The Team

Kristen co-founded Satinflower Nurseries: Native Plants, Seeds & Consulting, a native plant nursery and consulting business in Victoria, British Columbia. The nursery inspires and empowers people to connect with nature through native plants. Kristen is a biologist passionate about native plants, ecology, ecosystem restoration, and native plant propagation. Her undergraduate work focused on grass taxonomy, and she completed her master’s in paleoecology at the University of Victoria, where she studied the preglacial flora of southern Vancouver Island. Over the past couple of decades, her work has focused on the Prairie-Oak ecosystems of Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Kristen is a steering committee member of the Cascadia Prairie Oak Partnership and a sessional lecturer at the University of Victoria in Biology and the School of Environmental Studies. Kristen continues to provide ecological consultation to various agencies and groups and teaches courses and workshops on native plants, propagation, and local ecology regularly.

James Miskelly, Co-Owner 

James Miskelly is a biologist with expertise in Garry oak ecosystems, plants, insects, and restoration. James completed a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Victoria in 2004 focusing on butterflies and their habitat needs.  James has worked in various capacities specializing on rare plants and animals. He is a research associate at the Royal BC Museum in entomology with a particular interest in Canadian Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids). Currently, James works full time with Natural Resources Canada, helping to conserve and restore habitats and rare species on federal DND lands. James helps continually with consulting aspects of the nursery and managing the native seed fields as well as developing specialized seed mixes for customers.  

Tommy Grant, General Manager

Tommy has been with Satinflower Nurseries since 2020 and now works as the nurseries general manager. After a jet-setting career as a CPA auditor, it was time for a big change. His goal was to find meaningful work that will make a positive difference in the world. After rediscovering his love of plants and nature, Tommy became a certified Organic Master Gardener through Gaia College. He knew that plants had captured his heart for good. Tommy brings boundless enthusiasm, a willingness to help, and a smile to the nursery every day. In his free time Tommy enjoys kickboxing, growing vegetables, caring for his many tropical indoor plants, and baking chocolatey treats. 

Daniela Toriola-Lafuente, Senior Propagation & Seed Fulfillment Specialist

Daniela moved to Victoria in 2012 and has worked with Satinflower Nurseries since 2014. She obtained her BSc in Natural Sciences at the University of Lausanne and her PhD in Tropical Forest Ecology at University of Paris VI. She balances work life with volunteering at the Royal BC Museum herbarium, being a mother to two children, and enhancing her two-acre property in Metchosin with native plants. She loves propagating native plants and experiences great pleasure knowing these plants will thereafter thrive elsewhere, reassuring her that her work has a real and positive ecological impact. Daniela takes a lead role in propagating native plants at the nursery and coordinating seed orders and packaging.

Julia Daly, Senior Propagation & Restoration Specialist

With Satinflower Nurseries since 2018, Julia has experience in plant identification, species at risk management, ecological restoration, and native plant gardening. She has always been passionate about plants, wildlife, and geography and now shares these interests with her two young children. Julia completed BSc in geography from the University of Victoria in 2012 and a diploma in applied coastal ecology from Northwest Community College in 2008. Julia is one of the friendly faces you will see at the nursery, always offering much-needed advice and guidance. Be sure to check out our weekly blog with Julia!

 Abby Hyde, Orders Supervisor & Public Outreach

Abby Hyde has been with Satinflower Nurseries since 2021 and has worked in a variety of roles. She is now a supervisor at Satinflower, heading up orders, is the lead residential consultant, and does workshops and public outreach at the nursery related to native plants and restoration. Abby discovered her passion for native species and restoring degraded ecosystems while growing up in Bali, Indonesia. She made the long move from Indonesia to Victoria to pursue a BSc in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. During her free time, she is an iNaturalist enthusiast and is eager to photograph and document biodiversity and contribute to conservation efforts.

   Michelle Schlafen-Brown, Propagation Supervisor

Michelle is a Certified Horticulture Technician who is passionate about bringing native plants into the broader horticulture scene, as well as bringing lots of love and care to each and every plant we grow. New to the nursery in 2021, Michelle is now a supervisor at Satinflower, leading propagation at our Haliburton location in Saanich. Outside of the horticulture world, Michelle enjoys spending her time gaining inspiration from nature, practicing yoga, and playing her acoustic guitar. Michelle is more than happy to chat plants & landscaping, so come and say hello!

Jill Fraser, Orders Supervisor & Communications

Growing up on Vancouver Island, Jill's passion for native plants has been guided by her deep love of local ecology. She is a Certified Horticultural Technician who also holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Anthropology from the University of Victoria. Jill joined the nursery in fall of 2022 and brings a range of experience from riparian restoration to organic farming. She has been able to combine her passion and knowledge of native plants at Satinflower Nurseries, where she is now a supervisor, coordinating plant and seed orders and community projects in Metchosin. She also helps to manage the nursery's native seed field in Cobble Hill. Through her work, she hopes to promote sustainable landscapes and help people connect with the environment they are a part of.

Andrea Simmonds, Senior Propagation & Customer Care Specialist

Andrea has been part of the nursery team since 2017 and brings her attentive and thoughtful approach to every nursery project. She has wide-ranging interests from art, travel, culture to biology, farming, and plants and holds her BA in Liberal Arts with Honours in Visual Art.  Andrea brings so much to our nursery team with her caring and hard-working nature and her artful eye and love for garden design. When not at the nursery she will be found painting nature scenes.

Dominique James, Propagation Technician

Dominique has been part of the nursery team since the winter of 2020. Dominque is a member of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation, currently residing on the W̱JOȽEȽP Nation of her maternal family home of the Sampson family and also tied to the BOḰEĆEN Nation on her paternal side.  Dominque brings many skills to the nursery, from plant propagation to cultural knowledge and plant uses, and is always a friendly face greeting visitors. Dominque is a passionate SENĆOŦEN speaker, having worked at the LÁU,WEL,ṈEW̱ Tribal School in the SENĆOŦEN immersion program, then receiving education through UVic for Language Revitalization. 

Alina Hanneson, Propagation Technician

Alina has been with the nursery since fall 2022. Growing up on Vancouver Island with parents who fostered a love for natural spaces, Alina has been admiring local flora and fauna since a young age. This love led her to work as a wilderness guide in an attempt to facilitate a connection in others. In recent years with the increase in population and development she was inspired to pursue a more hands on approach, becoming a Certified Horticulture Technician through the Horticulture Center of the Pacific. Alina feels passionate about bridging the gap between wilderness and backyards by reintroducing native plants into our urban landscape. In her free time Alina can be found meandering in the forest, guide books in hand, searching for mushrooms, looking closely at lichen appreciating the beauty of moss covered rocks, or learning to sew her own clothes.

Larissa Bron, Propagation Technician

After joining the nursery team in spring of 2023, Larissa is likely to be found enjoying the many tasks involved in native plant care and propagation while balancing being the number one cheerleader for your plant projects. Larissa’s love of native plants began when she evaluated the phytoremediation potential of wild strawberries on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. This study was the capstone project for her training as an Environmental Technologist (SAIT, 2018), which she is currently building upon while undertaking a BSc in Biology at UVic to help her better document, conserve, and restore the incredible biodiversity of the islands of the Salish Sea. Much of Larissa's time is spent involved in supporting ecological restoration projects and research, though you can also find her co-hosting a radio program on CFUV or searching for new disc golf courses.

Emma Ross, Seed Field Technician

Emma’s love for nature started when she was a child growing up in rural Ontario. She spent her formative years making art and exploring the forests and wetlands around her home. This upbringing led her to pursue post secondary education focusing on art with a diploma in Visual Creative Arts and Photography, and later the environment with a Dual diploma in Ecosystem Management from Fleming College and a BSc in Environmental Science from Royal Roads University. Her post secondary journey led her to work in the non profit sector doing ecological restoration. This work inspired her to work towards a broader more meaningful impact on the environment which led to co-founding Wilder Restoration in 2021 and starting work at the nursery in the summer of 2022. In her spare time she sits on the board of directors for the Greater Victoria Greenbelt Society and spends as much time as possible out in nature. Emma has a deep love and appreciation for native plants and is always working to better understand the intricacies of our local ecosystems.