It started with Raleigh’s love for tropical fruit and evolved into an entity that expresses itself in a community organized non-profit organization, The Apollo Beach Garden Club & Community Forest Garden, A consulting, design and nursery business, Third Insight Design and Nursery, And a growing Community of plants.
Raleigh Barnes
Raleigh Barnes has been gardening for over 20 years and worked extensively with tropical/subtropical edibles, Florida endemic species and epiphytes. Raleigh attributes his working plant knowledge from his father, permaculture mentors, numerous books and direct hands on design experience with his company, Third Insight Design. Belonging to numerous plant clubs and societies, Raleigh has created the Apollo Beach Garden Club and is actively working with the Club to create a Community Forest Garden space at the Apollo Beach Recreation Center. Raleigh plans to continually create productive landscapes, expand their plant inventory and deliver meaningful experiential educational courses, workshops and seminars. Raleigh ultimately strives to move to Costa Rica and live off grid in an intentionally designed space that incorporates, permaculture, analog forestry, and utilizes appropriate technologies.
Annie Jiménez
Annie Jiménez grew up in a multicultural family in Costa Rica. Since a young age she has spent many hours outdoors observing animals and plants. Little did she know this devotion to spiders and trees, as well as her periodical trips to the farmers market along her dad and her obsession with cooking the best tomato sauce at an early age with her mom’s directions would spark her instinct to grow, taste, cook and preserve food later on. Annie has diversified her skills from cooking, to eating, designing, crafting, growing, drawing and building. She enjoys working with her hands and seeing happiness in people’s eyes when they eat her food. Annie makes it a point to bring different perspectives to the table everyday. She will continue to work on what she believes is her responsibility, creating better relationships between humans and nonhumans, improving the ways humans nurture themselves and nurture earth, and leading a lifestyle of everyday accomplishments.