make a real difference.
Rather than focusing on full redesigns or quick fixes, Wilder works with what’s already there. Many landscapes don’t need to be reinvented—they need understanding, thoughtful adjustments, and time.
Wilder believes that healthier landscapes can grow through small, intentional decisions made over time. By supporting people as they shift their baseline and invite more life into their yards, those changes ripple outward, benefiting wildlife, neighborhoods, and communities.
This work is rooted in native plants, ecological function, and a deep respect for place—but it’s always centered on people. Wilder exists to help you feel confident, supported, and capable as you care for your outdoor space.
About the guide behind Wilder
Meet Kaitlin Hammersley
I’m passionate about helping people be good stewards of the built environment and connect to the natural world more deeply, and I have over a decade of experience using planting design and education to foster these connections.
Born and raised in Sarasota, I followed my family roots back to coastal Maine for college, where I majored in Environmental Studies and Visual Arts at Bowdoin, often splitting my time between the woods and the art studio. After dabbling in outdoor apparel product development and international education work after college, I accepted an invitation to serve as an Agroforestry Extension Agent with the U.S. Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, where I served from 2013-2015. I loved fueling my clients’ passion for trees and teaching about the importance of thoughtful site and species selection, and it was doing this work that I realized landscape design was the path where I could combine my passions — art and environment.
While attending Foothill College’s Environmental Horticulture and Design AS program in California, I landed a dream internship with award-winning Landscape Architect John Black at Silicon Valley-based Verdance Landscape Architecture. I had the privilege of working with John for nearly a decade, and learned most of what I know about applied landscape design, excellent client service, and streamlined operations under his generous mentorship.
A St. Pete homeowner in the Crescent Lake neighborhood since 2016, I’m excited to be your trusted expert on native plants and urban ecology, in the community I call home.
When I’m not at work, you can find me exploring St. Pete or adventuring in Florida’s wilds with my husband and two young kids, or escaping to the woods and waters of Maine in the summer.