About Me

My name is Mel.  I grew up here in the Pacific Northwest raised by very frugal parents that taught me and my sister to appreciate the natural world....and work hard.

I decided to become an architect when I was 12.  That decision eventually led me to the University of Oregon earning my Bachelor of Architecture with a Minor in Environmental Studies and included a year long fellowship in Glasgow, Scotland, and then off to live and work in San Francisco.

I have a passion for the outdoors and I have always loved using that passion to inspire others.  In high school and during summers after college, I spent a lot of time working with kids and teaching them to love and appreciate the natural world through Outdoor School and summer camp.  In college, I assisted in leading a group of at-risk teenagers on a 6 week wilderness adventure.  We took those kids out of the urban environment and showed them how to rock climb, backpack, mountaineer, mountain bike and most importantly to leave no impact.  They gained confidence, made friends and learned to love the outdoors that summer.

It was while working for an architecture firm in San Francisco that I met my future husband and we moved (back) to Portland.  That was 2005, when this urban farm journey really started.  Now I direct sustainability and development work for a commercial real estate company and tend our homestead on the weekends and evenings.


Contact me: polloloco.pdx <at> gmail <dot> com