meet our team
BIANCA BODLEY
OWNER AND PRINCIPLE DESIGNER
Bianca Bodley has 13 years experience designing and project managing residential and commercial installations in Victoria, Vancouver and the Gulf Islands. Her project portfolio includes public and residential landscapes, interior atriums, living walls and green roofs. Biophilia’s service is driven by Bianca’s values of open communication, accountability and understanding, innovation and sustainability. Whether it is a public space or an intimate interior atrium, Bianca believes each project has the opportunity to be a sanctuary for people to connect with their natural world. That vision is what drives her to explore and innovate, and to continue finding new ways to connect to nature as we design and build our environments. Bianca and her team take on a project as if it were their own and look to find efficiencies in team work and collaboration with the community of builders with whom we have fostered long standing and deeply respectful relationships.
ELIZABETH BALDERSTON, RLA, BCSLA, CSLA
LEAD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Elizabeth holds over 15 years of design and construction experience. Her career highlights include being the lead architect for Urban Systems in Kelowna, specializing in engineering services as well as being the principal for her own firm for 3 years. She has a wide ranging portfolio including the plaza and landscaping for a public library, landscaping of a waterfront public parks space and an integrated rainwater management plan for the UBC Okanagan campus. Elizabeth has a deep and thorough knowledge of logistics and specifications, balanced by evocative and inspiring hand renderings. Elizabeth has sat on the board of the BCSLA and is currently an intern mentor. She is passionate about standout design, using sustainable materials and restoring disturbed ecosystems.
GRACE MORAZZANI | MLA BCSLA Intern
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Grace's main interests rely on the influence the constructed environment has on social dynamics and community building, understanding landscape architecture as a tool to create human connections and relations with the natural world. She is also an avid DIYer as she has always been interested in creative new ways of making designs come to reality. Grace has a background in Architecture and product design from the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas Venezuela and Elisava in Barcelona, Spain, and a Master degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of British Columbia. Her deep and varied background in the built environment paired with her passion and drive makes her a fantastic compliment to our team.
TYLER YESTAL | MLA
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Tyler has over 7 years’ experience in landscape architecture as a designer and project manager in projects across Western Canada. He began as a landscape architectural technologist in Alberta, where he graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. He collaborated on numerous streetscape and commercial development projects throughout Calgary and the Rocky Mountains. He achieved his landscape architecture degree at University of Guelph.
Tyler’s curiosity about ecologically rich landscapes on the west coast led him to Vancouver Island. He has worked on private residential, multi-residential, institutional, and commercial projects throughout the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. Tyler believes it’s important to tie in all aspects of the landscape to its surroundings, such as the people and native ecosystems. Tyler is guided by his passion for plants and naturalistic plant design, and the desire to create outdoor spaces that provide people with the same pleasure he has when in the wild landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.
LUCIA BLANCO | BIArch, MLA BCSLA Intern
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Lucia explores the psychological and health benefits of introducing nature into all aspects of our daily lives. Whether it be the public spaces we frequent in our cities, the places we work, or even the privacy of our own homes, Lucia believes that proximity to nature has the potential to enhance our relationship with our surroundings and strengthen our overall health and well-being. While her background is in landscape architecture, Lucia is particularly passionate about projects centred on participatory design with children and First Nation groups as well as in the design of natural play areas.
Lucia holds a bachelor's degree in Interior Architecture from the Universidad de las Américas Puebla and a master's degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Calgary. At Biophilia, Lucia is involved in the design of a diversity of outdoor spaces across Canada and Mexico.
KELSEY TAM
ACCOUNTS MANAGER
Kelsey has spent the last fifteen years living on Vancouver Island. Living and studying on the Island has given her a deep appreciation for the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. She is presently enrolled in Camosun College's Post Degree Diploma in the Accounting program, having previously earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria. Through her educational experience, Kelsey has gained a strong foundation in accounting and the abilities essential to navigate the complex world of bookkeeping. Beyond the academic sphere, Kelsey boasts three years of administrative experience, showcasing exceptional organizational abilities and a keen attention to detail. One of those years was spent working and volunteering at a non-profit nature conservatory driven by her passion for nature.
SOPHIE SCOONES | B.Ends
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Growing up immersed in Nature, Sophie has always walked with a desire to be in relationship to, and a caretaker of, the Natural World and its many facets. A curiosity of the complex relationships between built and living spaces led her to complete her BA of Environmental Design at UBC. Simultaneously, Sophie explored topics such as Ethnoecology, Planting Design, Geography, and Philosophy to deepen her knowledge base and expand her understanding of the intersectionality within space-making. Fascinated by the abundance of knowledge held intrinsically within Nature, Sophie is committed to cultivating her relationship with the Natural World. Sophie has also completed the Meadow Makers Certificate through Satinflower Nursery, and is pursuing Ecological Restoration at UVIC. Inspired by the teachings of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sophie believes that when you love something in nature, you will take care of it; as a Landscape Designer, her intention is to create spaces that people fall in love with.